Long before I climbed the metaphorical mountain of commitment, I climbed the physical mountain of Half Dome (or most of it anyway).
Half Dome looms in the far left back corner.
We arrived at camp late that night and got barely 4-5 hours of sleep before starting our hike. But there were so many waterfalls to keep us focused.
Arriving at the top of one waterfall. Cameras armed and ready to shoot.
This is how they put the "smart" in Smart Water.
A defeated man.
little river
After probably 9ish grueling hours, I reach this point about 400 yards away from the top and this incline awaited me. This is when I decided to give up as the incline only got steeper from here. I know my own strengths and this was just not the day.
So here's my shot from the highest point of Half Dome that I reached. 400 yards short of the very top but I'm still proud. Considering my knees hurt for weeks afterward, I still say it was no small feat to have made it this far.
Not to deviate from the usual food and travel themes of this blog, above is pictured gourmet camping mac and cheese made with a portable propane stove. Best food ever!
The sun set on the way home.
It's been over a month since I finished this hike and now that the pain and anguish has subsided, I look back with fond memories of this trip. But I do admit that it was one of the hardest physical tasks I've ever done in my life. I'm sure child birth will top this but so far, Half Dome is the hardest. The absolute hardest part was the hike home in the dark after that lovely sunset picture was taken. It was dark, we were walking down hill which wrecks your knees, there were rocks and horse poop piles everywhere, it rained, we were tired and had eaten nothing but nuts all hike long. In total it took our group 18 hours to hike round trip. We stopped to take many pictures on the way up because we didn't know what we were in for yet. I'm proud of myself and all of us for doing this hike. If I had a bucket list, hiking Half Dome would be on there and crossed off.
It's been over a month since I finished this hike and now that the pain and anguish has subsided, I look back with fond memories of this trip. But I do admit that it was one of the hardest physical tasks I've ever done in my life. I'm sure child birth will top this but so far, Half Dome is the hardest. The absolute hardest part was the hike home in the dark after that lovely sunset picture was taken. It was dark, we were walking down hill which wrecks your knees, there were rocks and horse poop piles everywhere, it rained, we were tired and had eaten nothing but nuts all hike long. In total it took our group 18 hours to hike round trip. We stopped to take many pictures on the way up because we didn't know what we were in for yet. I'm proud of myself and all of us for doing this hike. If I had a bucket list, hiking Half Dome would be on there and crossed off.
all hike long hah. i still need to go climb it!
ReplyDeleteKC already wants to do it again!!! I told him to give me a year or two...
ReplyDeleteChild birth?
ReplyDelete