Miya
Because I am able.
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2017
- Messages
- 1,404
To my beloved BackCountryPost.. I apologize for my negligence. I haven’t been writing trip reports, nor able to keep up on viewing the beautiful reports that everyone else posts! Since I have been missing the experience of this site, very much, get ready for a long trip report.
This summer involved a lot more camping and hiking and a lot less backpacking (just a couple trips). Since my tailbone injury in May, I have been in a lot of discomfort, and camping is much more agreeable with my body. The tailbone event caused slight nerve damage along my spine or neck...or I don’t know, I tend not to listen. I have been in and out of Xrays and tests trying to figure out all these annoyances. Also, it didn’t help that @Bobbiesworld626 and I stumbled upon a camp area that has a bar and we made good friendships with the resort owner and bartender.
Now that the colder days are upon me, the backpacking itch is coming back full force and I am determined for this to be the winter that I do an overnight in the snow! Anyways, I have digressed horribly.
*There is a new addition to our group. Anthony, Bobbie’s co-coworker and friend, has now been on 4 of our excursions, and Bobbie and Anthony day hike during the week quite often.*
Miya’s Ancient Canon
https://evermoremoments.smugmug.com/Backpacking/Backpacking-Hiking-in-Yosemite/Half-Dome
Bobbie’s Cell
https://evermoremoments.smugmug.com/Backpacking/Backpacking-Hiking-in-Yosemite/Half-Dome-Bobbis-Cell
Our online permit was approved for October 6th - 10th, Happy Isles > Illilouette Falls and then some backtracking to camp around Cloud’s Rest junction the next night. I wasn’t super in the mood for extra miles, so we got to Yosemite early the day before and managed to snatch a First Come First Serve Permit which would see us at Clouds Rest Junction for two nights. Yay! Success.
Waiting to see if we would get the permit.
We camped at the backpacker’s campground in the Valley and broke a bunch of rules that we were not aware of. A ranger put us in our place and luckily, we were not fined $2000+. Whew! We had a boring night without a fire and were able to head out around 08:00 the next morning.
Bobbie always has BCP swag.
The campsite is a mile from the TH and the car is along the route. I got a kick out of walking back to the car with my pack and my purse. Haha
Anthony and Bobbie whooped my butt. I did NOT keep up, but they were patient with me. LOL Feel free to laugh at his pack, we sure did. He is starting to invest in better gear though. He learned the hard way, like I think we all have.
Nevada Falls, pretty low this time of year. Aww we are so cute!
Some gorgeous growth!
What am I doing now??
We made it to camp around...1500? I think. We found a real nice spot next to a low creek. We got into our tents early because we wanted to be on top of Half Dome by sunrise.
The plan was to leave camp at 04:30 and hike the 2.5 miles to the top before the sunrise which was estimated to happen around 06:50. We definitely underestimated how much I would slow them down...
The best part of this trip for me was this early hour. The stars were so full and bright. Definitely not a sight that I get to experience often, even when out in the backcountry. There was something special about that moment for me, like the universe enveloped me in a way that brought an extreme feeling of awareness and serenity. K enough cheese.
We reached the sub dome around 0630. Light was starting to sneak its way into our view. It was enough light for me to see the steepness of THE DOME. I started cursing heavily. Apparently, I am a person that becomes extremely angry when scared. I knew and still understand that 1000s of people, including children, do this hike. The cables were up, I had invested in gloves, a harness, and via ferrata cable. Bear with me, I was still irrationally petrified. I struggle to stay upright when walking on flat ground. I have never been a person that feels ‘grounded’.
However, Half Dome means something special to Bobbie and Bobbie means something special to me. She had already done it before. She loves the adrenaline, the height, and the accomplishment and probably more reasons I don't know of. Bobbie and I continually push one another out of our comfort zones. I wanted to do this with my best friend and so up I went.
Not too far into it, I got stuck for a couple minutes and they had to coax me to move. It was all so traumatic for me haha. I was shaking, couldn't breathe. Luckily, we planned ahead and Bobbie was in front of me and Anthony was behind me trying to soothe me with kindness. Which...I think I cussed at them and told them to shut up. What a great friend I am. LOL
I got stuck in the same spot going down. Haha, but I did prefer going down over climbing up.
They feel like badasses, I am glad to be alive. LOL
It was pretty funny, the whole way down we ran into so many people. A few of them would ask how it was, was it worth it? Bobbie would respond in the positive and I would respond 'Meh, it wasn't worth it'. Haha
Had lots of daylight left to do light exploring. We were too tired for anymore strenuous hikes.
Not in focus, but love this photo anyways. Hehe
Fall colors.
We started seeing signs of a fire. Luckily, our Half Dome view wasn't ruined by this, but I feel bad for other people that went up later in the day. We managed to get a hold of a ranger who said they were closing one of the entrances/exits into Yosemite, but we were still fine and did not need to evacuate.
The next day was uneventful. We hiked back and dealt with some smoke. I stayed in the rear and Anthony and Bobbie enjoyed some downhill running. After 4 days of no showers, we could definitely walk past people and smell their soap and perfume. It was a fun experience!
This was my first trip to Yosemite, where I did not see or encounter a bear. Anthony, was determined to see one, so I am pretty sure that is why they were a no show.
You can see the people!
Stopped and got pizza on the way home.
10 minutes later...
This summer involved a lot more camping and hiking and a lot less backpacking (just a couple trips). Since my tailbone injury in May, I have been in a lot of discomfort, and camping is much more agreeable with my body. The tailbone event caused slight nerve damage along my spine or neck...or I don’t know, I tend not to listen. I have been in and out of Xrays and tests trying to figure out all these annoyances. Also, it didn’t help that @Bobbiesworld626 and I stumbled upon a camp area that has a bar and we made good friendships with the resort owner and bartender.
Now that the colder days are upon me, the backpacking itch is coming back full force and I am determined for this to be the winter that I do an overnight in the snow! Anyways, I have digressed horribly.
*There is a new addition to our group. Anthony, Bobbie’s co-coworker and friend, has now been on 4 of our excursions, and Bobbie and Anthony day hike during the week quite often.*
Miya’s Ancient Canon
https://evermoremoments.smugmug.com/Backpacking/Backpacking-Hiking-in-Yosemite/Half-Dome
Bobbie’s Cell
https://evermoremoments.smugmug.com/Backpacking/Backpacking-Hiking-in-Yosemite/Half-Dome-Bobbis-Cell
Our online permit was approved for October 6th - 10th, Happy Isles > Illilouette Falls and then some backtracking to camp around Cloud’s Rest junction the next night. I wasn’t super in the mood for extra miles, so we got to Yosemite early the day before and managed to snatch a First Come First Serve Permit which would see us at Clouds Rest Junction for two nights. Yay! Success.
Waiting to see if we would get the permit.
We camped at the backpacker’s campground in the Valley and broke a bunch of rules that we were not aware of. A ranger put us in our place and luckily, we were not fined $2000+. Whew! We had a boring night without a fire and were able to head out around 08:00 the next morning.
Bobbie always has BCP swag.
The campsite is a mile from the TH and the car is along the route. I got a kick out of walking back to the car with my pack and my purse. Haha
Anthony and Bobbie whooped my butt. I did NOT keep up, but they were patient with me. LOL Feel free to laugh at his pack, we sure did. He is starting to invest in better gear though. He learned the hard way, like I think we all have.
Nevada Falls, pretty low this time of year. Aww we are so cute!
Some gorgeous growth!
What am I doing now??
We made it to camp around...1500? I think. We found a real nice spot next to a low creek. We got into our tents early because we wanted to be on top of Half Dome by sunrise.
The plan was to leave camp at 04:30 and hike the 2.5 miles to the top before the sunrise which was estimated to happen around 06:50. We definitely underestimated how much I would slow them down...
The best part of this trip for me was this early hour. The stars were so full and bright. Definitely not a sight that I get to experience often, even when out in the backcountry. There was something special about that moment for me, like the universe enveloped me in a way that brought an extreme feeling of awareness and serenity. K enough cheese.
We reached the sub dome around 0630. Light was starting to sneak its way into our view. It was enough light for me to see the steepness of THE DOME. I started cursing heavily. Apparently, I am a person that becomes extremely angry when scared. I knew and still understand that 1000s of people, including children, do this hike. The cables were up, I had invested in gloves, a harness, and via ferrata cable. Bear with me, I was still irrationally petrified. I struggle to stay upright when walking on flat ground. I have never been a person that feels ‘grounded’.
However, Half Dome means something special to Bobbie and Bobbie means something special to me. She had already done it before. She loves the adrenaline, the height, and the accomplishment and probably more reasons I don't know of. Bobbie and I continually push one another out of our comfort zones. I wanted to do this with my best friend and so up I went.
Not too far into it, I got stuck for a couple minutes and they had to coax me to move. It was all so traumatic for me haha. I was shaking, couldn't breathe. Luckily, we planned ahead and Bobbie was in front of me and Anthony was behind me trying to soothe me with kindness. Which...I think I cussed at them and told them to shut up. What a great friend I am. LOL
I got stuck in the same spot going down. Haha, but I did prefer going down over climbing up.
They feel like badasses, I am glad to be alive. LOL
It was pretty funny, the whole way down we ran into so many people. A few of them would ask how it was, was it worth it? Bobbie would respond in the positive and I would respond 'Meh, it wasn't worth it'. Haha
Had lots of daylight left to do light exploring. We were too tired for anymore strenuous hikes.
Not in focus, but love this photo anyways. Hehe
Fall colors.
We started seeing signs of a fire. Luckily, our Half Dome view wasn't ruined by this, but I feel bad for other people that went up later in the day. We managed to get a hold of a ranger who said they were closing one of the entrances/exits into Yosemite, but we were still fine and did not need to evacuate.
The next day was uneventful. We hiked back and dealt with some smoke. I stayed in the rear and Anthony and Bobbie enjoyed some downhill running. After 4 days of no showers, we could definitely walk past people and smell their soap and perfume. It was a fun experience!
This was my first trip to Yosemite, where I did not see or encounter a bear. Anthony, was determined to see one, so I am pretty sure that is why they were a no show.
You can see the people!
Stopped and got pizza on the way home.
10 minutes later...
