CONTACTS
0202 - IBM Credit Corporation O-00000319 0201
SUBJECTS
Yosemite, 940826
Armstrongs, Ross, etc.
0504 -
0504 - ..
0505 - Summary/Objective
0506 -
050601 - Follow up work at ref SDS 3 0000.
050602 -
050603 - Hiked Half Dome trail from Yosemite Valley. Ross made it to the top.
050604 - I got close, but leg cramps prevented hiking up the Sub Dome
050605 - switchbacks. This was a major effort at age 49. ref SDS 0 HB72
050606 -
050607 - [On 950916 another hike to Half Dome less successful. ref SDS 5
050608 - 0001
050610 - ..
050611 - [On 110907 1030 discussed another hike in Yosemite up Half
050612 - Dome planned for 2012. ref SDS 6 YS87
050614 - ..
050615 - [On 130918 0620 called Ross from top of Half Dome, 20 years after
050616 - our first hike on 940917. ref SDS 11 GC6O
050617 -
050618 -
050619 -
050621 - ..
0507 -
0508 -
0509 - Progress
0510 -
051001 - We started early. Decided not to have breakfast. Went to the car and
051002 - assembled the backpacks for the hike. I was suprised by the weight,
051003 - especially relative to hiking up to Vernal Falls which is a very steep
051004 - climb. When Millie and I did this hike with Bob Chapman and Peggy
051005 - Ferris a few years ago, it seemed like a significant effort. After
051006 - getting the packs ready this morning, I was not looking forward to
051007 - carrying an extra 50 pounds or so.
051009 - ..
051010 - After getting the back packs ready, we drove to the Ranger Station to
051011 - get a permit for staying over night on the Half Dome trail. We stayed
051012 - in a line for about 45 minutes or so to get the permit. I played
051013 - catch with a young boy for awhile, using a football.
051015 - ..
051016 - When we finally got to the head of the line, the Ranger said all of
051017 - the permits had been issued yesterday. This was not a huge
051018 - disappointment to me, since it meant we would not be taking the
051019 - backpacks. It was troubling though that the Ranger didn't just make
051020 - this announcement in her pep talk before starting to process everyone
051021 - waiting in line for permits.
051023 - ..
051024 - Anyway, we drove to a parking area near Happy Isle, and I think we
051025 - then took a bus to the place were the Mist trail to Vernal Falls
051026 - starts, which is also the route to Half Dome.
051028 - ..
051029 - We hiked up the paved and steep Mist trail to the Wood Bridge across
051030 - the Merced River. Then we started up the steeper, unpaved trail to
051031 - Vernal Falls. Ross went ahead, while I struggled up the trail. I
051032 - actually seemed to get going after awhile. Made it into a little
051033 - contest, to see if I could avoid having anyone pass me on the way up.
051034 - Curious there was no mist on the Mist trail due to the small amount of
051035 - water flowing over Vernal Falls above. Noticed I was a little dizzy
051036 - near the end of the trail to Vernal Falls. Once at the top, seemed
051037 - like I would never get there, the view was spectacular, but there was
051038 - no Ross. I waited for about 10 minutes to see if somehow he had
051039 - gotten behind me. Thought about just going back to the Valley, but
051040 - finally decided to go forward and look for Ross.
051042 - ..
051043 - I asked some hikers how to get to Half Dome. They showed me the trail
051044 - to Nevada Falls, which they said is the way to Half Dome. This was
051045 - not as steep, but I was very tired from the effort on the Vernal Falls
051046 - hike. Took about 45 minutes to get to Nevada Falls. Ross was not
051047 - there. I was on the bridge that crosses the river near the falls
051048 - thinking about going back or going on. I didn't have any water,
051049 - because Ross had it so I didn't have to carry any extra weight.
051051 - ..
051052 - Just when I had decided to turn back, I heard Ross calling out my
051053 - name, but didn't see him. I yelled out an answer, and he suddenly
051054 - showed up.
051056 - ..
051057 - Ross said I took the wrong trail coming up the Vernal Falls route. He
051058 - said there is a separate route that takes off of the Vernal Falls
051059 - trail shortly after crossing the foot bridge. I told him I didn't see
051060 - any sign for Half Dome. Ross said you have to know it is there. He
051061 - said he took that route, and then when he didn't see me on the trail,
051062 - he doubled back and came up Vernal Falls looking for me.
051064 - ..
051065 - I told him I am thinking of turning back, that I have accomplished my
051066 - objective to extend myself. Ross was emphatic asking me to go on. So
051067 - we went ahead together. A short distance up the trail, less than .25
051068 - miles, we reached a rest area with water and bathroom facilities. I
051069 - felt even more like returning, but Ross encouraged me to go on.
051071 - ..
051072 - From this rest area just above Nevada Falls, the route is fairly steep
051073 - and rugged for about a half mile, then we reach Little Yosemite Valley
051074 - and the trail gets easy, relatively flat for a mile or so. There is
051075 - some sand that makes walking difficult, but much less so than the
051076 - prior trail. Then there is another mile of steeper terraine where
051077 - there is another rest area. There are no apparent facilities, but
051078 - there are a lot of hikers just sitting and resting.
051080 - ..
051081 - Getting to this location, we took a number of intermediate rests for
051082 - me. Ross was fine. We did seem to get passed by a lot of hikers and
051083 - then later passed them, so that everyone seemed to pass one another
051084 - several times.
051086 - ..
051087 - After about 20 minutes, we started on the next phase of the route.
051088 - About a half mile or so, we came to a stream and wanted to get more
051089 - water, since we were very low at this point. There were a lot of
051090 - people getting water, and there was very little water at the stream
051091 - which was simply bubbling up. I am not even sure that Ross actually
051092 - got any water. At some point, though we went forward. I was going
051093 - very, very slow at this time. My legs were cramping up, so I had to
051094 - stop and let them relax. On the flatter stretches, I was okay, but on
051095 - the steeper parts, my calfs and thighs knotted up. Ross went ahead.
051096 -
051097 - [On 130918 0620 about 20 years later finally climbed Half
051098 - Dome, but forgot about little stream for filling water
051099 - supply nearing top of Long Switchbacks. ref SDS 10 WM5I
051101 - ..
051102 - [On 180912 0545 durng 3rd climb to top of Half Dome,
051103 - Lindsey stopped near top of Long Switchbacks to refill
051104 - water at a small, natural spring behind a large 6' diamters
051105 - tree cut out for the trail. ref SDS 15 XC4M
051107 - ..
051108 - Somehow, I dragged myself to the last rest area before the final climb
051109 - to the top of Half Dome. We waited here for about 30 minutes so I
051110 - could rest. Then got up and took a few steps, but legs cramped
051111 - severely again.
051113 - ..
051114 - Ross encouraged continuing, saying the ascent to the top of Half Dome
051115 - with cables is just over the rise of switchbacks.
051117 - ..
051118 - We rested another 10 minutes to recover. Then tried to go on, but my
051119 - legs cramped again. I suggested that Ross go ahead and I will catch
051120 - up.
051122 - ..
051123 - He indicated again that the cables to the top of Half Dome are just
051124 - over the rise.
051126 - ..
051127 - Noticed this "rise" seems very steep, winding and narrow with
051128 - continual switchhbacks like climbing a stair without handrails.
051129 - Traffic is very busy with people going up and people coming down from
051130 - the top of Half Dome. It looks precarious for people to pass without
051131 - anything to grasp for maintaining balance.
051133 - ..
051134 - I waited for another 10 or 15 minutes then tried going up again. My
051135 - legs cramped up again, so I decided this was as far as they were going
051136 - to carry me. I was disappointed to get so near the top, but was also
051137 - worried about being able to walk back in the dark, which seemed like
051138 - it would be necessary if I continued forward at the current pace. I
051139 - didn't want to do that, so I headed back down.
051140 -
051141 - [On 120130 1515 Reuters reporting Yosemite planning to
051142 - restrict hiking Half Dome beginning in 2013. ref SDS 7 PC5G
051144 - ..
051145 - [On 130918 0620 started Half Dome hike at 0800 with nobody
051146 - else at trailhead, vastly different from crowded conditions
051147 - 20 years earlier, reflects new park policy limiting Half
051148 - Dome hikes to only 400 people each day. ref SDS 8 ON5G
051150 - ..
051151 - I didn't have any water and we had little to eat on the trail. The
051152 - food mix that Ross put together didn't taste good, so I didn't eat
051153 - much of it. Obviously going downhill went better than going uphill,
051154 - except it is much harder on the knees. When I got to the water
051155 - stream, there were a lot of people again, so I did not stop.
051156 - Basically, just kept going like a zombie.
051158 - ..
051159 - Continued without stopping down the long switchbacks, through Little
051160 - Yosemite Valley, past the Ranger Station at Nevada Falls. Took John
051161 - Muir Trail back to Vernal Falls. The hike down Vernal Falls was
051162 - especially difficult because it is so steep, and of course I was very
051163 - tired. Very relieved to finally reach the rest stop where I could get
051164 - some water.
051165 -
051166 - [On 130918 0620 20 years later, improvements to Vernal
051167 - Falls "Mist" trail now has 6 water fountains at the Foot
051168 - Bridge. ref SDS 9 BM3T
051170 - ..
051171 - There is a single spigot. Water spurts well, actually very high when
051172 - the handle is turned fully on, so it's not difficult to drink. There
051173 - were a lot of other hikers sitting around to rest after descending
051174 - from Vernal Falls. A few were going up.
051176 - ..
051177 - Rested for about 10 minutes, then made the final trek back to the
051178 - beginning of the trail. My mouth was extremely dry. There is a
051179 - vending stand to buy drinks, food and ice cream at this location, but
051180 - I had left my wallet in Ross' car in the parking lot, and he had the
051181 - key, so I could not buy anything.
051183 - ..
051184 - Walked to the shuttle station and had a long wait. It was very
051185 - crowded from others coming back down the trail. All the bench seating
051186 - was taken, so I could not lay down. My entire body ached at this
051187 - point. Finally, the bus came. When we got back to the area near the
051188 - House Keeping camp site, the driver announced we could get off and
051189 - walk across the field and a bridge to get there, rather than wait for
051190 - the bus to make the circle route to the regular bus stop for House
051191 - Keeping. I went ahead and got off the bus here and walked over to the
051192 - camp site.
051194 - ..
051195 - My first assignment was to have more to drink to relieve the dryness
051196 - in my mouth. Since I didn't have any money, I could not get ice at
051197 - the store, so I took some cokes to the river to make them cold. This
051198 - did not work very well. I took my boots off and walked in the river,
051199 - but the rocks on the river bottom hurt my feet too much.
051201 - ..
051202 - Several hours after I got back to camp, it was nearly dark, so was
051203 - worried about Ross, and wondering who to call if he didn't return.
051205 - ..
051206 - Thankfully, Ross finally showed up. He made it to the top and was
051207 - excited telling about the amazing views and the satisfaction
051208 - accomplishing this goal. Fortunately he seemed to be in excellent
051209 - shape, at least compared to me. We went to the store and I bought
051210 - more things for dinner. Seemed like I never stopped drinking fluids
051211 - this evening.
051213 - ..
051214 - Ross fixed steaks and some vegetables. We had a fire, and finally
051215 - brought the mattresses out and slept on the ground at least until the
051216 - fire went out, so we could see the stars.
051217 -
051218 - [On 130919 0630 after hiking Half Dome again, we had steak
051219 - dinner to continue Ross' tradition to celebrate.
051220 - ref SDS 12 PC5H
051222 - ..
051223 - [On 131024 2223 letter to Ross notified continued tradition
051224 - having steak dinner celebrating hike to Half Dome.
051225 - ref SDS 13 Q060
051227 - ..
051228 - Looking up at the stars is an exhilarating experience, like the first
051229 - time Ross brought Millie and me to Yosemite to climb Yosemite Falls,
051230 - and we slept outside under the stars. On that trip, the next morning
051231 - the Ranger found Ross still asleep and pointed to a sign saying "No
051232 - Camping." We "dodged a bullet" that time.
051233 -
051234 - [On 950915 1230 next year went to Yosemite and one of the
051235 - best parts is seeing all those stars. ref SDS 4 3T9H
051237 - ..
051238 - [On 140916 0722 this trip there was no full moon, and
051239 - actually no moon; the sky was incredibly filled with stars
051240 - and they were very bright, ref SDS 14 I27O, as remembered
051241 - from 20 years earlier on 950915 1230. ref SDS 4 3T9H
051242 -
051243 -
051244 -
051245 -
051246 -
051247 -
051248 -
051249 -
0513 -