To the top of the Dome and Back

Hopefully you will enjoy the poetic license I took in telling the story and all apologies to Tolkien. I had a really great time on this trip. Many thanks to Dave Rogers for planning and for sharing all of his photos. Also many thanks to Sharon for helping me prepare for this trip.

If you just want to go straight to the pretty pictures, you can find them in the full gallery.

The Quest to conquer Half Dome

As all great stories must, let us start at the beginning.The quest to conquer Half Dome started when young Kevin Rogers said to his father, “Dad, we have not been to Yosemite in a while.” After sitting back and pondering the statement, David, his father, jumped to his feet and responded, “You are right, we shall go back to Yosemite and we shall climb Half Dome.” and thus the quest was born.

But in order to have a quest a fellowship must be formed. So David sought out worthy companions who might partake in the challenge. First his other son, Andrew, was conscripted to join the party. And shortly after, David’s father, Lin, signed up. Next a good family friend and avid adventurer, Kissner took no convincing and joined immediately.

Having five in the fellowship just did not feel right to the elder David. Not that there is anything wrong with five, we have five fingers on a hand and no one complains. But it could be better. So David questioned a fellow code monkey, who previously had expressed a desire to seek adventure once again, James. James, having recently lost his father-in-law who had suggested the very same challenge in the past, but it had never come to fruition, agreed to attach himself to the quest and join the fellowship.

And then there were 6.

Before the brave fellowship could have any hopes of success, David would first have to slay the mighty bureaucracy and obtain the permits of passage. So in the early hours, six months in advance of the fellowship’s departure, David booted his trusty Mac and furiously clicked refresh as he surfed the Internet. After a grueling battle, he was victorious; the lottery was won and permits obtained. This is not an easy feat as other adventures met upon the trail failed to gather the golden permit and eyed ours greedily.

But not all was to be well for the fledgling fellowship. Kevin was approached by the most fickle of creatures, the varsity football coach, and tasked with smiting their enemy’s captain in the coming battles. In order to prepare for the future engagements and complete this task, Kevin would have to withdraw from the fellowship.

And then there were 5.

As the time of departure approached, Lin suffered a critical blow to his back in a battle with the stairs. Not to be thwarted, he soldiered on and the fellowship consisting of David, Andrew, Lin, and James boarded their trusty steed, Toyota Sequoia, and headed east to the verdant Yosemite valley. Meanwhile, Kissner headed west out of the desert wastelands of Nevada to intercept the group at Tuolumne Meadows.

Upon arriving at Yosemite, the party headed to Glacier Point to reconnoiter the upcoming challenge.

Half dome was immediately identified, as was Clouds Rest, a peak slightly behind Half Dome that would be conquered in the upcoming days.

Nevada Falls was also seen, which would have to be crossed if the party expected to make it back again.

After surveying the prize, the party headed deeper into Yosemite Valley (4100ft) to rest and seek nourishment after the long journey. Upon arriving at their lodging for the night, the group set about dividing the gear for the upcoming trek. David tossed out 1oz ponchos to the members.

James asked, “What are these for?”

“In case in rains.” responded David.

“Rain? We are in the middle of a heatwave, in a drought. Let’s cut this weight.” Little did James or any of the party members truly understand the weather of the High Sierras.

“It is only an ounce.”

“Hey you said: Every ounce counts.”

“Ok.”

And they tossed their ponchos aside. One more decision that would come to haunt our travelers.

The next morning the party spent the day in care free exploration: gazing upon the Merced River

and soaking at the base of Yosemite falls.

That evening the fellowship waited in ambush to capture the fearsome YARTS. For once captured this magical beast would take them to Tuolumne Meadows (8200ft) in a matter of minutes what would take the group days to hike back.

Arriving at the Meadows, the group was greeted by Kissner. Much joy was had for he had slain a cheesy sausage beast and the meat of the beast was quickly grilled and consumed. For this would be the last meal that was cooked by means other than of boiling water.

The fellowship having finally come together and broken bread, bedded down with optimistic thoughts in their heads.

Little did they know what trial and tribulations lay ahead.

After a night in the forest, the lingering sting of the battle of the stairs, reared its ugly head and felled Lin. Having no desire to hold the quest back, he set off on his own to capture a YARTS back to the valley and ride the Toyota Sequoia home to Milpitas.

And then there were 4.

With that sudden loss of a fellowship member the party redistributed community gear, crossed north of Tioga road, and headed out down the Tuolumne River.

Along the way they met many travelers. One group, upon hearing that the party was heading to Glenn Aulin immediately warned them of the ferocious mosquitos. But the fellowship was in too good of spirits to pay much heed to the warning.

The adventurers would stop for lunch above the Tuolumne Falls and enjoy the views while they munched on cured meats and cheese.

As the group started descending around the Tuolumne Falls on hard rounded rocks they were beset upon by mosquitos and rain.

They quickly headed to camp and setup tarps and tents. The rain passed quickly, James and David set out to the river for a nice swim beneath the falls to relieve their achy feet and escape the mosquitos.

Unfortunately when dusk came, even the river was not safe from mosquitos.

For the entire second day of hiking, the party was tormented by mosquitos except for the brief spot on a ridge line where a nice breeze kept them at bay. The group stopped for lunch in this spot and even took a nap.

Having arrived near Poly Dome, still being eaten alive by mosquitos and a storm quickly approaching, the group setup camp. Kissner and Andrew set off to climb Poly Dome while James and David stayed in camp. Shortly after their departure, the heavens opened up and the temperature plummeted to 55 degrees. James was forced to take shelter in his tent for 3 hours while David cowered under a tarp. Meanwhile, Andrew and Kissner bushwhacked their way to the top of Poly Dome and arrived back at camp soaked. At this point morale was low and there was talk of abandoning the quest for being eaten alive and wet was not what the group had signed up for.

A camp fire was made and freeze dried dinners consumed, for they all must eat. Not only was eating useful for energy, but it was the only way to reduce the weight of the pack: eat it and secrete it. The group was not allowed to throw any food away for fear of attracting the wildlife that constantly stalked them.

The next morning the group set off for Sunrise Lake (9200ft) and the mood picked up as the mosquitos faded and a theory formed that there would be no mosquitos south of Tioga Road. Maybe not so much a theory, but a hope and a prayer.

The fellowship’s mood further picked up as they crossed Tioga Road onto the beautiful shores of Tenaya Lake where they stopped to resupply water and eat lunch. In addition, there was trash and a pit toilet. The pit toilet was a welcomed site, for the group had paid a fearsome toll exposing their haunches to the mosquitos while communing with nature the previous day.

While the team basked on the sunny sandy shores, a storm was brewing. They still had to hike around the lake and climb a 1100ft staircase to get to Sunrise Lake.

The team set off and reached the staircase with little effort, but unfortunately so did the roaring claps of thunder echoing through the valley. The adventurers started up the climb with Kissner and Andrew taking off, leaving the other two to plod along, one foot in front of the other.

During the climb, the view of the valley kept increasing with spectacular displays of lightening throughout the valley below.

Kissner and Andrew having reached the saddle, consulted the magical all seeing stone, SatComm, which foretold of approaching severe weather within the next hour. They decided to drop their packs and hike back down the trail to meet up with David and James. The party regrouped at 600ft up the forever staircase. In an effort to speed things up, Kissner and Andrew took James and David’s packs and took off again leaving the slower two to keep plodding along; hopefully at a faster pace.

Even with the help, as the slower half of the party reached the saddle, the storm was upon them. They were lashed with cold rain and wind as they hurriedly scrambled down from the saddle to Sunrise Lake. Once they arrived they quickly found a site and setup the only two one-man tents they had (for two party members were using hammocks), dove in, two men each, and changed out of their wet clothes. Still even with sharing a down quilt, the chill had set in and bouts of shivers were had while the wind and rain did not relent for a couple of hours.

Close to sunset, the rain ended. It was critical to get their clothes dried, because without dry clothing, the party could not afford to get caught in the rain again. Once again abandoning the quest was considered. Relying on ancient Scouting magic, James was able to start a roaring fire with a single match. With the fire going, bodies warmed, and clothes drying, the fellowship sat down for a meal of ramen with added bacon. This did much for improving morale. The golden sunset did not hurt either.

The next day the fellowship was greeted by a beautiful sunrise over the lake as they headed out to climb over Clouds Rest (9980ft), the penultimate goal of their adventure.

With the sun shining, the spirits were high amongst the travelers. Perhaps too high as young Andrew quipped that this day would be easy. This is a dangerous thing to do when the lesser gods of the forest might be listening. The elder gods do not have time or concerns for mere mortals, but the lesser gods are jealous vindictive beings and do not take their world being dismissed so easily. And sure enough, they were listening, and a raven was dispatched to teach young Andrew this lesson.

As the fellowship approached the summit of Clouds Rest, they first had to traverse the ridge line that was only four feet wide with a sheer drop to the north and a merely fatal drop off to the south.

Once upon the top of the mountain, they had a gorgeous view back to Tenaya Lake where they had relished lunch barely twenty-four hours ago.

With their gear arrayed before them on the peak and lunch in hand, the raven, which had been following them, took the opportunity to strike. It dove down, snatched the satchel holding Andrew’s water filter, hopped a couple of feet to the edge, and disappeared over the cliff to never be seen again. With that, young Andrew’s tongue was chastened and the lesser gods were appeased with their new treasure.

The giant water birds, Sikorsky and Huey, could be seen in the distance, battling a blaze started by the previous evening’s lightning. They dropped their large loads into the maw of the fire. The steam billowed in response to a successful strike and rose into the sky.

Having sated their hunger and thirst and leery of the large clouds gathering behind them, the group started the 2700ft 3mi descent to Sunrise Creek where they would camp for the night. As usual, Kissner and Andrew took off while David and James meandered down the trail.

Very quickly James’ right ankle started to protest, as descending on unstable surfaces proved to be aggravating it. They persisted on, chased by the specter of more rain and the haunting hoots coming from the forest around them. Eventually they stopped so that James could consume some magic ibuprofen beans, but these proved unequal to the task of subduing the stabbing pain from the ungrateful ankle.

The wise David, having tired of seeing James wince for the umpteenth time, unfurled the cloth from around the magic SatComm stone and summoned young Andrew back up the trail. Andrew, having heard the call, raced back up the trail, grabbed the load from James, and took off again with barely a word.

The few words he offered, “Do you know where the camp site is?”

“Yes,” his father responded, having received the location from Kissner via the magic stone.

“Good.” And with that Andrew was gone.

With the lighter load the slow pokes did not move much faster, but they did move with less pain.

With the fellowship finally gathered in camp at Sunrise Creek, morale was not great as rain still threatened and perhaps James would not be able to proceed in the morning. As the evening deepened, the rain did not materialize and James successfully treated his ankle with an Ace bandage. Kissner and David conferred and decided to offer Kissner’s trekking poles to James to aid him for the remainder of the adventure. With that business settled, the party headed to bed so they could get up early to tackle their goal, climbing to the top of Half Dome.

The next morning the assault began. The group quickly broke camp foregoing a hot breakfast for the expediency of granola bars. James wrapped his ankle, put on a knee brace, and grasped the poles. The day had come and they set off.

Fortunately they only had to go half a mile before they emptied their packs of all unnecessary items. They stashed the unnecessary supplies behind a log just past the junction in the trail to Half Dome.

Along the way they were passed by many other pilgrims on the same quest and others, who failing to obtain a golden permit, were only able to stare after those who would be able to proceed.

There are three obstacles one must overcome in order to reach the top of Half Dome.

First you must get past the Keeper of the Dome. Not a problem since the party had obtained the golden permit.

Second, climb to sub dome. A tough climb on irregular narrow steps, chiseled from solid granite covered in loose dirt. Not a climb for the faint of heart. The group had no fear of this having already walked the narrow ridge of Clouds Rest.

And finally the Cables. A 400ft climb at 45 degrees on slick granite that requires adventures to pull themselves up by grasping two cables that have been baking in the morning sun and were held off the face by poles sitting loosely in the rock. This did not sound so bad to the party.

David presented the golden permit to the Keeper of the Dome who waved them by. But as the group passed she offered this final warning, “Guard ye food close to thee and keep thy pack between thy legs. For the plague ridden squirrel beasts roam from here to top of dome. And those who do not look out, do not make it home.”

Kissner murmured, “Seems a little melodramatic.”

“I don’t know about that”, said Andrew, cinching the straps on his pack and thinking about the crow of Clouds Rest.

“Hmmmph”, was all that David responded with. Not sure what to make of it.

“What did she say?”, James wondered as he was not quite paying attention.

Having reached the top of sub dome the adventurers paused. For before them were the Cables. Nothing they had read or seen had quite prepared them for the reality of what appeared to be a climb straight up a granite wall.

As they stared upward, the squirrel beasts moved in. Their tiny beady eyes, blacker than night but glowing as bright as the sun compared to the blackness of their hearts, evaluated their targets. They attacked without fear. Andrew was the first to notice the oncoming onslaught and gave a shout. Quick to respond, trekking poles were converted to ad hoc pikes and packs into clubs. The attack was parried but the beasts were not defeated. They stayed just out of range or looked for easier targets. The group was now more vigilant than ever.

While the fellowship prepared physically and mentally for the final obstacle, they got to chatting with fellow pilgrims. One such person shared that it was their second time to sub dome and as before they could go no further for the climb seemed too daunting.

And with that, the climb was started.

At the base it seemed steep enough, but as they looked up they saw that it would get steeper. The members of the quest would pull themselves up ten feet at a time from one board to the next until there appeared sections without boards requiring about a thirty foot effort before a respite could be had.

The adventurers did this board shuffle over and over again, avoided others who were descending, passed those too tired or too scared to carry on, and eventually they crested the point where the cables disappeared. They had made it to the top of Half Dome!

Exhausted, the climbers were elated in the knowledge that they had reached their goal and that no matter what, no one could take that away from them. Reaching the top did not come without a price: members were flushed and the group was tired. Food and drink were required so a lunch of cured meats, cheese, pita chips, and peanut butter was prepared. James had hauled up some sugary goodness and prepared a victory lemonade on top of Half Dome. The group maintained vigilance because even at this altitude, the squirrel beasts continued to probe the group’s defenses, but they posed less of a threat now that the party had defeated them once.

With food in their bellies and feeling pretty good, they wandered around the top of the dome admiring the views and capturing memories.

Having recuperated enough, it was time to climb off the rock and start the trek home.

Descending the Cables proved to be much easier than expected, except for the fact that the rock between the cables had been worn smooth by years of climbers. David worked around this by taking a wide stance where less feet had travelled. James embraced the slick rock and just slid from board to board using his gloved hands on the cables as brakes. The climbers below James appeared to not appreciate this sliding technique very much.

With the Cables behind them, the party set off in a light mood down from sub dome, past the Keeper of the Dome, and on down the trail towards their stashed supplies. The mood was so good that even the fact that James’ other ungrateful ankle decided it wanted to start stabbing him could not temper the mood.

When the fellowship reached Little Yosemite Valley, they quickly made camp and headed to the Merced River for a swim. After a vigorous swim across the current, the group basked in the sun on a large rock. The group chatted about the climb and what they would do when they got back home as if everything was behind them now. But not everything was behind them. Something had followed them down the mountain.

Mashed potatoes and gravy was had for dinner and the tired group went to bed.

The next morning, James was walking around the campsite and noticed a granola bar wrapper.

“What jerk leaves trash in a campsite.” he muttered as he grabbed the wrapper off the ground. “Odd, this is the same type granola bar I am carrying. Oh well, the world is full of coincidences. What’s for breakfast?”

He then pulled his food out of the bear locker for surely all members put all their food in the locker overnight and would never leave any in their packs. After all, this is the sixth day of the quest and they were seasoned adventures at this point.

“Hey I am missing a granola bar!”, he exclaimed. And then as it started to dawn on him what had happened, a chittering sound could be heard behind him. James slowly turned around. And there, on a log, sat the ugliest, meanest looking squirrel beast, chittering a victory chortle. James dashed to his pack to confirm the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach: the beast had followed them, waited for them to sleep, chewed a hole into his pack, and robbed his granola treasure.

“Nooooooooooooooo” cried James as he hurled many rocks at the beast who quickly disappeared. James’ cries of anguish brought his fellow travelers over to James where he had to sheepishly explain how he was bested by the most diabolical of beasts.

The damage done, camp was broken and the team look forward to getting back to the valley for a cooked lunch and the bittersweet end of the journey.

Kissner and Andrew set off on the shorter steeper Mist Trail while David and James opted for the mile longer and gentler JMT path back.

The JMT took James and David across the Merced River at the Nevada Falls and gave them sweeping views of the falls, Liberty Cap, and Half Dome as they descended the 2200 ft into the valley.

After scrambling over eight rock slides, the group made it to the valley floor. Because a disease was currently ravaging the land the group had an additional 2 mile hike back to the promised food.

Kevin and Lin returned to the fellowship arriving in the swift Toyota Sienna.

And then there were 6.

After 39mi, 6 days, and summiting two peaks, the fellowship was disbanded. Their quest complete.

Full resolution and more pictures are available in the gallery.