Today was brutal. I started out excited for my overnighter/weekender in Yosemite; but things got off to a bad start. From the trailhead parking lot, I somehow took a wrong turn onto a horse trail. Dodging piles of horseshit as I tried to find my way, I passed the same white-haired grandma about 3 times, each time getting advice on where to head, then second-guessing her five minutes later. Turns out she knew what she was talking about. I ended up on the right trail but without realizing it. Since I didn’t know I was on the trail, I was actually walking the wrong way, headed to the trailhead that I should’ve started from originally. Finally, I started the 8.5 mile hike after wasting about an hour and a half and walking probably close to three worthless miles. That’s not even mentioning the fact that the tube came out of my hydration bladder, soaking the bottom of my pack and all my clothes from the waste down. Needless to say, I was pretty fed up.
The hike to the summit of Half Dome starts out on the Mist Trail, which passes Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls, which are both pretty spectacular. It’s one tough climb to the top of Nevada Falls. Imagine a 1500 foot staircase hewn (yes, hewn) into a mountain. That’s like taking the stairs to the top of the Empire State Building. Of course, you'd have to build some more stairs to the very top of the spire and you'd still be a little short of 1500'. From here, things leveled off on the approach to Little Yosemite Valley: the first spot to camp, approximately 4 miles and 2.5 hours from where the hike began.
Here, I walked to a ranger station tucked outside of the campground because I had a question about where my permit would allow me to camp. Well, I learned a few interesting facts. First, not all rangers are helpful. In fact, this guy couldn’t have been much less helpful. He knew next to nothing about where to camp above Little Yosemite Valley, but said I could stay in that campground if I wanted, despite the fact I had been told when I was issued my permit that I couldn’t camp there. Second, I learned that the life of a backcountry ranger is quite similar to that of a homeless bum or Tom Foley (who lives in a van down by the river). If I didn’t know they were government employees, I’d have feared for my life. In fact, for all I know, these two guys may have killed the real rangers weeks ago.
Anyway, I was faced with a dilemma: push on for higher campsites or set up camp for the night (it was about 16:00 at this point). I briefly considered setting up camp and making a summit push; but I decided against it, remembering my experience racing the sun on San Gorgonio. After the way the day had started, the last thing I wanted to do was stumble around in the dark looking for a campsite. Instead, I decided to push on and try to camp on the Northeast
shoulder, about 2.5 miles away. I hiked for about 1.5 miles/45 min. and met a few people who told me there was nowhere to camp up any higher. Now, I think there probably is; but being alone, the other campers in Little Yosemite valley seemed pretty inviting (not to mention the pit toilets, which would mean not having to shit in the ground during the night). So, I turned around, headed back to Little Yosemite valley and set up camp. Chalk up another wasted 3 miles or so. I probably hiked 10 miles today to cover 4 miles of ground. Again, fed up. Tomorrow, I’ll want to wake up at dawn to head to the summit. I’ll probably be one of the first up there. Hopefully it will be better than today.
No comments:
Post a Comment