Hiking Half Dome
Just back from the gym, sweat still on my brow. I always keep in good shape but train a little bit different when planning an event… like my Half Dome hike. For that I focus on endurance and legs. I get a couple of 10ks in a week and a couple shorter run/walks. I probably over train since most of the people who hike Half Dome do it with out any pre-training.
Bye-the-way… I hope you will join me next week for my second full moon night hike up Half Dome. How can I describe the full moon hike… COOLER! In fact we were cold up top last time. As you can imagine, there is not a lot of traffic on the trail at night. I won’t go to Yosemite on the weekends in the summer because of the traffic. One year we made a weekend trek but couldn’t ascend because the cables were too crowded and, like the Santa Ana freeway, it was at a stand still and there was a long line of people waiting to go up! On the other hand we had the trail entirely to our selves on our last full moon hike. How would I describe it? Surrealistic, mysterious, exciting.
Half Dome is a strenuous 8+ mile hike up the hill (gaining over 4000 feet elevation) and a challenging 8+ miles back down. Most guides state that it takes 10-12 hours round trip. That’s how long my 55 year old legs take to do it. One recent group of 30 year old women that I started out with did it in a couple hours less than that.
Anyway, the next full moon hike is next Tuesday July 7. We will be heading to Yosemite after work and I imagine we will begin our hike around 9 pm. We should get down the hill in time for breakfast at Yosemite lodge. If you would like to go let me know. I will fill you in on all the details.
Hiking Half Dome is one of my favorite activities in the whole world. I have done this trip well over twenty times, lost count a long time ago. It is a spiritual event for me, I feel in touch with creation at a deep level. It is a physical event for me, it challenges my body to do more that I usually do, It is and emotional event for me, it clears my head and gives me perspective.
I hope you get a chance to do it soon. Let me know soon if you want to go next Tuesday July 7.
I love you – Bryan Martin
