I went to Yosemite for the first time last Tuesday. My group of six has been training for our Half Dome hike since I booked our vacation home last April. The home is in Yosemite West about one mile from the turn to Glacier Point from Wawona Road (41). It was a convenient location. My alarm went off at 1:30 am Wednesday and it took us 45 minutes to drive to the trail head parking area. Our hike started at 3 am. Of course we had headlamps till about 6 am above Nevada Falls. I very much enjoyed the steps along side Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls. We also came down the Mist Trail. One of my friends was complaining about going down the steps but I told him "I like the steps. Both going up and coming down. They're just plain fun." We filtered some water in the Merced River where a sign warned "Last chance to refill" in the Little Yosemite Valley camping area. Just as we started climbing above the camping areas we saw a bear digging in the ground near some campsites. Up we went - I think we gained about 1700 ft between the campgrounds and the base of the Sub Dome. There was a ranger at the Sub Dome checking for permits. In fact he was ticketing two guys who had summited before he arrived (obviously without permits). He is there from 9 am to 2 pm.As he checked my permit I asked how he would know if I printed more than six permits? He showed me his laptop. My name was on a list and there was room for six check marks. More than that would not be allowed. I found the Sub Dome a little tiring but not scary. However a couple guys in my group found the exposure threatening. In fact Dave stopped his hike near the top of the Sub Dome saying "If I fall I will die". When we reached the base of the cables my wife left her pack and poles so I also left my poles here . Up we went. I was afraid to look down. And I found it much more difficult to pull myself up than I anticipated. It is steep!
https://vimeo.com/49090297I am proud of my wife Bea making it to the top. We had a snack and headed back down. It was much more relaxed and enjoyable going down. We were able to look down all the way. We stopped again at the same place to refill our water supplies. Here we saw a 5 foot rattle snake. As the group was resting one member Dan became ill. He turned white and began vomiting. Pat who had driven to the trail head decided to stay with Dan and drive him back to our house. They planned to take the easier John Muir trail down. I gave Dan some Gatorade before the rest of us left. As we were going down the Nevada Falls section Bea and I stopped to wait for Dave. After about 15 minutes here came Dan, Pat, and Dave. The Gatorade seemed to make Dan feel better and he decided to try to catch up with us by taking the Mist Trail. We eventually made it back down at 6 pm for a total day of 15 hours. I had preloaded my body with Ibuprofen starting two days before the hike and was very pleased that I suffered absolutely no joint pain. Usually my knees, ankles, and feet hurt on the way down on a typical 4 hour hike. Dan did vomit again on the trail, in fact I had to stop the car on the way back as he became sick again. He went to bed early and awoke the next day feeling much better.
