Yosemite in July - 10-day Backpack Itinerary

[randell]

whew!  We are in for a ride of eye-candy on this one, I can tell already!

[BigBendHiker]

Hey, Jeff!
WOW.  Love those first few pics.  Can't wait to see the rest.  What were the crowds like at the cables on Half Dome? 

BBH

[homerboy2u]

.........................................Brazilia  ......Shhh!!!...sit down lady!: CM , your blocking my view......... ..............................

[jeffblaylock]

Hey, Jeff!
WOW.  Love those first few pics.  Can't wait to see the rest.  What were the crowds like at the cables on Half Dome? 

BBH

We were up and down before the herd from Yosemite Valley made it up there. From a comfort standpoint, you need a certain critical mass of bodies along the cables to provide the proper tension (otherwise, they're awful loosey goosey), but too many presents real challenges of getting past each other. On the way up, we were behind a guy who shouldn't have been up there, so it took about 15 minutes longer than it should have. On the way down, there were probably 50 people on the cables going each way. Some folks were passing the bottlenecks outside the cables, which is something in common with most people who have perished from the cables during the summer months. I'd say, get there before 10 to avoid most of the crowds.

[SA Bill]

Wow Jeff!!
Can't wait for the report and more pics! The wait, however long, will be worth it.

Grab another cerveza and settle in for a while Homero! Red wine for me!!
  Bill

[chisos muse]

.........................................Brazilia  ......Shhh!!!...sit down lady!: CM , your blocking my view......... ..............................

whoa............ hold on there, hermano! my booty's not THAT big!

[homerboy2u]

  ....Jeeefffffffff !!!!! I can't control the kids any longer. Roll on in when ever your ready, son.

[Al]

homero, put those kids to bed!  They're distracting and slowing Jeff down!

Al

[Ay Chihuahua!]

We....

We?  I thought this was a totally self-indulgent, masturbatory type trip. 

BTW...you do look just like "The Jesus" standing on that rock.   

[mule ears]

....Jeeefffffffff !!!!! I can't control the kids any longer. Roll on in when ever your ready, son.

homero, put those kids to bed!  They're distracting and slowing Jeff down!

Al

I think the kids he might be refering to are all of us being impatient 

[jeffblaylock]

We....

We?  I thought this was a totally self-indulgent ... trip. 

I went up Half Dome with two guys who I had met during a hail storm two days earlier, and we (and their father and uncle) got a campfire going to dry out since we were camped in adjacent areas along the shore of lower Sunrise Lake. It was otherwise a pretty solo experience. 

[sleepy]

as I remember, the approach to the chains was more exposed and vertiginous.  i kept saying, just look down at the steps, not off into infinity.

Those chains provided some drama when I was there.  A woman was crying about having to go up, while her boyfriend told her she had to go.  what a chump!  Another guy got within 50 feet of the top and turned around, because he said he couldn't go anymore.  The woman made it up, no thanks to her mate.  I couldn't convince the other guy to rest for a few, then push on.  I mean, it's 8 miles one way from the trail head! 

Jeff, it's probably take you three solid days to put something together, huh?

[jeffblaylock]

as I remember, the approach to the chains was more exposed and vertiginous.  i kept saying, just look down at the steps, not off into infinity.

Those chains provided some drama when I was there.  A woman was crying about having to go up, while her boyfriend told her she had to go.  what a chump!  Another guy got within 50 feet of the top and turned around, because he said he couldn't go anymore.  The woman made it up, no thanks to her mate.  I couldn't convince the other guy to rest for a few, then push on.  I mean, it's 8 miles one way from the trail head! 

Jeff, it's probably take you three solid days to put something together, huh?

Yeah, the cables get all the attention, but it's the 423 steps and then the exposed scramble when the steps end that sap your energy (and some of your nerve) before the cables even come into view.

Going up the cables, I kept my eyes focused on the rock at my feet. On the way down, I tried to do the same but had to look down behind me to see if anyone was coming up. Once during a traffic jam, I had to swing my body over to just one cable and wrap my leg around one of the poles. As I did, I casually looked up and saw the 50-degree slope I was standing on, and the blood ran from my body. There was plenty of sobbing and "I can't go on" going on. I can't imagine doing it as a dayhike from the valley -- 8.2 miles one-way with 4,800 feet of elevation gain (the last 1,000 of which occurs in about a quarter mile). It's like climbing Emory Peak twice.

[SA Bill]

Quote from Jeff:
" I can't imagine doing it as a dayhike from the valley -- 8.2 miles one-way with 4,800 feet of elevation gain (the last 1,000 of which occurs in about a quarter mile). It's like climbing Emory Peak twice."

Holy elevation gain Batman! I nearly died doing S Rim as a day hike when I was younger and in better shape. I can't imagine that hike as a day hike except for the insanely fit.
   Bill

[sleepy]

I can't imagine doing it as a dayhike from the valley -- 8.2 miles one-way with 4,800 feet of elevation gain (the last 1,000 of which occurs in about a quarter mile). It's like climbing Emory Peak twice.

Got up before sun up and the most of the crowds, then plugged away.   Luckily I had lots of daylight.  As fate would have it, I was on the penance path anyway and it all added up for me.  I hope.