Alright, finally, this is what we have been looking forward to and it’s time. There was too much snow this year so the cables were set up a lot later than usual. We were lucky that they were finally up.

We took off at around 6am, parked at the Curry Village and walked to the trailhead at the Happy Isles. The openning part was flat and pleasant until the Mist Trail. The Mist Trail was really misty, cold, slippery, and steep. We put on the rain gear and raincover for the backpack. The Mountain Hardwear water proof jacket worked but I still got a little wet, not sure if it’s water or sweat. It was also a very strenuous climb. Fortunately not very longg. The Mist Trail ends at the Vernal Fall. There is a big rock platform at the top of the Vernal Fall. People usually take a break there taking off the rain gears. The trail became much better after the Vernal Fall. We arrived the Nevada Fall and had a long break there. This is the last place for a pit break, so there was a long line.

Then we marched into the little Yosemite valley. The following several miles are a little boring. There was a base camp in the valley. If you want to do this trail in two days, this is where you can camp.

The trail then begins to climb again. We have heard people saying that the half mile before the cables is the most difficult part. It proved so! It was rocky and steep. And there was no shade. We spent almost half an hour and I guess it was at most 0.5 miles. After the strenuous part, we were under the cables. The cables do look scary, as I had expected. I guess the steepest part is at least 60 degrees. I took a long break, put down the backpack and then began climbing the cables. As soon as I was on the cables, I found that they are not difficult at all. I was able to ascend very fast without too much effort. You are pretty much pulling yourself up by your arms. I guess my arms are not that weak :). I now think I am able to do it even with the cables down. A good pair of gloves is a big help.

Anyway, we were at the top of the half dome 10 minutes later! And I was still feeling so fresh. The view from the top of the Half Dome was very nice. We lingered around for a while and climbed down the cables. Going down is a little harder, since I have to hold my weight with arms not to go down too fast. Soon after we got down, it began to rain a little bit. I guess if we had arrived half an hour later, we probably wouldn’t be able to get up the cables because of the thunderstorm.

We began descending around 2 or 2:30. I was very energetic until we got to the Nevada Fall, when my legs began feeling sore. We took the John Muir trail instead of the Mist Trail to keep dry. It’s not really a whole lot better than the Mist Trail. It’s still wet and muddy in many spots. There were several spots on the trail where you can have a very good overlook of the Nevada Fall. I was a little exhausted before the last 3 or 4 miles. The descending is actually much harder than the ascending! My left ankel was hurting so much. That’s where I have an old injury. I guess it would bever fully recover :(. For the last 2 miles, the only motivation keeping my legs moving was to make to the village for the buffet before it closes at 8pm :P. Finally, we were able to get down to the trailhead at around 7pm. But I was so tired that I didn’t have a very good appetite. The only thing I remember now is I had lots of milk.

13 hours, 17 miles and 4800 feet of elevation gain. We finally made it. That was strenuous, although I wouldn’t agree so before we descended to the Nevada fall.

I didn’t bring my Digital Rebel with me to save some weight. The pictures were taken by the old Nikon Coolpix 950. We actually also overestimated the amount of water we would need. We brought 10 liters and in fact we only drank 4 liters. Well, it was not a very hot day though, otherwise things might be different.