Hiking Half Dome…
One evening in the summer of 2017, my mom, dad, uncle and I set off on a drive to Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. We stayed the night just outside of the park, only to wake up at 3:00 AM to pack up our Camelbaks with cliff bars and beef jerky. We were on our way to climb Half Dome!
We began our trek at 3:30 AM, and it was still almost completely dark. As we began hiking up the trail, the sun started to come up. Making our way up to Nevada Falls, the wind blew so much mist on us, that we were mostly soaked. Once we passed Nevada Falls, it was about 6:45 AM.
View from the bottom of the 1st waterfall of the day.
Izzie looking out over Yosemite Valley.
Once we passed Nevada Falls, we kept climbing up. Over the course of the day, I began eating my snacks, including some dried mangoes. Even though I was hiking with my family, I started to walk ahead of them. I made it up to a spot with a pretty awesome lookout at around 9:30, and I hung out in a tree until my family caught up. Once we made it here, it was time to make a pretty decent climb. From here on, there were some beautiful views of the Yosemite Valley, and some pretty fun-looking rocks.
Standing on top of a big rock right beneath the bigger dome.
Eventually, we made it up the sub-dome, and it was time for the final stretch up the cables. I really enjoyed it, but only because I have a bit of an addiction to heights. That final ascent was nearly vertical, and we were all standing on some old 2x4's. Eventually, we made it to the summit, where we were greeted by a ton of varmints that broke into everyone's backpacks to steal our food. They were very cute, but I took my jerky away for my lunch.
This us on our way up the cables to reach the summit.
Izzie sitting on the cliff, as usual.
Being at the top of Half Dome was completely unreal. I felt like I was on top of the world, looking over the entirety of one of the most beautiful places on Earth. My mom was freaking out, and she definitely didn't like me sitting on any cliffs. But of course, I did it anyways.
Though the quality isn't great, I think this is one of the coolest pictures I have ever been in. I was sitting on top of the world, with about 4800 feet between my dangling legs and the valley floor. This was an awesome feeling, and I can still hear my mom saying, "I don't like this" and "There is no way you are going to do that." After about an hour of hanging out at the summit and eating my lunch, we began the descent. Again, I walked ahead, and I made another stop at a cliff to take a picture, before my mom could do anything to stop me…
Standing on the edge of Nevada Falls.
This waterfall was a great end to this 17-mile round trip hike. We finished hiking at dinner time, and I was completely starving. It was such an awesome day, and I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to summit Half Dome.
