Originally Posted by Steerpike

Out of the blue, a friend offered me a permit to hike Half Dome in Yosemite last week (the last part of the hike is on a cable structure, and in the past it has been over-crowded, hence the need for permits). Permits are issued by lottery in March and completely 'sell out', so they are hard to come by. So with just one week of preparation, I was off up to Yosemite to do the hike of a lifetime!

It was absolutely amazing! About 16 miles, 10 hours, 5,000 feet of elevation gain, and the final cable section is just crazy - one slip and you are dead. For added pleasure, there was a heatwave in the valley with temps rising over 100F at the valley floor (high 80s near the top). This link has a good overview of the entire trail, and this link shows the final cable section in all its glory.

I've done a good deal of hiking recently, so I was in reasonable shape, but this was the furthest I've ever hiked in my life. Much of my recent hiking has been in Arizona, so the heat was not an issue, but the high elevation was a worry. I carried 4 liters of water (about 135 fl oz, or 1 US gallon) and this was NOT ENOUGH! Luckily one of our party had a portable filter pump and we were able to refill in the river near the top of Nevada Falls. The steps leading up the 'sub-dome' to the base of the final cable section are every bit as scary as the cables themselves ...

Not something I thought I'd be doing for the first time at 55 years old, but ever so glad I did it! Now I'm really determined to do the 'Rim to Rim' (Grand Canyon) ... maybe next year ...

Few pics from the hike below; 3rd is looking down from the mid point of the cables; 4th is looking up from same point, and 5th is looking straight to the side - to give a sense of just how steep the cable section is.

Originally Posted by Steerpike

Two more pics to round out the story ...

First is me at the top, and the second is a rough annotation of the trail, as seen from Glacier Point the next day. The final ascent up the dome occurs on the back side of the mountain (hence the dotted line ...). The hike takes you past (rather, up and around) two spectacular waterfalls before a long gentle climb to the base of the 'sub-dome', where the fun really begins.

The cable section wouldn't be so bad if you could just get it over with, but on both the ascent and descent, people 'froze' and caused bottlenecks. Not sure if they had cramps, or just lost their nerve. So what should be a 10-minute event (with your mind fully occupied by the task at hand) turns into 30 minutes of waiting - waiting while hanging on for dear life, wondering what could possibly happen ...

Originally Posted by Steerpike

Two more pics to round out the story ...

First is me at the top, and the second is a rough annotation of the trail, as seen from Glacier Point the next day. The final ascent up the dome occurs on the back side of the mountain (hence the dotted line ...). The hike takes you past (rather, up and around) two spectacular waterfalls before a long gentle climb to the base of the 'sub-dome', where the fun really begins.

The cable section wouldn't be so bad if you could just get it over with, but on both the ascent and descent, people 'froze' and caused bottlenecks. Not sure if they had cramps, or just lost their nerve. So what should be a 10-minute event (with your mind fully occupied by the task at hand) turns into 30 minutes of waiting - waiting while hanging on for dear life, wondering what could possibly happen ...