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Found out it was our last chance to scale Half Dome at the Yosemite National Park for the season, so my girlfriend and I set forth to conquer it on a spontaneous whim over the weekend. Trust me, this is no easy hike. On a scale of difficulty of 1-10…its somewhere around 11. We camped in the backpackers camp in the valley and began our hike up the Mist Trail passing Vernal Falls.

Vernal Falls.

Liberty Cap. Pretty high up already. There’s water falls everywhere — even in the dry season.

The river right before Nevada Falls.

Kristin standing in front of the half way mark to Half Dome.

We are now within 2 miles to the top. Once you have made it this far, you can really start to see the infamous rock up close, and suddenly we had a second wind.

This is a photo from half way up the sub-dome. From here, it is about 100 yards to the base of Half Dome where it’s only another 400 yards to the summit. Nearly out of water, no flashlights, and extremely fatigue, we both realized it was more than wise to stop and turn back otherwise we would face getting lost in the pitch black woods on our return. It was sooooo hard to stop after we made it this far, but at last, time was running short and we had to be smart. We will be back to do it again, and next time we will be way more prepared. I for one can say I have never hiked that far in my life and it was a more than awesome experience.

Why do we do it you might ask…well “the greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.” (Jean Baptiste Moliere)