Day Off in Yosemite

This morning 18 bikers headed off before the sun was up to hike up Half Dome. The rest of us decided to catch up on some much needed sleep as we have not really had any time to rest our legs. The gym was not facing the sun so I slept in until 8am and only after I had been woken up by someone talking.

After hearing about the 16 mile round trip Half Dome hike, Kristina, Holly and I decided to take on the Upper Falls trail. This 7.4 mile hike with its 2800 foot elevation gain is the oldest trail in the park. The guide book estimated that it would take us between 6-8 hours to complete ... A way more reasonable amount of time than the other hike.

We headed over to the village to grab some coffee, a hot chocolate for Holly, and then hopped on the shuttle which would take us to our trail head. On the ride over the bus driver warned us about how long the hike would take and the fact that it is classified as a strenuous hike. We assured her that we would make it to the top because we have spent the last 10 weeks on a bike. While it is not the same muscles, we were confident that our hydration packs and PB&Js would take us all the way.

The beginning of the hike was pretty standard ... A slow incline with several switchbacks. We passed a couple and joked that we would meet them at the top. After the first half mile the path was a mixture of stones, carved rocks and dirt and it definitely became much steeper. the conversation began to lag as we were all focused on where we were going, making sure we were breathing and only being slightly concerned about how much we were sweating.

About an hour into the hike we had climbed a significant amount and had a great view of the valley floor below us. After a quick snack we tackled the remaining portion of the hike. The last mile or so was pretty steep with rocks that seemed to go on forever, but we made it to the top in 2:10 which was really good.

One of the main selling points about this hike was the fact that we would be able to see water...that was pretty much the only reason Holly decided to come. When we reached the top and walked out towards the observation point there was no water to be had. Slightly disappointed we continued down the trail to the overlook and Holly realized that she could hear water in the distance. From there we picked up a side trail and headed out towards the water. Because we are in the later part of the summer the falls were not as large as we had imagined, but there was water.

At this point to get to the falls we could either backtrack and pick up another path or get our inner billy goat on and scramble over the rocks to the falls. Knowing that Kristina is not the biggest fan of heights I gave her the option and she picked scrambled. I picked the lines and the other two followed.

As we set up for some stretching, napping and munching I decided that I wanted to take a quick dip in one of the lower pools. I figured it would be a good way to cool off and after I was not able to convince the others I scrambled back down. The swim was a brief one as the water was pretty old - think Cape Cod in the early summer.

We made it down the trail in just over two hours. We unfortunately could not make up any time because a nice s it was to have the tones on the way up, it made it very hard for us to climb back down. Combine this with a fine layer of dirt over the steps and rocks and a lot of knee pain from lack of cross training this summer. From there went to the deli to house some sandwiches and then back to the elementary school to nap. Well we napped hard and did not wake up until the first member of the Half Dome crew showed up. Nate assured us that everyone would be making their way back slowly but surely so we decided to head off and grab dinner at the pizza place in the park. Kristina and I shared a bomb Thai chicken pizza which was just what we needed. we also got to see pictures from his trip and it looked like they had a great time.

When we go back to the elementary school for a second time there were a few more people from the hiking group, but the majority were missing. As we predicted people were coming in grouchy because of the long day, lack of food and water while they were out on the trail and exhaustion. To add insult to injury the laundry crew had attempted to leave in the van, Timmy, and once they were a few blocks away the van DIED. Now normally this would not be a problem except for the fact that we are in a national park not really near civilian and we have NO clean clothes. Long story short Jessie DM'ed a car from the neighbors and Bri somehow convinced the laundry mat to stay open late. Ah a day in the life

Posted with Blogsy