Completely different than my other two vacations was a trip to SoCal in late July/August. For our senior trips we get to pick where to go (within reason :D) Kim picked Yosemite about six years ago and when we were there I decided that sometime I was going to hike Half Dome, the tallest dome in the park.
So, guess where I picked to go for my senior trip? To Yosemite to hike Half Dome and then down to the LA area to visit family.
The trip to CA was definitely an adventure! To start off it was Mom, Kim, Dan, Edie, and I driving the big white van. We were to meet Dad in Colorado on Saturday and go to church in Denver on Sunday. Well, we blew a spark plug just about 30 miles out of Colorado Springs, our destination, and instead of visiting Whit's End spent the afternoon putt-putting (interrupted by rain), getting a bite at a diner, and sitting in our van at the repair place watching a movie while it charged or something like that. I'm no mechanic.
Colorado Springs isn't what I'd call breathtaking beautiful. But hey, it could have been worse! Like setting up a tent in the rain...moving on...we really kept pretty positive and enjoyed ourselves.
From there on our trip was pretty uneventful. We had a wonderful day of fellowship on Sunday and by Sunday evening we had reached our last big grocery store before Yosemite!
Kim found a GRANDE sized bag of carrots. The horses probably wished they were along :D
We rolled in Monday and of course first things first! Straight to the trail! We hiked to Cathedral Lake which was a good break-in for the week. Danny and Edie were amazing!!! Those little legs were so strong.
At the cabin, pool was a favorite past time. The layout of the cabin is so perfect for our family. It was actually the cabin we had stayed at the first time we came to Yosemite. However, my grandparents, cousin, parents, and all five siblings were there. This time there was only six of us. Sometimes it was sad to be making memories without all the family there.
On Monday morning I found out that Dad and I had won the lottery for a permit to hike Half Dome. With some misunderstanding the dates to apply for a permit, Dad had to enter a lottery and it sounded like we had a bit of a slim chance. I was a bit giddy when I found out...after all that's the reason I came back!!!
So very early on Tuesday morning, I got up with an unusual amount of energy (aka adrenaline) and got ready to go on my big hike! This pic is blurry, but as we approached Half Dome I was trying to get one in the morning light.
We were hoping to be on the trail by 5:30 because on average the hike takes 10-12 hours. It is a 14-16 mile trail and gains almost 5000 feet in elevation. I had been working out with DVDs during the winter but once summer rolled around I was not in the same shape. So, we wanted to have plenty of time.
Well, we got lost finding the trail head but we were on the trail by 6:00 so it wasn't a huge setback. In fact, it was probably good for us to stretch our legs on some flat campground terrain before that grueling first mile. At the time I wasn't going to admit it, but I was wondering if we would make it. We got passed by some people and that's all right unless you're a worry wart like me.
Probably what made this hike so difficult for me was keeping up with a long-legged dad. He felt it too that first mile but that didn't stop him from pushing on. In fact, we were passing most people that passed us at the beginning and passing others that had begun before us.
Getting close to the top of a waterfall! Not sure if it's Vernal or Nevada but either way I was glad to stop for a picture!
After those first few miles though, mainly after we got past Nevada Falls, it was more level. Not necessarily easy, but I knew I would make it! Dad and I had some good talks and it was just a neat time of day watching the sun rise and see the variation in vegetation as we gained elevation.
My dad is developing a phobia of heights within these recent years, so what I didn't realize is that while we were hiking he was praying that he would be able to get to the top. There are cables which I will show pictures of that are pretty intense, and Dad just wasn't sure how he would handle that. I think it's when we hit the 2 mile sign that Dad was getting more and more queasy and finally he told me that if he couldn't make it I should go on without him. Of course, this wouldn't be as special, but nothing was going to stop me once I got that far!
We finally stopped for a break to really sit down and rest (for 15 minutes) and eat some power bars that neither Dad nor I could finish. They were like chunks of cardboard and stale pretzel being held together by peanut butter. Bleh! The most refreshing snacks were the almonds, APPLES, and water we carried in our back packs. By the way, if you do hiking and don't yet have back packs with water pouches and straws, those are an amazing investment. They are fairly light and it's handy to be able to grab the straw at any time on the trail and sip while you're walking.
As we got closer to the dome, the further away I felt.
But eventually we made it to the permit station. Now this was by far the hardest part! I had to stop and take breaks about every five steps because we were climbing stone stairs that were very steep for short legs. It was such a good feeling to come up over the top of that Sub Dome and see the CABLES!!!!
To if you look on the right side of the middle of those trees you can see a faint line and a pole. It might require a magnifying glass, but those are the cables.
Or here's a better picture...
This doesn't quite show how steep these cables were. At some points they were almost straight up! And that rock is very smooth! We had met an older man as we were approaching the Sub Dome that also hated heights but had climbed this 14 times!!! And he was in dress pants. Wow. He told dad to just look down at the rock and not out at the horizon. So when it got down to doing it, God sent some amazing people our way. A boy and his sister were getting ready to go on the cables, and the girl was putting on a harness with a hook that attached to the cables. The boy wasn't going to use his and offered it to Dad. It was perfect! With that harness, Dad was game to go!! This made me so happy.
Going up was definitely a challenge, but I managed to get a short video and really enjoyed looking out. Heights thrill me so this was definitely fun.
After climbing the cables we made it to the TOP! The sky was a little hazy so it wasn't quite the view I had expected, but it was definitely worth every moment. (Easy to say now...)
Woohoo! So proud of Dad. One thing he told me that is really special: "You came for the view. I came for you." Wouldn't have rather shared that hike with anybody else!
I didn't get many pictures up there since it was hard to capture such height and vastness. But here's the lip of the Dome that stand out in many pictures. In the above picture I am on a rock just above the triangle one pointing off the top of this photo...like HERE.
We spent a decent amount of time at the top, but after a while you've seen it and it's time to go down. So we started the long hike down. After all, we weren't even half-way done distance wise.
Descending the Sub Dome. Much easier this way :D
On the way down we got to the top of the two waterfalls where the trail gets steep again. To save our toes we decided to go a longer, less steep route hoping it would also be less crowded. It was beautiful.
But it got to a point about a mile and a half from the trail head that I was wondering if we'd ever be done. Of course, we eventually made it. By the end of our hike we had gone approximately 19.5 miles in 9.25 hours. No wonder after the 30 minute drive to the cabin we soaked in the hot tub and zonked out on the big leather sofas! Dad had some black toe nails that still aren't completely grown in and I lost a toe nail from this hike about two months afterward :D It was soooo worth it.
That's the novel of Half Dome. I hope to do it again, and maybe again and again!
The rest of the week was amazing. The previous time we went to Half Dome the waterfalls were gorgeous and gushing full and bright. This time, we hiked back to a rocky area with some trickles. So the huge rocks that were being pounded by water the first time we came were now perfect rocks for bouldering and sliding on.
Danny and Edie were amazing. Everybody including the parents enjoyed jumping from one rock to another, discovering a little waterfall or pool here or there and just being free.
By Bridalveil Falls
By Lower Yosemite Falls
Yep, I fell in. Surprise anybody? It was a stupid move on my part. I knew I couldn't make the jump but why not try anyway and soak my hiking shoes?
We rented bikes one day and enjoyed the different view of Yosemite Valley. Yes, that's Half Dome in the background. I have way too many pictures of that rock.
Edie and her new black bear name Yosemite.
Half Dome kept fading in the picks, but Dad and I were posing in front of it with our matching shirts.
Mom and Dad at Glacier Point. Love my parents!
This pic shows a lot of our trail to Half Dome. On the right you can see two waterfalls which are Vernal and Nevada. The Sub Dome is the little 'shadow' to the left of Half Dome.
While God created the huge and magnificent, He also took time to make those tiny details like flowers...
Needless to say the week FLEW by! Pretty soon it was Friday morning, time to head to Altadena!
When you have alot of leftovers and need to clean out the fridge that last morning before leaving, you get interesting breakfast quesadillas. Dad really knows how to make stir fry, hard boiled eggs, and other random supper foods into a pretty flavorful breakfast!
Our last game of P-ball. We had thrown the numbers away so we each picked two in our head. Five out of six people picked the five ball. What a way to end a fun week.
Oh, but it's not over yet! On our way to Altadena we stopped at Mariposa Grove to see the Giant Sequoias. So massive and amazing!
California was a blessing of a bunch of family time! My mom was born and lived there pretty much until she got married to my dad. So it's always fun to go back and visit the family. Since we are such a large family it can be a lot for people to keep us, but they always do a great job of helping us have a good time. What pretty much sums up our time there is: family, beach, good food, and lots of laughs.
Edie enjoying the waves!
A fun day with the Mills Girls.
Little Jordyn Rose. It was my first time to meet her and she is such a sweetie.
Edie and Anikah in a boogie-board fort.
A beautiful evening at the beach.
Jacob seems pretty pleased with himself :D
Fun times!
Breakfast with Grammy! Such special memories.
In all, this vacation was AMAZING! Getting in that big white van and driving home always brings mixed emotions. The dread of being on the road isn't what makes it hard to go. It's the tearful goodbyes to family we don't see too often, no more beach, warm (not humid) weather, that kind of stuff. But then there's that piece of me that's ready for home sweet home. And without blowing a spark plug, that's where we went.
