Earthshaking thrills at Yosemite’s Half Dome
On Day 2 of our June Yosemite visit (click here for part 1 and here for how we pulled off the trip), we rose well before dawn, drove the 40 minutes into the park, and dropped David off at the trailhead for Half Dome. To day-hike up Half Dome, you must have a permit, and there’s a lottery for the limited number available each day. On his second try he scored a permit, and he was ready with hiking poles, hiking boots, and gloves for pulling himself up the steel cables strung on the dome.
While David powered his way through the “extremely strenuous” Half Dome hike, measuring 16 miles round-trip with a 4,800-foot ascent, including 400 feet on steep, bare rock aided by cables, my daughter and I had plans to lounge on a beach, take in the scenery, and relax. We headed straight for Cathedral Beach along the Merced River, where tall pines frame a glowing view of El Capitan’s east-facing Dawn Wall.
No one else was there at that hour. It was utterly peaceful. I couldn’t believe how lucky we were to have the beach to ourselves.
Meanwhile, David was making good time, as we learned from his texted updates. Here’s a rough idea of his hiking route. This is the view of Half Dome from Washburn Point, and his trail (the orange line) would take him up past Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall and around the back right shoulder (not visible from this angle, hence the dotted line) of the towering granite monolith.
There’s never been a tower, hill, or mountain David didn’t want to stand on top of, and he viewed climbing Half Dome as a fun adventure. To me it sounded like torture. But the scenery, I’ll admit, looks grand. Here are a few pics he took along the way.
Nevada Fall, the second big waterfall on the ascending trail. (Because of Covid-19, Yosemite has made the route partially one-way, and the descent takes a different trail above this waterfall.)
Rough stone steps on the granite sub-dome just below Half Dome.
And then you reach the infamous cables along the back shoulder of Half Dome. For 400 feet, you climb slippery-smooth bare rock at a 45-degree incline, aided by two waist-high steel cables secured by stanchions bolted into the rock.
If this sounds like fun to you, well, my husband would probably like to shake your hand. Someday. When we can all shake hands again. Speaking of Covid, David says trail traffic was pretty light, and all going the same way, so it was fairly easy to distance himself from others. Once he got to the narrow cable trail, he encountered a couple people coming down and resorted to holding his breath and turning his head away as they passed. Not ideal, but he had to focus on not slipping, as did everyone else.
The angle of the climb — steep!
And then he reached the top. I get vertigo just looking at this photo of people on the crumbling edge.
But he waited his turn and got his own triumphant selfie.
Insanely, he even peeked over the sheer face of Half Dome at the valley far, far below, where J. and I were still lounging on Cathedral Beach, post picnic brunch, and watching other people’s kids playing in the water. At around 10:40 a.m. my phone rang, and it was David, calling from the summit. The connection was glitchy, and I could only catch every few words.
While I was straining to hear him, the sandy ground beneath our picnic blanket began gently jouncing up and down, like a bed when little kids jump on it. Confused, I looked behind me, trying to understand how that many people could be clomping down to the beach to make the ground shake like that. Wait, that doesn’t make sense. The ground continued to jiggle in a most un-ground-like way. With dawning astonishment I shouted, “Earthquake!”
I jumped to my feet, said, “Come on!” to my daughter, and sprinted out from under the trees (would they fall? would the quake get worse?) onto open beach, the phone still pressed to my ear. “What?! You’ve got to be kidding me!” I heard my equally astonished husband saying from the sheer edge of Half Dome, where he felt the rocks move slightly. Then the ground stopped moving, and I could hear that my husband was still alive and calm and not falling off the cliff.
Turns out it was a 5.8 magnitude earthquake centered in Lone Pine, California, about 119 miles away as the crow flies. A family from San Francisco who were also on the beach, after expressing admiration at my fleetness, said the quake was a “pretty good-sized one.” When I explained, breathlessly, that we were from Texas, the husband nodded sagely and said, “Ah, that’s not something you get there, is it?” No. No, it is not. Also, once was enough.
The rest of the day we talked about the experience and cracked up over my startled reaction, and when David was safely down, hours later, we marveled that he happened to be on the sheer edge of Half Dome when it hit. Of all the crazy timing.
While waiting for him to hike down, we walked the trail to Yosemite Falls, a double cascade that flows thunderously in spring, falls in two white plumes in early summer, and dries up in late summer.
The lower fall crashes into a boulder-strewn riverbed.
Along the wooded trail we admired azure-feathered Steller’s jay.
Along the valley road we spotted Fern Spring, a small pool with two lilliputian waterfalls. We were astonished to see a woman get out of her car here, bend to fill her water bottle, and take a swig. Is it really that clean, I wondered?
J. and I also hiked around Cook’s Meadow that day, but I’ll save those images for my final post. Let’s finish out this one with a few more pics of majestic Half Dome, as seen from a trail at Olmsted Point along Tioga Road.
Elevation: 8,300 feet
Boulders stranded by the last glacier as it retreated
Inspiration for Japanese gardens
Lake Tenaya just barely visible beyond the trees
More stranded boulders and Half Dome in the distance
Feeling pretty pleased with our trip
We spotted a cute, furry marmot here. I’m pretty sure he was sneaking up on us to see if we had any food to steal.
Sorry, marmot. Keep wildlife wild.
At Lake Tenaya we enjoyed the alpine scenery: a sapphire lake surrounded by granite domes and cliffs.
It was breezy enough to create whitecaps.
A raptor of some kind swooped low over the lake, and then we saw it dive.
It flew away with its prize: a fish! You can just see the tail under the bird’s own tail.
Picturesque Tuolumne Meadows glowed golden-green against a backdrop of dark firs and snow-patched peaks. What a beautiful place!
Up next: My final post about Yosemite: Cook’s Meadow and its flora and fauna. For a look back at my introductory post about Yosemite, click here.
__________________________
Digging Deeper
Come learn about gardening and design at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, authors, and gardeners a few times a year in Austin. These are limited-attendance events that sell out quickly, so join the Garden Spark email list to be notified in advance; simply click this link and ask to be added. Season 8 kicks off in fall 2024. Stay tuned for more info!
All material © 2024 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
A double dose of adrenaline for your David!
No kidding! And for me, knowing he was up there.
Kudos to David on his successful hike! Thanks as well for the wonderful photos he took on the way. That was indeed a pretty good shake. Some of us who grew up here are overly blase about quakes when no one should ever be. Loved the shot of the marmot, one varmint that thankfully I’ve yet to see here.
I’m guessing you have to be somewhat blase in earthquake country or you’d be a nervous wreck. 🙂 My daughter is considering grad school in California (in a couple of years), and she’s weighing her tolerance for quakes.
Pam, I adore your story telling and want more, so I am signing up for Digging!
Toni, I’m delighted to hear it! Thanks for reading Digging!
Amazing wide open spaces! Nature is so spectacular! I would be hiking that trail in a heartbeat. Parts of the trail look really challenging and definitely require hikers to be prepared for the conditions. CRAZY to feel the earthquake like that. I can’t imagine how scary that would be especially knowing your husband was up on the rock. I bet that got your heart racing and you didn’t even have to hike to get your heart rate up. 🙂
Oh yes, my heart was racing. It’s funny now, of course. 🙂 You’re daring to consider hiking up HD too. Sounds like you need to book a trip!
What a great story and well done David for that incredible achievement. I think you chose well the time to go on your trip. Every time we have been there it has been incredibly crowded and hard to enjoy, The best place to be for a California earthquake is on a sandy beach with nothing around you but that experience always makes me think of that incident in Shogun. Enjoyed your post very much.
Thanks, Jenny. The Covid era has brought a lot of misery, but there are a few silver linings: less traffic, unstructured time with family, and fewer crowds IF you can actually go anywhere. I don’t know the Shogun incident you referred to. From the movie?
I think it was Shogun. Maybe it was a series. There was an earthquake and the sand just caved in and swallowed people up. We were on a beach once in Muleje, Baja when we had an earthquake. It was scary but I felt safe. When we had one in So. Cal. I jumped out of bed in a hurry. It’s a bit rattling.
Pam, I love your blogs! I am a garden designer in the San Francisco Bay Area (grew up here too) and can verify that we treat quakes like Steve Martin in LA Story! I have been to the top of half dome in my younger years but you and your husband have a great story with the quake too. My husband is certain that the raptor in your pictures is a Golden Eagle. Great photography, look forward to all your posts.
Thanks, Kristin! We wondered if it might be a golden eagle, and I’m glad to have confirmation. And I just rewatched the L.A. Story video clip you referred to — I love that movie! — and I had to laugh. That definitely wasn’t me!
Holy moly…what an adventure. Glad it turned into a delightful post! xo
No kidding!
Wow, was David lucky! And your and his photography is spectacularly good. Thanks for this.
Thanks, Peter. As David pointed out, it’s hard to take a bad photo in Yosemite. The subject matter is sublime.
Wow, what a story to go with your beautiful photos! That moment will be etched in each of your brains for the rest of your lives, I imagine. I’m with you about the “torture” designation, and that lonely beach looks gorgeous. Thanks so much for sharing.
We each have our passions, and it’s inspiring to watch him pursuing his big hikes/climbs like this. 🙂
Wow, David’s hike and climb, your earthquake, bears, the stunning scenery – what an amazing adventure you all had! It’s been so long since we’ve been to Yosemite. Wish we could get back there. Or anywhere right now!
It’s a long drive from Texas, but do-able! 😉
Spectacular! Thank you for sharing your wondering trip with us.
Thanks, Ragna!
Wow!
Do you guys know how to social distance, or what?!
I’m jealous.
We sure do. 😉
Best trip we’ve been on vicariously with you! Great story telling and photography! Nice that you’re married to a man with fortitude to give us all that extra dimension too!
I couldn’t agree more, Tom. Thanks for the comment!
Good stuff! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this adventure story. The eagle / hawk flying away into the sunset with a fish is the perfect ending.
Thanks, Hans. I was excited to catch that moment with the fish being carried off. 🙂
This is definitely a trip you all will remember. What drama. It looked like an Osprey with that fish from what I could see in your pictures. Not positive though. I would have freaked out around all those trees and huge rocks with the earth shaking too. Glad no humans were harmed. Can’t imagine climb up Half Dome let alone being there when the earth is shaking. David must have nerves of steel.
I think he must too. It’s crazy he was up there, on the edge, during an earthquake.
Wow, wow, wow. David being up on the Dome Rock during an earthquake is plain crazy. Glad he was reunited with you both at the end.
All’s well that ends well!
All I can do is say ditto to the many other ‘wows’ that have been written. Wow for David. Wow for the scenery. Wow for the trip itself. This will always be a trip to remember.
It sure will, Pat. 🙂
What a great tale! It might just have been another boring day at Yosemite (!!!!) but that little quiver gave you a much more memorable experience. I so envy you. This has been on my list forever!
Janet, you must go to Yosemite as soon as it’s feasible. I can just imagine all the beautiful photos you’ll take there.
I was in Yosemite 1996 right after the “great Yosemite landslide” where 162,000 TONS of granite fell off the face of the mountain. It pulverized into a fine dust and we were camping (after they reopened) in a snow like wilderness. Everything was covered with granite dust. Amazing landscape. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Yosemite_Valley_landslide
Wow, that’s a visit to remember too, Dianne. It’s scary to read about the landslide. Thanks for the link.