Short story:
Four days in Yosemite
Valley “backcountry."
Dave, Andrew, and James climbed Half Dome
from the steep side (Northwest Regular route).
I climbed Half Dome
from the still pretty darn steep side (cables
route) on a four day solo backpacking trip.
Long story...
We showed up in the Valley around 2:00
p.m. on a Saturday in June. WORST TIME TO VISIT THE VALLEY – the
place was crawling with tour
buses and hordes of people. If Dave weren't meeting James and
Andrew, I would have turned around and driven us right back out!
Horrible first impression.
My impression of the Valley did not improve, as we had multiple extremely rude encounters with tourons, plus had some of our stuff stolen (including my driver's license and anniversary present). So, screw you Yosemite Valley, I'm glad you're off my life list and I never have to return.
Enough complaining!
Getting a permit for Half Dome as part
of a backcountry trip was easy. I chose the Pohono Trail –
Panorama Trail, from the Valley entrance to the backcountry camp at the foot of Half Dome (Little Yosemite
Valley).
I packed my backpack, and the guys laid
out a mega-spread of climbing gear.
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| big wall rack |
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| my complete gear spread, four days solo (unsupported) |
Day 1
Next morning, Dave dropped me off at
the Wawona Tunnel trailhead. We said “Happy Anniversary, see you
in four days, love you!” and I started walking.
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| valley view from wawona tunnel trailhead: el cap on left, half dome distant. reminds me of a painting. |
 |
| the pohono trail |
There are a few viewpoints along the
trail, each better than the last.
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| me and el cap |
I made my one mistake of the trip, not
paying attention to my water sources. Ran out of water mid-day and
wanted to lunch at Dewey Point. I dropped my pack and ran ½ mile
down the trail to a fetid pool. Score one for the Saywer Mini –
filtered it perfectly!
 |
| who likes mosquito wings in their water? |
I arrived at Bridalveil Creek around
3:00 p.m. after a short 8ish mile day. Camping isn't allowed within
4 miles of Valley development, so I couldn't go farther. I hung my
hammock and moped around camp. I was super sad and lonely when I
couldn't finish my dinner and didn't have Dave to eat my leftovers,
but that was the only moment of the solo that I struggled with being
alone.
 |
| sad, lonely anniversary dinner leftovers |
Day 2
Big scenery day!
Hiked to Taft Point.
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| taft point |
Then on to
Glacier Point. Holy crowds – and what a great view of Half Dome!
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| actually from sentinel dome, but who's keeping track... |
I
chatted with an older man with binoculars. He mentioned that he was
on the 14th
ascent of NWRR and that he had seen 5 climbers total on the route. I
hadn't looked at a topo before the trip, so I had no idea where to
find Dave on the wall, but it was cool to know he was out there.
 |
| half dome, vernal falls, and nevada falls panorama |
I left the
Pohono Trail at Glacier Point and started on the Panorama Trail,
which gives an awesome view of the profile of Half Dome.
 |
| half dome profile view |
At Illilouette Falls, I met a family that needed map assistance and water. Happy to
help!
The climb from
Illoquette Falls up to Nevada Falls wasn't that bad, especially after
the climb the first day.
 |
| top of nevada falls |
I had a trail
companion on the walk from Nevada Falls to LYV.
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| trail pal |
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| three thumbs up!! |
Day 3
Knowing that the guys wouldn't summit until later in the day, I slept
in and took my time getting ready in the morning. To kill more time,
I breathed only through my nose on the walk from LYV to the foot of
the subdome. Still got there at 11:00 a.m. Darn.
I made friends with the ranger checking permits.
 |
| young 'un. actually a college student. |
Next
up: the
subdome. Everyone knows about the famous cables, but not everyone
knows that you need to climb up steep, sloping, gravel-covered stairs
and steep slabs over the subdome. There
is definitely exposure (especially on the way down), and I saw folks
turn around on or just after the subdome. I
thanked Gothics, Algonquin, and every other Adirondack slab I've
climbed!
 |
| this part was interesting, too |
At the top of the subdome, I was counting on finding a glove pile
– no dice. Some good Samaritan cleaned it up, I guess. I found 3
(conveniently, one each) for the guys, and a girl who turned around
after the subdome gave me hers. Thanks!
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| cables from the top of the subdome |
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| a taste of exposure |
(Random aside: on the way up, I stopped to encourage and calm two
different young woman, one going up the subdome, the other bailing on
the cables. Both were being “helped” by their young, male
partners. Having been in that situation many times myself, I found
that I was able to give more effective “help” than the
companions. I should really write about partner dynamics in the
backcountry one of these days...)
 |
| smiling, in between gasps for air. it was STEEP. |
At the top, I had lunch and enjoyed the views.
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| view from the top |
Then
I got a disturbing text message from Dave.
Received at noon, it said
that they were at Big Sandy (an iconic bivy ledge at the top of pitch
17 of 23), moving slowish, and expecting to top out between 5 and 10
p.m.
At Big Sandy at noon? They were supposed to sleep at Big Sandy
the night before! Seemed that they were seriously behind schedule, with the
hardest aid climbing still ahead of them. There was no way they
could cover the last 6 pitches in 5 hours if they had gotten to Big
Sandy 16 hours late. I
wondered if they were getting dehydrated.
I couldn't wait at the top that long, so I joined a group to descent
the cables. My mind was nervous for Dave, and I felt that the
presence of other people would keep me focused.
 |
| walking the cables |
At the bottom of the subdome, I was sad to leave Dave on the
mountain. I had imagined giving him a big hug and a bottle of water
when he topped out. Now I had no idea when I would see him next.
Back at camp, I knew that sitting alone in my hammock, imagining the
worst, was not productive. I had tea with a French guy, then joined
the communal campfire with my rice & beans dinner.
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| my camp |
As the last of the daylight faded from the sky, I looked toward Half
Dome and saw headlamps on the cables. Headlamps on the cables! It
must be Dave and party! I flashed my headlamp – one two, one two.
From two miles away, the headlamp flashed back – one two, one two.
I watched them descend to the col between the cables and the subdome.
Then they disappeared. I watched for a while longer, growing more
concerned that they hadn't found the right descent route and had
slipped into the abyss. Again, that thinking isn't productive, so I
forced myself to my hammock and to sleep.
Plan for the next day:
- Wake up early. Search camp. If they are not in camp,
- Fill up as much water as I can carry, bring extra food, start hiking toward Half Dome again. If they are not along the trail,
- Wait at the base of the subdome until mid-morning. If they don't descend from the base of the subdome by mid-morning,
- Ask ranger at base of subdome to contact YOSAR (search and rescue).
Day
4
Up early. Guys are not in camp.
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| first morning sunlight. gahhh it's cold. |
Start walking. Reach first trail junction. Asked a few descending
hikers whether they have seen any rock climbers. Nope.
About 1.5 miles up the trail, there they are. Whew! I was so happy,
annoyed, and relieved all at once!
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| cool, they're not dead, i can stop worrying |
Turns out that the text message had actually been sent around 9:00
a.m. when they were *leaving* Big Sandy. While everything took longer
than expected (they didn't get to their bivy until 5:00 a.m. and
slept until only 7:00 a.m.), they did follow their climbing plan.
We relaxed at the Merced River outside of LYV.
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| merced river |
We relaxed again at Nevada Falls.
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| nevada falls |
And again at Vernal Falls. The guys were REALLY tired.
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| vernal falls |
And then we were done!
After the Trip
First,
you should really go read Dave's account of his time on the wall at http://nomaddave.blogspot.com/.
Total crazy pants.
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| walking the thank god ledge 1800' off the deck (photo credit james) |
Over the next two days, we took a lot of river baths (Valley = hot).
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| bath time |
Climbed a few climbs.
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| bishop's terrace - 5.8 hand crack |
Stayed at Camp 4.
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| camp 4 - midnight lightning |
I really enjoyed my solo experience. It wasn't that hard, and next
time, I would like to try something more challenging.
I'm glad I visited the Valley and can check that life list box, but I
wouldn't return. It's like a shopping mall on Black Friday. People
were surprisingly rude and rushed. The wildlife is sadly addicted to
human food. It's not what I enjoy in a wilderness experience.
Trip Beta for Yosemite
(1)
Only a certain number of
permits are available for each trailhead per day to limit the number
of hikers along popular routes. Some trailhead will
always have space though
(might not be the one you
want, but you can always find some trip).
(2)
You can get a Half Dome permit
if your backpacking route “reasonably includes Half Dome.”
LYV will fill up, but if you
can do a >2 day trip, this is the (physically) easiest, most
relaxed
way to climb it.
(3)
Last-minute, legal camping
in the Valley is impossible with two exceptions:
(a) Backpacker's
camp the night after a backcountry trip. Wilderness permit required.
This option is not advertised, I think because the park doesn't want
people requesting permits just to have a place to camp in the Valley.
The camp is located in the North Pines campground. Follow the loop
around and you'll see a 15 minute parking zone for unloading; follow
the little trail over a bridge and you're there. No potable water
(creek nearby), but there are vault toilets.
(b)
Camp 4. Get up early and stand in line at the camp kiosk. If it's a
weekend, we're talking 4:00 a.m. If it's a weekday... well, we were
there a 6:15 a.m. on a Thursday and we were 40th
in line (there were 55 spaces, so we got in, but not everyone did).
Ranger hands out permits starting around 8:30 a.m.
(4)
You really want gloves for the cables.
Really. You can do it without gloves, but it's way more comfortable
and secure. Gardening or baseball gloves will work fine. Don't
count on finding a glove pile; there wasn't one when I was there.
(5)
Go down the cables backwards.
It's way easier.
(6) Think twice about clipping in to the cables. My reasoning: it's psychological safety but probably not too much physical safety. During a fall, you'd hit the metal post, which simply sits in a hole in the rock. The post would probably pop, and you'd continue to fall, taking out other climbers in your path, many of whom are not tied in. Bottom line: please don't slip.
(6) In retrospect, I really should have done the Cathedral Lakes trail to be up in the mountains and to have different views each day. I avoided it because I thought it would be crowded, but the Panorama Trail/ LYV was so crowded anyway. And it's basically the same view up the valley, changing only a little as you progress. Oh well.
(7) Overall, try to spend as little time in the Valley as possible. We didn't visit Tuolumne or Hetch Hetchy, and I think I would have a higher opinion of Yosemite if we had.
