Bob recommended arriving early to acclimatize so I drove up the day before to prepare. Unfortunately the sight of half dome from Glacier Point was so intimidating that I almost changed my mind
Glacier Point had less scary sights, too; this is the Valley Floor (from whence the hike starts) as seen from 7200 feet above sea level
And here is an amazing panorama from Glacier Point
Bob also recommended a warmup hike so I chose Taft Point
This climb was pretty steep (and note the snow) but I knew that Half Dome would be harder
Half Dome looks scary from Taft Point, too!
And now it's time to get started. Because the coffee shop didn't open until 6:30am I started later than I had planned. As a result I started walking briskly. The pace felt good, so I kept it up for the entire hike. Some belligerent guys gave me even more motivation to show off
Half Dome looms ahead -- the closer you get, the bigger it looks; and wait until you see it from the other side
Before you get to the "hard" part, you have to make your way up quarter dome (the first "hump" as seen in the foreground)! And that is after hiking more than 8 miles...
After scaling quarter dome it's time to head to the top. See the cables behind me? Those are NOT ants climbing up there!!! I would like to say that I wasn't scared, but you would never believe me! Click here for a better picture of the cable climb
I was scared spitless climbing those cables, but look at me NOW!
And the views are great in EVERY direction
Just one more show-off picture!
Vernal Falls is even BETTER on the way down!
Back at the trailhead with a total hike time of less than 7 hours! Afternoon is much warmer than it was in the morning; good thing that I dressed in layers!!