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I was finally able to make it to the Valley this weekend, and wanted to do something long and mellow, and find a little solitude away from the crowds. I caught a ride with Viv and Ed, and met up with Dan R., Lynsey and Dave who had a site in Upper Pines. The next morning I got up a bit early, and was on the trail for Half Dome at 6. Ed and Viv also got up at dawn and made for Higher Cathedral. Despite the early hour, once I got moving the temps were rather pleasant, until I hit Vernal Falls and got completely soaked by the spume. It's not called the mist trail for nothing. Good thing for poly-pro! I broke into blazing sunlight right around Liberty Cap, and then started heading cross country toward Half Dome. I would sporadically find and loose a trail, but it wasn't important as the destination was hard to miss. As I approached the base of the southwest face, I encountered a few other parties, and made the mistake of trying the direct approach up the slabs instead of following the trail. Not good, even in climbing shoes. When I finally found the real start of the climb, there was one party half way up the first pitch. I waited while the leader finished, emptying the dirt out of my shoes, then started up Snake Dike (5.7). I avoided the roof and glacial polish beneath it by staying to the left - the only reason to stay to the right would be to place some pro. The 5.7 move on P3 was very mellow - just a single step left, then on to multiple pitches of easy 5th class dike hiking. I soon lost myself in the motion, only pausing from time to time to admire the surrounding beauty. Eventually, the dike runs out and the endless 4th and 3rd class slabs lead to the summit. I angled left to get as close to the edge of the north face as possible, and eventually hit a snowpatch at the summit.

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Liberty Cap/Mt. Broderic, and looking down the Dike

It was around 9:30 when I reached the Diving Board, and I spent a long time sitting there in contemplation, on the edge of the abyss with a couple of thousand feet of air beneath my feet. I had the whole summit to myself, and spent several hours there. I toasted the memory of those who were no longer with us, and poured a libation to the gods over the edge. The view up there is hard to beat, and does wonders to re-invigorate you. Well, maybe I wasn't totally alone - there were a lot of very bold marmots and squirrels, who I'm sure were all used to being fed by humans.

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The Diving Board

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Self Portraits

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The Cathedrals, Cloud's Rest, and a large Rodent

I bade farewell to Half Dome around half past noon, and went down the cables. It wasn't long before my pride gave in to fear and I started hanging on to them. At the shoulder, I chatted with the first hiker, and soon thereafter encountered the oncoming hordes - I must have passed upward of 50 people in the next hour or so. I had wanted to hike up to Cloud's Rest as well, but there was still a bit too much snow there, so I bailed on that and headed back down to the Valley. The Muir trail sweeps far to the south before heading back west - next time I'm going to see if one can cut straight from the notch east of Half Dome all the way to Liberty Cap. The terrain looks ok, and it's an easy destination to spot. It should cut off a couple of miles from the hike. On the way back, I ran into Jeremy who was out hiking this weekend - he was also suffering from various injuries. I paused for a while at Nevada Falls, but there were just too many people there for my taste, so I continued on down to the valley floor, aiming for Curry where there was an ice cream with my name on it. Mmmmm Haagen Dazs. I spent a few hours reading at the campsite before Ed and Viv showed up, and we all had dinner. Dave and Shelly returned before long, and Rampe and Lynsey showed up just after dark - they had been doing some aid on the Nose. Shelly headed off fairly late to try to see the moon-bow over Yosemite Falls (it was full moon), and reported to us the next day that while it was nice around midnight, the optimum time to view it is around 2 or 3 AM.

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East face of Half Dome, and Nevada Falls

We all got to a lazy start the next day. Dan and Lynsey headed back to the El Cap, Viv, Ed, Dave and I went to Church Bowl. They stayed to climb, while I hiked up to Mirror Lake and continued on the trail to Tuolumne. I didn't quite make it all the 19.5 miles to the Meadows.... After a few hours, I found a beautiful rushing stream to sit next to, and paused for lunch and some meditation before heading back. When I returned to Church Bowl, I found Ed, Viv and Dave sitting under a tree, snacking and reading. It was a bit hot to climb, so we spent the rest of the afternoon there in a most pleasant manner, before heading for home.

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Half Dome from Mirror Lake

It was a very quiet and contemplative weekend - exactly what was needed.

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Quarter Dome in Mirror Lake