Half Dome

I encouraged Michael to mark his 30th year with something he's always wanted to do: hike Half Dome in Yosemite. It was a little bit more difficult to coordinate this trip than either of us had anticipated…the National Park is now limiting the number of people who can go up to the top of the face to 300 per day, which means that each climber needs to purchase a ticket. Way back in April when we started looking, the first available tickets were for August 6th. I suppose I have to appreciate them wanting to keep hoards of people off of a 3000-ft. precipice, but a 4-month delay was pretty crazy! We also learned that if a person wants to stay overnight in the Yosemite area during the high season, whether it be in a campsite or in a hotel, it is impossible. So, we had some coordination to make happen. Michael's climbing team were his sister, dad, and friend Matt. They all left at 3:00 a.m. in order to drive into the park and be on the trail by 6:00 a.m. A grueling 15 hours later, they were finished. I watched them limp back in the house at 11:00 p.m. Long day though it was, the experience was pretty spectacular, and the photos were the proof.

Beginning of the trek; I'm seeing lots of energy here!

Good to know.

What did he get himself into?

The ants going up the side of that rock are people.

Views from the top…

This is how they got up and down the dome.

I (Eryn) had really wanted to go on this hike, but didn't think I was up to it this summer. Now I'm not sure if I'm up to it at all, after looking at these pictures. Well, you know what they say, "never say never."