Half Dome! Our trek to the top. Photo Gallery by Gary Robertshaw at pbase.com

Half Dome! Our trek to the top.

Our May 31, 2006 trek from Yosemite Valley to the top of Half Dome.
My 3 sons (Aaron, Cory, Casey) and I hiked from Yosemite Valley's Upper Pines campground
(4000 feet elevation) to Half Dome's 8836-foot summit, and back in a day.
We went up via the mist trail, down via the John Muir trail,
sacrificing our toes to favor our knees...8^)
This hike is about 17 miles, though my pedometer showed 21 miles at the end of the day.
Absoulutely a fantastic trip; long and strenuous, but what a reward!

That rock? Sure, no problem...	Looks a little bigger from here...	Decisions...	Up the mist trail	Vernal Fall was FULL
Steps to Vernal Fall	Merced River above Vernal Fall	Rainbow on mist trail to Nevada Fall	To Nevada Fall	Are you sure this is the trail?
Break time	The back of Half Dome	Deer having breakfast	2 miles! Hey, were 3/4ths there!	Tree
A different profile	What a view	Up the granite steps on sub dome	The famous Half Dome cables	Looks a little flaky...
Up we go!	The top	We made it!!	What's the big deal?	Yosemite Valley below
Casey has to look over the side	And now time for lunch...	Hey look, a window...	Sheer wall	Aaron in the King's Chair
Casey in the King's Chair	A snowball fight after lunch	Advice at the top	Putting off the inevitable	Time to go
Down those infernal steps	Near Little Yosemite trail intersection	Aaaahhhh.... Yikes!	To the Nevada Falls Bridge	Lots of small creeks along the trail
Top o' the falls	Cool and wet return on the John Muir Trail	Nevada Falls and Liberty Dome.

comment |

Ted		12-Sep-2012 17:35
Thanks for the report. I'm reading "Shattered Air' and it helped me visualize what I was reading. Now I gotta add Half Dome to my bucket list.

Guest		17-Aug-2011 16:37
It's so amazing that there were barely any other hikers on the cables with you. All the pictures I've seen show an extremely packed Half Dome.

Guest		21-Jan-2008 19:58
Thanks for the pictures. I'm reading a book called Shattered Air and these pictures helped me place what those people went through. If you have done so, I suggest you read it. It is written by Bob Madgic.

CJ Morgan		28-Aug-2006 14:18
What can I say? This is one of the best story telling galleries I've ever seen. It's good that you added the text (it actually helps). But the highest marks in all this go to the images themselves -- good use of the light, all the images quite well composed, all of them giving a good sense of scale of the elements. And that to me is the best of it -- the images themselves all communicate quite well. And beyond that, it's all just darn inspiring because let's face it, for a "walk in the park" this is sort of the steroid version of it, isn't it? LOL. But truly, it is inspirational. You just did a great job in this gallery with the making of images and and a unified story that all communicates very well. Top marks.

Guest		07-Jun-2006 19:44
Great gallery! However, I am now so nauseated from all the heights that I'll have to go lie down! I've missed a lot of sights because of my fear of heights. Saw the Grand Canyon from about 10 feet back, couldn't ride up Pikes Peak in a car. Janet

Guest		05-Jun-2006 15:04
Thanks very much for the trip Gary, it was great. Glad you made it back safe and sound!

Sheila Smith		05-Jun-2006 14:26
Gary, I thoroughly enjoyed your trek to the top. What a climb that must have been and what views from the top. A good way for the more sedentary of us to see it! Thanks for the travelogue! Sheila

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