Half Dome. The iconic image of Yosemite National Park. A giant ball of granite at the Eastern end of Yosemite Valley. My faithful readers are probably tired of seeing pictures of this rock, but you’ll have to bear with me for one more post. :)
In organizing this trip, I had sent out these two emails:
Wilderness Permit $5
Park Entrance Fee $20
Plane tickets $460
Opportunity to go climb some the most beautiful natural icons of the world with MMM and TH AND have it fit your school and vacation schedule. PRICELESS!
MMM has promised to do something (TOTAL SHOCKER) at the top of Half Dome (weather permitting) and TH would do it too if MMM does it. You can only find out what and participate if you are there! XD (I'm gonna get killed by MMM).
Dates: One year to the weekend of McGregor : How Badly do you want it.
Duration: About as long as McGregor
Tickets: Cheaper flight tickets for everyone compared to Seattle. :P
Given our awesome luck, Aug 16th is full moon. I need to redeem myself with better full moon shots, after the Carcassonne ones didn't turn out well at all. :(
So I hereby codename this McGregor Anniversary reunion camping expedition as ... Yosemite: Full moon at Half Dome.
See you all there!
These emails provoked some LOLIRL’s and cries of me being HORRIBLE. Half Dome was to be the highlight of the trip. We failed to summit McGregor last year (yes, I am still bitter), so failure at Half Dome is not acceptable.
We woke up at 3am to begin our 2.5 mile trek to Half Dome. Our goal was to catch the sunrise from the summit. I suspect most people think we are crazy to get up at 3am, especially given the toils of the previous two days. Fortunately enough, RC and I shared the same crazy ambitions.
Well, I got up at 3am and I was in a rush - I forgot to go the previous night. This totally brought back memories from a year ago. Good thing there is a fully stocked, super advanced, two story, solar-powered, fan-induced, bacterial composting facility at the campgrounds. We quickly tossed whatever we needed into our packs and hit the trails at 3:45am, 15 minutes behind schedule.
Finding the trail proved a bit difficult in the dark, as we never got a good feel for the layout of the campgrounds. We did not interpret the hand drawn map provided to us by the Wilderness Center properly, so we fumbled our way around until we found the proper trailhead. We also realized at that time that we didn’t pack any food! RC decided we can forego the food and I had agreed since we were running late.
Well, the climb from Little Yosemite to Half Dome was all uphill. I became tired very early on in the hike. My headlamp didn’t seem to illuminate the path very well (I had charged my batteries before the trip too). My left eye kept itching against the dry air for some reason, so that bothered me (has never happened to me before).
Our friendly neighbour had told us about a water source just past the John Muir trail fork. RC was going through his water pretty quickly, so he was dancing behind every fall tree trunk in search of this spring. We finally struck water at 4:58am. :)
I’ve heard about walking under moonlight and how bright the moon really was. This hike is the only time in recent memory that I’ve been in wilderness under a full moon. So I found it pretty cool that I could see the trail quite well with just the moonlight (no headlamp), at least in the spots with little tree cover.
There wasn’t really much to the hike in the dark. RC and I didn’t chat too much, it was just heads down, step after step. We did run into yet another deer on the trail. He was probably as curious as we were on why the other was on the trail at this early hour. We also realized that the annoying bear bell that RC has been wearing doesn’t work on deers. :)
It was a great relief when we broke through the tree line to see the last section of Half Dome in its entirety. I was thinking, omg, we are so close! That was until I noticed a few little beacons of light further up the face of Half Dome and realized we still had a ways to go. We weren’t the only crazy ones trying to Half Dome (HD is now a verb) before sunrise! It was 5:45am by then, so time was tight. 30 minutes before sunrise – we had to race. However, before all that, I had to stop to grab a Full Moon at Half Dome photo.
There were better positions to frame a similar photo earlier on and later in the trail, but I was not given the luxury to stop and take photos. Even as I got my gear out to grab this shot, someone was impatiently telling me... "You better hurry up!" Well, this ended up being the ONLY shot of our natural satellite I got on the entire trip - I'm glad I took it. so THERE.
Hi ho hi ho, off to Half Dome we go. We finally got up to the stone section! I look up the face, I cannot see the top of Half Dome anymore. wtf. The trail had turned into a series of stone steps. Ugh. I started going up, and after a few steps, I was huffing and puffing. I couldn’t help but stop.
RC seemed to be doing better than me, as he was pretty much two switchbacks worth of steps ahead. I was trying to focus on just tackling the steps. Starting counting the steps I took. Take at least 10 steps before coming to a rest. Man, I was struggling to make even 5 in a row. Had to rest after 8. My legs just were too tired. Whenever I stopped to rest and look up, I’d realize these steps don’t seem to end!!
The photo on the right shows the steps (taken on our way down). Some of those steps are a foot high and when you are dragging your legs already, they are totally not fun. The steps you see is maybe 1-2% of the overall stairwell.
Well, after I got past the steps, I had to rest. Screw the sunrise at the top of Half Dome. I’d settle for watching it from this little Half Dome before the cables section. A group of campers had settled at the top of this little Half Dome (essentially, a small camel hump leading up to the final climb to the top of big Half Dome). They had everything including their sleeping bags, beer, bangos and guitar. Quite the hippy crowd.
They were certainly a source of entertainment. One of them even lit this flame ball on a chain thing and remarked, “We are a photographer’s dream! Entertainment at the top of Half Dome.“ I couldn’t agree more.
We rested a bit and caught the sunrise before deciding to tackle Half Dome. The cables were a LOT scarier in real life than in the photos. As you can see, there are two chains anchored into the side of Half Dome and you essentially use them to pull yourself up the steep incline to reach the top. I’d estimate the steepest part probably had a 70 degree gradient. No photo can give justice to how steep these cables were. It is one of those moments you just have to experience – feeling the wind blow across you, seeing the cables sag, hearing the chains rattle against the poles, and knowing that it’s your turn to go up.
RC mentioned he wasn’t sure if he wanted to do this. Come on! We didn’t hike all this way to go home now!! The little voice in my head was saying, what the heck are you doing, do you want to die here?!?
Went to take our pick from the pile of gloves at the bottom of the cables. Wow, there was quite a selection. Also, did I mention that because of my baby Gitzo, I had to carry my backpack with me (minus all the stuff we could leave at camp). I would need both hands to stay alive today. Let’s just say having to carry extra weight on my back didn’t instill too much confidence before this cables section.
Up we went though. Quick scrambles of a few steps to the next wooden plank. Repeat. These cables were a lot worse than I expected. Not only were the chains not taut, the poles holding the chain weren’t drilled solidly into the rock – they actually moved. Those wooden planks were not secured very well either and in the steepest sections, some of the planks were missing!!!!
We slowly made our way up the cables. We basically had to stop at each plank to catch our breath. Good thing we were the only ones on the cables. I won’t know what to do if others were waiting behind me, forcing me to move on. RC kept saying this is the craziest thing he’s ever done. It definitely ranks up there for me too!! The climb was as nerve racking as it was exhilarating. I have never done anything quite like this.
That is RC climbing the cables ahead of me. Yes, TochiCam was hanging precariously around my neck the entire time. Probably not the smartest choice, but we both survived. :)
Anyway, after 40 minutes (probably a lot slower than average summiteers, but no sane person would have carried a pack like we did), we finally made it to the TOP! Wow, I had no idea how we did it. But here we were, at the top of Yosemite. That was truly “a knee-knocking, hand-clamming cable ascent that will test your courage, your strength, and the tread on your shoes.” HAHA. And what do you know, there were a LOT of squirrels up here. How the heck did they make it up?!?
We lounged around a bit, took photos at a ledge. RC laid down on a rock and actually passed out for 15 minutes. lol.
Well, I don't really have to say it but the view is just absolute spectacular. No matter which direction you look, there’s an unbelievable, bigger-than-life vista. With the exception of a couple small shrubs, the entire terrain was solid rock. It really felt like we were in a different world/planet.
Here’s a shot of RC and me with Glacier Point and the valley behind us. It’s a little surreal to think we were just at Glacier Point less than 24 hours ago. Wow! We’ve come a long way. You’ll also see the official mascot for GCYoMoDo. This is no consolation prize like Signal was to McGregor, but the uber reward for our crowning achievement of Half Doming!!! It acts as a decent ballhead protector too!
We took a bunch more photos including the official Full Moons at Half Dome shot. It took two tries to get right. Timing was everything. Took the necessary photos for the virtual. RC built a very cute looking Inukshuk while I was surveying the land for a lost benchmark. We shouldn't be building these unnatural piles of rocks in National Parks... least of all at the top of Half Dome. :P
Well, we had our hour of being the lone ones at the top of Half Dome (How cool is that!!). However, around 10am, a stream of people from the valley floor was making their way to the summit. It was time for our descent, especially before it got too crowded on the cables. Traffic had to flow both ways on the same set of cables!
So here lies the biggest question of the day. How do we go down? Face forward or backwards? Forward was faster, but you had to get over the nerves. It is a 70 degree gradient. Backwards was probably safer, but it’ll take forever to get down. RC and I decided to get this over with and confronted our fears face forward.
The climb down turned out to be not that bad. You slip and slide a bit, especially with your momentum propelling you forward, but with a good grip on the cables, you can almost run down the hillside. Passing around people was a little tougher, cause you had to let go of one cable and trust the other one for dear life. RC rocketed down the cables, while I went at a more leisurely pace. lol. I had one cable tucked closer into my armpit, just in case! Thanks to RC though for racing down so quickly and grabbing some photos of me descending! Oh, I forgot to mention, the view coming down was most spectacular. If only I could get my camera out! Heading down was a heck lot easier than going up.
Got down to the bottom of the cables and rested for a bit. It finally sank in. We conquered Half Dome!!! The sense of accomplishment was overwhelming. Before the journey, this wasn’t on my list of things to do in my lifetime. Now that I’ve done it, it totally belongs on there!
Half Dome is the ultimate Yosemite hike - the one you can't die without doing, and the one you're most likely to die while doing.
This quote hit the nail right on! Wow. Wow. Wow. GCYoMoDo – Level Completed. Mission Success! Now we just have to make it out of Yosemite alive.
Started heading down those stone steps. I felt really sorry for the people huffing and puffing their way up. Now that I can see the steps clearly, man, how the heck did I make it up all these steps? There were a lot more than I remembered. Geez. You only ever hear people talking about the cables, but these steps were the killer for me. As one guy said, “If I ever see a 12 inch granite step again I am going fall into a fetal position and whimper uncontrollably.”
We had to hike back to our campgrounds. Unfortunately, I’ll always remember this moment as one of the hardest ordeals of my life. I had been battling the onset of a cold, we ate next to nothing in the past 24 hours and I was literally sapped of energy. My body must have bonked. It was so frustrating for me. The hike was a nice easy downhill one and while I was mentally awake, my body just could not move at any decent pace. In retrospect, I’ve always had a sort of self confidence in being able to perform against challenges that I expect to be within my limits. This experience was definitely a rude awakening, which was probably why I felt it was such a personal letdown. I was mentally focused, but my body just would not give. It wasn’t as if my muscles were overly sore, but that they just had no energy. zippo. I don’t know how to describe it.
Well, halfway down the trail, RC, who is in the best shape of his life, decided to leave me and head down to camp first. He claimed he would start cooking. By the time I got down to the camp grounds, I was expecting to find food ready. What I found was a pot full of water, and it was not even on the stove. RC was nowhere to be seen. WTF. Where’s the food?!??! Me is hungry.
We took the rest of the day off to lounge around the campgrounds. It was great to finally have some time to rest and relax. I took a nap under a tree by the beach, while RC waddled through water with a snake and a bunch of boy scouts. Wrapped up early and headed to bed at a decent time, for once.
Oh, did I mention we Half Domed today?!?! :DDDD
In case you've missed it, this is a trip report from my trip to California last week:
Yosemite. Pronounced yo-SEM-it-ee. Definitely the coolest name for a national park that I know. ‘Yosemite’ originally refers to a renegade Indian Tribe that once lived near the valley. The word itself means “those who kill”. However, even more awesome is Yosemite National Park’s Chinese name - 優勝美地國家公園. Wow. It’s like they named it in Chinese first (not too much creativity there) and then devised the English name. A very fitting name though!
Sunday. Start of a new day. Our destination was Little Yosemite Valley, the most popular campsite, visited by 20% of the park’s campers. Its popularity is due to its close proximity to Half Dome and Cloud’s Rest. Instead of heading straight from the valley floor, we decided to first visit Glacier Point, an outlook across from Half Dome, then take the ~6 mile Panoramic Trail back towards Nevada Falls and our campsite.
We were starting in the valley floor today. As a quick aside, here’s a quote describing Yosemite Valley that I’d read in a Yosemite book and found again online. John Muir just has a way with words.
“The walls are made up of rocks, mountains in size, partly separated from each other by side canyons…so sheer in front, and so compactly and harmoniously arranged on a level floor, that the Valley…looks like an immense hall or temple lighted from above. But no temple made with hands can compare with Yosemite. Every rock in its walls seems to glow with life…giving welcome to storms and calms alike, seemingly aware, yet heedless, of everything going on about them. Awful in stern, immovable majesty, how softly these rocks are adorned, and how fine and reassuring the company they keep….” - John Muir
Given yesterday’s brutal experience at Cathedral Lake yesterday. RC and I debated whether to hike up to Glacier Point via the Four Mile Trail or just take the bus up to Glacier Point. We were not sure when and where the bus leaves or how much it would cost, though we knew that bus reservations were required. In the end, our determination and the uncertainty of the bus schedule led us to attempt the hike. We later found out a one-way bus ride would cost $25 per person! We definitely made the right decision. lol.
Waking up early morning and parking our car at the designated Trailhead parking for campers, we took the shuttle bus to Stop 7 – Yosemite Falls Trailhead. Saw a bobcat when we got off the bus. As we cut across the valley floor towards the Four Miles Trailhead, we saw a couple hang gliders who had jumped from the top of El Capitan and were landing in the field beside us. One of the gliders fumbled into an amusing landing. :P Hand gliding is something I want to try. But on another day…
We replenished water supplies at the Swinging Bridge that does not swing and made our way to the Four Mile trailhead. The Four Mile trail is actually 4.8 miles. The elevation gain is a wicked 3200 ft. We had our full camping gear on our backs – we packed a lot smarter than at McGregor. Still, the difficulty of the trail was reason to worry.
Despite the early switchbacks, the trail turned out not that bad. The first section was paved and even the slope would have been manageable by a mountain bike. I suspect that the sleep we got last night also did wonders to our psyche. RC asked me to guess at the number of people we will pass on this trail. I predicted 6 people coming down and 0 going up, thinking that no one else would be stupid enough to hike up this trail. Anyway, more than 6 people passed us on their way up before we even reached halfway, with zero coming down. They weren’t carrying full backpacks, of course. I guess that $25 turned a lot more people away than I expected. :D
This Four Mile trail was recommended as one of the top hikes in Yosemite and it lived up to its fame. As we progressed further up the trail, we got to see more and more spectacular views of the valley.
We were very fortunate that the sun was behind us, which meant we were hiking in the shade, and the opposite cliff walls and the valley floor were illuminated.
The B+W photo on the left is my first impersonation of an Ansel Adams Yosemite photography. His pictures are often defined by the strong clashes of light and darkness, which I didn’t really create in my photo. Perhaps if I play with more B+W conversion techniques, I’ll be able to put forth a better rendition. :)
One thing I love about having a GPS receiver is that you can track your route, distance and elevation changes for post-hike analysis. The bad thing is that in the field, you know exactly how far you’ve gone, or worse, how much more you have to go. As a result, I usually just leave the GPSr on in my backpack and not worry about it. Time flows a lot faster if you only guess how much distance is left. My estimates always fall on the short end, so I can always claim “we’re almost there!!”. :P Here's our track log for most of Four Mile Hike, as shown in Google Earth. You can see the valley floor where we started and Half Dome in the distance. You can also get a sense of where I was standing while taking that B+W photo. :)
At a point when I thought we were done all the switchbacks, we came upon a ledge and saw that there was still a ways to go. Despite the remaining elevation being nothing compared to what we’ve climbed thus far, just seeing it was really demoralizing. The time was nearing noon as well, so the sun was beating down on us and we still had more switchbacks. Wow, I started feeling my legs tiring out at that time. As we neared the end, more and more people coming down the trail. Some of them were eating ice cream. I turned to RC and exclaimed, “We totally deserved some!”
So we finally arrived at Glacier Point, a great and very popular outlook spot to Half Dome. We lounged around a bit taking some photographs. We had already seen most of the valley on the way up, so the view from Glacier Point lost its wow factor on me. Nevertheless, the valley is still a sight to behold.
AL commented I do not take enough random people pictures from my trips. Personally, I find it awkward taking candid photos of people I do not know. Anyway, here’s one from the top of Glacier Point. I was a little worried that the Dad might drop his daughter as he was climbing around the rocks. The baby girl was quite mesmerized by Half Dome. So chubby! *squeeze*.
Glacier Point is so popular that it has a gift shop along with a snack bar at the top. We ate a hot dog (got 2 of the remaining 3 dogs) and an ice cream bar (“but I do like Crunch” flavour) and refilled our water supply before moving onward. Ran into a gentlemen who randomly asked whether we had hiked up to Glacier Point. Turns out he is originally from Toronto (hung out by Bay and Bloor) but now resides in the States.
The second half of our trip would take us down the Panoramic Trail, which leads down and across the far valley and up the other side towards Half Dome. Our campgrounds tonight lies just be behind the right base of Half Dome from the above Google Earth vantage. I selected this trail to please RC, because we would be passing by not just one, but TWO waterfalls.
Now, this Panoramic Trail is longer than the Four Mile trail, but we were going downhill for most part, which more than makes up for the extra distance. As a short aside, one of the things I love about Yosemite trails are the metal trail signs with the letters etched out. These things are built to last. :D
We ran into various parties on our way down towards Illilouette Fall. Of note were a couple, who were arched over on the ground sweating profusely. We gave them some encouragement that they were within an hour from Glacier Point. I felt sorry enough that I even offered them some water (knowing I can refill at the waterfalls up ahead). Another couple had the guy carrying ALL the gear for the party. I had commented to RC about the poor guy, when RC replied saying the woman seemed to be suffering even more. lol. We also met up with a group of really cheerful middle-aged ladies, who just returned from Half Dome. They enthusiastically told us about sliding down the river by Illilouette Fall to refresh ourselves from the summer heat.
Well, what did you expect us to do? Of course we had to take them up on their advice. Furthermore, our responsibilities as photographers dictate that we must record the moment for eternity. So RC and I discussed plans on how we can capture our river sliding action.
When we got to Illilouette Fall, we discovered a naked guy swimming in the pool. WTF. RC and I got set up further upstream. Fortunately, after a few minutes, the guy was gracious enough to cloth himself. I set up my camera down by the end of the falls, while RC, who had heard that Gitzo tripods can be taken into water, decided to become a true member of the Gitzo-In-Water club. He extended the legs and lowered the entire tripod as low as possible and carefully stepped out onto the water. I was busy unpacking some gear when I heard a splash behind me. Turned around and saw RC sitting in the water and, as if in slow motion, pulled a dripping Nikon D80 out of the water. Gulp. I starred in horror. My mind could not comprehend what my eyes were seeing. How? I thought the arcatech ballhead was bulletproof. Heck, it even has the protruding pin thingy! Quickly dug out my towel and we tried to dry RC’s camera off.
Unfortunately, cameras, even Nikon branded ones, do not take the water very well. RC camera showed a few signs of life before blinking CLOCK and failing all together. Boy, were we bummed. I was not sure if RC still wanted to slide in the river (it looked very tempting), but given the situation, I would have been okay with just moving on. RC took his loss a lot better than I expected. Since we were here already, might as well make the best of the time.
So off we went. We were clothed, just in case there were sharp stuff in the rocks. And let me tell you, these rocks were slippery! Here’s me sliding…
Here’s me at the end…
And here’s me jumping into the water. Many thanks for RC for these awesome captures. I haven’t had this much water fun in wilderness in a LONG time. :)
A group of Chinese kids dropped by to take a look at our commotion. I tried to convince two of them to slide down, but to no avail. They must have thought the two of us were crazy. lol.
It was almost 6pm by the time we decided to pack up. The sun was about to set too, meaning we’ll have a much harder time drying off. Carefully packed up our gear and off we went again.
Illilouette Fall is actually the lowest point in our segment of the Panoramic Trail, so we had some uphill switchbacks to climb. We were quite refreshed from the swim, so it was nice hiking to dry off.
We hurried along the trail towards Nevada Fall, trying to make up as much ground as we can before the sun sets. We stopped only a few times to take photographs. The sun wasn’t aligned too well, RC didn’t have his camera, and I didn’t feel too comfortable being the only one shooting. It’s amazing how much faster we can go when we take less photos. lol. I do have one picture that I like in particular. This is RC, the lone ranger, at the top of the trail, backlit by the evening sky.
Soon, we passed by that group of Chinese kids, who had left Illilouette at least 30 minutes earlier than us. As we neared Nevada Fall, we ran into a big party heading in the opposite direction. We were curious why people were heading back on the Panoramic Trail at this late hour. They apparently were trying to find their way to the valley, and we told them they were heading to Glacier Point instead. They thanked us profusely for correcting their mistake.
After we got to Nevada Fall, we pulled out our trusty map, only to realize that this big party was indeed heading in the right direction earlier. We just never noticed the fork for the trail back to the valley. DOH! Boy, did we feel stupid. RC went and apologized to the party and we parted our merry ways.
Did a quick virtual cache in the fading light from the lookout at the top of Nevada Fall. Had to get our headlamps out at this point to make the final mile trek into Little Yosemite Valley. We arrived at the campgrounds well after 9pm. It took a while to find a camp that had an empty bear box.
We ended up sharing a bear box with a very friendly and helpful camping neighbour. This neighbour told us where the facilities were and the conditions at Half Dome. They even led us to the stream to wash dishes and refill our water bottles. In the dark, we really had no chance of finding this water source. What a life saver!
As everyone was busy by the stream filling our bottles, we heard a sudden splash. What was that? I thought it was a big fish at first. 5 headlamps/flashlights shone out into the water and we saw a baby deer running towards our side of the river. It was running quite fast and almost directly at our party that one of the guys could have reached out and touched her. We then heard more noises from the far side of the river. Again, the headlamps shone out and this time, we saw two red glowing eyes and could barely make out the shape of a bear! Wow, so cool. The bear cautiously walked along the edge of the water for a few minutes before retreating back in the woods. This is the closest encounter with a bear in true wilderness (not the side of a road) I’ve encountered. It was immediately clear we just experienced a very special moment of nature. :)
RC asked me later on why we weren’t scared of the bear. I really don’t know. It just never occurred to me to be scared. I was more fascinated than anything else. I think if the bear started galloping towards us like the deer did, I’d be telling a very different story. haha.
We were too tired afterwards and ended up only making one pack of freeze-dried food for dinner. We set up the tent quickly and retired for the night. Had to wake up early for the ultimate hike tomorrow.
Yosemite National Park can be divided into three major attractions. The first and most popular is a narrow stretch known as Yosemite Valley - site of Half Dome and jaw dropping granite cliffs and waterfalls. The second is the northern section consisting of high alpine meadows. The third is the giant sequoias groves in the south.
We had 3.5 days to spend in Yosemite. Two days were definitely to conquer the Valley and Half Dome, which leaves a day free to visit one of the other two sections of the Park. While trying to book a campsite, I noticed that Cathedral Lakes is the second most popular campground destination. A set of beautiful lakes at 9000ft from the famous Tuolumne Meadows in the high country. It was as good a place to visit as any. :)
After we took care of our permit situation, we decided to get some food. RC had overhead that they serve a breakfast buffet at Curry Village. Curry Village is essentially at the end of Yosemite Valley and has been a campground serving visitors of the park for over 100 years! It’s pretty distinctive as the campground is lined with cabins each serving real mattress beds. It’s quite luxurious way to camp. lol.
The buffet breakfast was rather pricey, and we didn’t eat that much (more tired than hungry). But this totally reminded me of breakfast after my first all-nighter at Cornell. RC and I debated whether to take a nap first or head up towards Cathedral Lake immediately. Decided that we should head up to the meadows first and maybe take a nap by Cathedral Lake. I’m a big fan of taking much needed naps at scenic places. :)
The drive up to and along Tioga Road to reach the meadows was very breathtaking. We stopped several times to take in the vistas. Beautiful skies, unparalleled sceneries. Splendid opportunities to take Naturescape and Skyscape candidates!
Photo on the left is a look back into the entrance of Yosemite Valley from Old Oak Flat Road. You can see the Merced River flowing through the valley, and if you follow the river back in, you’ll end up at at the village and Half Dome. We just came from there!
On our way to Tuolumne Meadows, we stopped at probably the nicest in-the-middle-of-nowhere petro station I have ever visited. Surrounded by lush trees at the corner of Old Oak Flat Road and Tioga Road, you would never have guessed there’s a gas station tucked in this little place.
As we neared Porcupine Flats, we got spectacular views of the backside of El Capitan/North Dome range of granite.
Here’s a view of the Cathedral Lakes section from Olmsted Point. You can see Tenaya Lake and Tresidder Peak in the distance.
Olmstead Point was also where we caught our first glimpse of the backside of Half Dome. Using our uber 18-200, we were just able to make out the little ants making their way up.
Initially thought we had a lot of time. However, after following some slow RV’s on a single lane mountain road, we managed to only get into Touloumne Meadows Visitor Center at 2pm. Someone needed to double stamp their passports there. Our target was to get back to the valley by 6:30pm, so we can catch the sunset at Half Dome, which meant, we had to leave the meadows around 5pm. We had under 3 hours do check out Cathedral Lake.
RC had asked me the difficulty of this trail. From the map, it wasn’t that far – 3 to 4 miles one way. The dotted line skirted along the base of Cathedral Peak. There cannot be that much incline, so I told RC that it should be pretty flat. Boy, was I wrong.
Near the trailhead, there was a sign that showed 3.4 miles to Lower Cathedral Lake and an amusing quote by John Muir, after making the first recorded ascent to Cathedral Peak.
This I may say is the first time I have been to church in California.
The hike wasn’t that bad. Just starts of with an uphill climb for the first mile. I’m not sure if it was the lack of sleep, but I was tired out pretty early on. So was RC. The sad thing is that the trail was pretty plain… just trees and rocks. No real pretty sights except for the Peak, which you can only see every now and then. Around 3:40pm, we finally made our way to the lake.
RC might tell you differently, but I thought the Cathedral Lake was uber nice. To the east and south, you have a rim of mountains standing guard as if the edge of a bowl. To the west, you have a granite shoreline that is polished by glaciers of the past leading right up to the picturesque (and super blue) lake. A bunch of people were just laying on the rock sunbathing and even Mr. RC found himself a nice shaded spot under a tall dead tree for some respite.
After I took enough pictures, we realized we were behind schedule and might not be able to make it back to the car by 5pm. And what better way for us to get off our butts than hearing thunder in the far distance? There was a 20% chance of thunderstorms in the area today.
We raced through the same trail back towards our car. RC set off on the last mile at a breakneck pace, and we made it back to the car at 4:58pm! We were both dead by then. This was suppose to be a warmup hike for tomorrow. Ended up hiking about 7 miles on not so nice terrain. On any other day, this would qualify as a pretty good day hike. lol.
We made it back to the valley with plenty of time to spare. Got down to a meadows below Half Dome and waited till the sun to set. Sunset is often one of the most spectacular times to visit the hallmark of Yosemite, as the strong rays really bring out astounding colours on the granite face. On this day, the light showers earlier in the evening blessed us with a rainbow. :)
As if we could get even luckier, a family of deers dropped by to have dinner in the meadows. Boy, they are not afraid of people being 10-20 ft away. All you can hear were the clicking sounds of half a dozen cameras, especially when a deer raises his head. :D
Finished off the night with dinner at Curry village. We just barely missed the buffet dinner, which closed at 8pm, so we got some food (with really slow service) from the bar, while watching the Olympics with a bunch of Jamaicans cheering as Bolt raced in the 100m semis. Retired at the backpackers campgrounds for the night.
I would have loved to spend more time in the Tuolumne Meadows, and this probably was not the best time of year to go. I think May/June would be perfect, as you’d be able to see more flora in those alpine plains.
A trip to the fabled Yosemite National Park was in the works ever since I found out I'd be attending a conference in San Jose about two month ago. Two months had quickly came and gone. Last Friday, after wrapping up the conference, I took a rental car and picked up RC at Berkeley. Yosemite trip 2008 had officially begun.
A bit of back history. This mission's codename was 「GCYoMoDo: Yosemite Full Moons at Half Dome」 (play on DoCoMo). One of Ansel Adam』s more memorable Yosemite photos was his Moon and Half Dome and the full moon happened to be out on Friday night! What luck. Duration: 4 days – 3 nights.
Tried to recruit various folks to join this no-so-easy Yosemite mission – not much interest except from RC. Browsed through many different Flickr photos and trail guides to get an idea of the must-see sights. We decided early on to camp and tackle some of the more strenuous, but rewarding trails.
As expected, the permit reservations for all the good campsites were fully booked. However, Yosemite Wilderness Center hands out 40% of the permits for all campsites the day before, first-come-first-serve basis. A bit risky, but we were going to bet all our eggs in one basket. We'll camp outside the Wilderness Center the Friday night, to get permits for 2nd and 3rd night. We'll figure out later what to do later if we cannot get a permit.
So on Friday, RC and I decided to do a quick tour of San Francisco before heading into Yosemite overnight – no point in spending the entire night in Yosemite. We'd both been to San Fran before, so we did quick stops at Fisherman's Wharf (Anyone remember the shrimp cocktails at A Sabella's? lol) and dinner in Chinatown.
Afterwards, we decided to try to get some night shots of Golden Gate Bridge. I had to try out my new Gitzo 2531 tripod with BH-3 ballhead! :)
I have no idea what's up with my luck tonight. At some weird intersection, I mistook the wrong traffic light, and moved forward into the middle of intersection on a red light before realizing my mistake. So there was me, stuck in the middle with cars going around me. What do you know, a cop car pulls up to the leading pole grid position on one of the feeding streets. I quickly left the intersection the first chance I got, and good thing the cop didn't follow.
After arriving at the lower section of Golden Gate Bridge, but it was so foggy that we could not even see the bridge. RC got some instructions on good photography spots for the Bay Bridge from a good Samaritan. On the way out, after a roundabout, I happened to be driving on the wrong side of the road. I suspect I mistook the bicycle path as the other lane, and the reflectors in the center median as the shoulder. Anyway, I saw another car approaching in the opposite direction. The road was windy, so only until we got near each other did I realize we were both in the same lane on a due course for a heads-on collision. I realized at the last minute, and moved myself back to my lane. As we passed by each other, I realized the other car was a cop car. :(
Of course, soon after, the cop pulled me over. First time ever, I've been pulled over. :( It was totally my fault too. The cop wasn't very happy that I probably gave him the scare of his life. He couldn't really believe me that I mistook the wrong side of the road and sarcastically asked me if I drive on the right side of the road in Canada. Fortunately, a car nearly ran the cop over while passing me, and RC managed to get the cop to chitchat conditions at the Bay Bridge. The cop let me off with a warning to drive carefully. whew. In hindsight, maybe I should have read USA road signs brochure that the Hertz gave all foreign drivers. lol.
We drove to Treasure Island at the good vista spots for the Bay Bridge. The fog was still a bit heavy, but at least we could see most of the bridge. First time using my new tripod. It was quite windy, but my Gitzo stood like a Rock! Needless to say, I was tremendously happy with the purchase. :)
Around midnight, we decided to head towards Yosemite - about a 4 hour drive from San Francisco. Overall, it was a pretty smooth ride. RC managed to catch one mistake where we ended up going 99 north instead of 99 south. Grabbed some Cokes to keep us awake.
Around 3:30am, we were cruising on Rt 140 that leads into Yosemite. All of a sudden, we noticed a big car following us. Not sure where he came from. After a while, police lights started dancing from the top of his car.
OMG. Not again. Twice in my lifetime, twice in the same night?!? This cop was very friendly though. He mentioned the only cars that drive this late at night are people coming out of bars or people going into Yosemite. Apparently, at one point I had weave across the double yellow center line, so he decided to pull me over. He warned that the roads ahead were dangerous, a mistake can land you into the Merced river. We told him we wanted to get permits and he informed us at this time, there'd probably be no one at the Wilderness center. Sweet!
After that, we did a few caches, before stopping at the front of the park for some strobist fun. Set up the camera for a bunch of photos with various highlights using our SB-600』s external flashes. We got some great pictures, the best one turned out to be too embarrassing to show. lol. A more composed version of our work is on the right.
We got to the Wilderness Center just past 6am, which opens at 7:30am. Only 4 people were in line, so we were pretty much guaranteed a permit for Little Yosemite Valley campgrounds, our first (and only) choice! :D
I was not able to adjust to the West coast time at all during the conference, waking up every day at about 5am. Being awake for over 24 hours and running around all day was tiring. I somehow managed to fall asleep in the most uncomfortable of positions while waiting outside the building. RC managed to wake me up from my much needed slumber by waking someone else up on the other side of the country! grr.
Anyway, at 7:30am, the center opened, and we got our permit in short order. Quick stops at the Visitor Center and Indian Teepees site, Curry Village for Breakfast, before heading up to Tioga Road and the high country.
To be continued…
A few weeks back, Segador introduced me to some interesting Flickr groups (PFO, TMOAC) where people submit photos in bake-off challenges in various themed categories. As some of you have noticed, I’ve been slowly collecting medals on a lucky few photos that managed to conquer my rival photos. bwhwhahaha.
My mouth dropped when Segador showed me the following link to PFO’s July bracket entries, consisting of one photo that managed to survive two rounds of challenges per person. I’ve always been on the lookout for ways to train and develop my photography eye. I soon realized, looking at other people’s shots in these challenge groups is a great way to accomplish this goal.
My first photo to win a PFO Gold medal is the “transportation” shot on the right. This was actually taken in Toronto on the day of that fateful trip to Denver, Colorado. It also happens to be my first photo to win a PFO Platinum medal. :)
Over the past few weeks, I’ve managed to win PFO medals on 45 of my photos. You can view them here.
I’ll admit I’m sort of addicted to these challenge groups now, checking them several times a day. When I go out shooting, I’m consistently thinking of ways to take photos that will fit the major challenge themes. I’ve uploaded a photo to Flickr solely to enter an open challenge thread. I’ve been a little annoyed when an undeserving (in my opinion) photo beats out my submission. You win some, you lose some. I’ve grown much more critical of my own photos now, sometimes wishing I had framed certain shots better, or capture certain lighting better.
While not as storied as Sega’s accomplishments, I do have two honourable mentions under my belt. :)
This shot of Toronto during the Luminato Festival managed to sweep a Medals (Round 2) challenge, which is said to be quite rare.
This rainbow shot from McGregor trip got selected as a PFO Hidden Gem. :)
[sweetgoddess71]: This Hidden Gem was an easy choice for me. This rare shot of a full rainbow popped off the page at me. What a stunning capture, truly worthy of a place in the spotlight this week. Way to go!
:D