Up Half Dome in the nick of time
The morning is cold and crisp as the water left in the pot tells us.
Grabbing a quick breakfast we start preparing for Half Dome, while two resident deer ignore us and browse in one of the ir favorite spots.
The sky is vascillating. It's crystal clear, and then overcast and gusty with wind. It's a day of changing weather in the mountains. Talk of a storm coming was in the wind, as well as on the weather radio channel. We pack clothes to be sure of warmth if it gets bad, and we set out early.
From this viewpoint, the trail heads straight ahead, and then curves to the right as we start climbing through the forest to reach the bottom of the Shoulder (Sub-Dome) out of sight on the right side. Starting up the Shoulder you leave the trees behind and mount the switchback steps to eventually reach the cables to the top proper.
As we ascend through the forest, the sky is clear and then we're in the clouds. Because there's no distant view, you can't tell if it's a storm arriving or something else...
Bit by bit the clouds are thickening, and getting more consolidated. Off over the Clark Range it's a wall of cloud but not yet dark .
At the start of the cables, there are people coming down and the wind has picked up a lot. Looking at the speed of the clouds' approach we judge there's time to visit the summit and get back, at least into the forest before anything big hits.
Jackie and I each have a sling and a carabiner so we can clip in when climbing. It's a good thing to have especially when there are lots of people passing you. If anybody slips and hands come off the cables, your still safely attached.
Many people climb down backwards. As we go up, they are all coming down and we pass them on the cables.
At the top, all to ourselves! A short time later another climber makes it up. Now we have someone to take our picture.
The temperature is dropping now and the wind is more sustained but still not strong. We head down, clipping and unclipping to get past the cable supports. The people that came up to the top while we were up there are now coming down in a big cluster., Some of them didn't have gloves. The cables are damn cold and as we all get closer to the bottom, some of them are reluctant to keep their hands on the cables. Everybody gets down ok though.
At the bottom of the stairs on the shoulder, three Search & Rescue guys are meeting and gently grilling would be climbers coming up the trail. The weather is moving in and temperatures and visibility are gonna start dropping soon. These guys won't prevent people from going up, as there are many experienced mountaineers, but they want to ensure everybody knows the situation. Some people may not be properly equipped (read ..are definitely not well equipped) but most are.
Anyway, we chat for a while and then it's time to get back to our campsite. While we hike down, we decide to break camp and beat it down to the Valley in case the storm drops a few feet of snow. Descending with heavy packs on slippery granite slopes would be asking for trouble.
Patio stones from blasted granite
With a few snow squalls we make it back to camp and get packed for the trip down. Clouds now cover all the sky. From our campsite, we make it in good time down to Little Yosemite Valley campground where we stop for lunch and a rest. Some hikers have left pretty good supplies for their own meals in the community bear boxes. Eggs, no less.
Meanwhile, I'm pretty lazy when I put my feet up during a brief bit of sunshine.
