Yosemite Half Dome part 2
This is the trail. Yeah, it's basically find the easiest way up the rock, then there are some stone steps for part of the way.
Then the top comes in view, along with the cables. If you haven't said it yet, this is the part where you pause and say "what the heck did I get myself in to?" If you choose not to say it here, you can say when you're actually on the cables.
I borrow a pair of gloves from the "pile." and I'm ready to go. This is one of the scariest things that I've done. About 1/3 of the way up this part (with people coming down the same route) I started to wonder if I would be able to make it up. Sometimes it was only my arms on the cables holding me up. One slip, and down the mountain I would go. There have been several deaths here, and I fully understand why. A couple from Switzerland is behind me on the way up. Kind encouragement from them helped me keep going.
I did it!
Ahh, the view from the top. This is about as close as I got to the edge of Half Dome, it's a straight drop down.
Looking out in the other direction from the top of Half Dome.
Now the next test of nerves, getting back down that cable. Oh boy, I don't know which is more difficult, going up or down that thing. This time there were two other couples encouraging me. One of the guys was a mountain climbing instructor from Alaska, so he had some really practical guidance for me. Scary stuff.
A look back at Half Dome and the cables, as the sun sets.
I find that my piddly flashlight has run out of battery life. Luckily the people that I went down the cables with have flashlights that are very bright. I stick with them. One of the girls is really fun to talk to, and her name is really cool: Shayna Mercedes Taylor.
Crappy disposable camera. The sunset was magnificent. I was sure glad to have found these people, most of the way back was in the dark, and one of the guys said there was a bear about 10 feet from the trail on his way up.
I make it back to my car feeling good. I'm not sore, just tired. I head south to a little town just outside of Yosemite where I know there are several hotels. It's a Sunday, so my chances are good. I decide on Best Western, and pull into the parking lot. I grab my purse, and go to step out, and almost end up face first in the concrete. My legs had had it, and they chose that moment to tell me. I hobbled in to the lobby, every step screaming in my legs. The lady took pity on me and gave me a discount and a first floor room.
Check out this room! Huge mural of Yosemite on the wall. This room had a refrigerator and microwave too. All I could think about at this point was getting off my legs.
Another painting of Yosemite, and the reflection of the mural in the mirror. This room had a sliding glass door out to a patio. It reminded me of the layout of the hotel room in Maui.
I slept for a long time, and quite heavy.