Half Dome
MVP:
Climbing—There’s no way I could have done even the cable-up version of this hike last year, given my fear of heights, and the vertigo I felt when standing on top of mountains. Today, I still can’t quite believe how comfortable I was tied in half way up half dome, with all that exposure beneath me. I got into climbing as a way to conquer my fear of heights and it’s working!
Hike Review:
I hiked to the top of Half Dome by hiking the Mist Trail, John Muir Trail, and the Half Dome Trail.
The Mist Trail is a classic that hikes up Vernal Falls, then Nevada Falls. I was going to go up the John Muir Trail in the morning so that I wouldn’t get soaked, but realized that since it was so late in the season, water wouldn’t be an issue (and it wasn’t). The Mist Trail route saved me almost a mile, and I didn’t mind the steeper trail. I was also slightly worried that the Mist Trail portion would be the coldest part of the trail, but it wasn’t.
I took the John Muir Trail to connect the Mist Trail to the Half Dome Trail. This portion of the trail was very cold and I actually had to put my jacket back on, even though I was hiking at a good pace. This meant the the temperature must have been in the low to mid 40s. The trail was half sandy (next to Merced River) and half in a forest (closer to Half Dome Trail).
The Half Dome Trail was a scenic trail that seemed to as beautiful as it was difficult. The subdome portion of the trail was terrifying to go up as I felt like if I fell backwards, I’d just fall to my death. The fact that many of the stairs were covered in slippery sand didn’t make me feel great. Still, on the way down, I felt really comfortable with this portion of the trail.
All three trails were very clean and well maintained. The signage was also on-point.
There were also multiple bathrooms at various points (especially near trail junctions).
What I Learned:
No matter the season, at high altitude, I need to put on lip balm. Without the protection, I’m going to suffer.
A lot of people went up half dome without tying a prusik, which was crazy to me. They just tied in with a via ferrata, which meant that if they slipped, they would drag their bodies down 50-100 ft of granite. I heard some people went up without any protection (no harness at all). Craziness.
Waking up at 3am and getting to the trailhead around 4:30am worked out pretty well.
I think I’m a pretty fast hiker now. Or at least I felt like it. I caught up to people at the dome who had started off at 3am! I felt pretty good about that.
Around Nevada Falls, I got a burst of energy and I just wanted to run down the steep stairs, so I did. I thought my knees and ankles would feel the pain later, but they felt great. I actually ran down both Nevada and Vernal Falls where ever I could get around traffic.
Fears Faced:
Fear of heights—I actually was most scared when I was going up the subdome, where the switchbacks are steep and the drop off is unprotected. At the dome itself, because I was tied-in with a prusik knot, I didn’t feel too bad. I mean, I still got scared, but nothing major. On the way down, I actually came down the subdome without any issue, and practically ran down the steep stairs at Nevada and Vernal Falls.
Friends:
I ended up taking a picture of this guy named David at the bottom of the cables as he was waiting for his friends. We exchanged contacts so that I could send him the photo once processed.
At the top of the dome, I met another dude named Jonathan. I was just trying to get a cool photo of the diving board, when he went to the edge and looked over. I ended up contacting him on Instagram to give him his pictures :)
Media Consumed:
The Wonder Trail—finished!
Artificial Conditions—finished!
wild
What Happened?
16.1 miles, 8 hrs 53 mins, 5158 ft of ascent
Last year, I came across this blog post detailing how one could skip the crowds at half dome by climbing when the cables were down and permits aren’t required. I then found another article supporting the first article and giving some equipment recommendation alternatives. But given my fear of heights and the vertigo I felt hiking Vogelsang Peak and Kennedy Mountain, I knew that there was no way I could do it.
However, about a year ago, I started rock climbing to see if I could overcome my fear of heights (or at least deal with it better), and I thought I had made pretty good progress. So, I made plans to go climb it the first weekend after the cables came down.
I started at the Mist Trail trailhead parking lot at around 4:40am, and found the night hike to be peaceful. I had my headlamp on most of the time, but I did turn it off when there was no tree cover, as the Waning Gibbous Moon gave off enough light to hike. Half way up the Mist Trail, I took off my jacket and just hiked steadily.
Around the halfway mark on the JMT, I saw my first full view of Half Dome, which got me pretty excited. I mean, it looked steep, but I knew that I had done tons of research and that I could do it. I would love to say that this gave me the energy boost to run up to the Half Dome, but the steepness increased, and I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. I did continue to pass people though, which made me feel strong.
Once I got to the base of half dome, I opened up my backpack and started putting on my harness and climbing shoes. I racked up two accessory cords (one purely as backup or for someone else in need) and my lanyard. I then put a snack and camera in my shorts as I decided to not bring up my hiking shoes and backpack.
A big group that had seen go up was out of my sight, so I tied in to the left cable (people who had come down had told me that the left cable had less transfers) and started up. I found the first transfer (and the re-tying the prusik) to be a little scary, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought. Yes, it strained my calf to hold myself up, but then again, I could just hang on the lanyard (once tightened), so it was just keeping focus and tying the prusik as fast as I could (and not dropping the accessory cord). I actually wished that my cord was another foot longer, but that was purely for comfort, as the one I brought worked really well. Lastly, this was my first time going up steel cables with a prusik around it, but I got the hang of it pretty fast and felt more confident as I got higher and higher.
It was tiring, but when I got to the top, I just relished the feeling of achievement. I took lots of photos, then after less than 5 minutes, I decided to head down. I don’t know, I really don’t enjoy the peak as much as others. Once I’ve seen it, and documented it, I kind of want to just keep moving.
At this point, I wasn’t scared of the down climb, as I felt confident in my prusik and rock climbing skills. Still, on the way down, I thought my left calf was going to cramp up—thankfully it didn’t. I got to the bottom of the cables encouraging those heading up and in a great mood. My last worry was about the subdome section, as I was scared that it’d be terrifying. When I got there though,I found it to be not scary at all! I think the cable climb reset my fear level to be much higher, and so the subdome wasn’t so bad.... maybe?
When I got near Nevada Falls, the number of people on the trail exploded, and I got a little frustrated at the amount of traffic on the trail. Maybe it was that, or just a burst of energy for other reasons, but I started running or skipping down the steep steps on the Mist Trail. It actually felt really good running with my backpack, and so, I now told myself that it would be pretty cool to hike this under 9 hrs from car to car. Once I got to the Mist Trail Trailhead, I knew that I could do it. I ended up completing the hike in 8 hrs and 53 mins!
All in all, it was a great day and I’m just so happy with being able to overcome my fear of heights.