Half Dome hike

Great shots!! I'm going to have to hit up Half Dome if I can ever get a permit. How close did you guys get to the edge of the cliff?
 
I am chicken shit so I didn't get all that close. Just enough to get a shot of the valley.
 
Eh, I wouldn't say chicken shit...you know what they say: better safe than sorry. Seems like way too many people somehow end up falling from the cliffs, in addition to the cables.
 
In addition my pack was way to heavy. I weighed it when I got home and its about 28lbs. Some people barely had anything with them. I probably could have knocked 6-7lbs off easy. To much food, some clothes I didnt need and liquid is fricking heavy. Could have easily gotten water from the river on the way up and down.
 
Yup, your pack could have easily been about 5-10lbs lighter. But you still did what you went there to accomplish. Most people only carried water and little food. We were probably the only ones carrying survival gear, knives, extra clothes, and other misc gear ;)

I woke up this morning somewhat sore. My muscles are ok but my knee and ankle joints are sore. And my toes are super tender from my crap hiking boot that I thought was broken in. Gonna order me a new pair tonight. Went to work today and helped my brother install some granite. Had to carry a 8ft X 3ft Island slab and I really felt it in my joints! Went and did my daily 90min Bikram Yoga class and felt much better afterwards. The hot room and stretching helped circulate the blood and removed a lot of lactic acid buildup. Even my joints felt better after the class.
 
Top of Base of Half Dome before cables. That was the hardest stretch for me.
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Valley below Vernal Falls
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Vernal Falls
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Bottom of Vernal Falls
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Yeah, pack weight makes a difference. I used to hike with a Falcon-II loaded up with about 30lbs of gear... I recently cut my base pack weight (not including food and water) to 12.8lbs while still feeling well equipped. I aim to get down to 10lbs. I'm also going to switch back to using an Osprey or something similar with good suspension and a proper hip-belt. Even on dayhikes, that stuff makes a difference. I used to carry 3-4 liters of water too, nowadays I carry at most 3 liters (2 in camelbak, 1 in canteen on belt). When my GF and I hiked down from Glacier Point on this last trip, I drank all 2L in my camelbak by the time we got to nevada falls. So I emptied the 1L in my canteen into my camelbak and filled the canteen with water from the river. Treated it with an MP1 tab. Have been considering carrying only 2L total and bringing along my katadyn water filter even on dayhikes (in areas where water is available for filtering/treating).

A heated yoga room sounds like just the ticket for sore muscles.
 
Cool pics! I visited Yosemite for the first time a few months ago, beautiful country.
 
gimmejr said:
It took less then 11 hours. Ban could have gotten up quicker, I slowed him down. On the way back you get slowed up by hikers down by the falls.
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I don't think that I could have made it up much quicker but I did slow us down on the down hill because my boots were killing my feet and ankles. The lack of cushioning also made it very painful for my knees. I went and ordered a few pair of new boots to try out.

This trip inspired me to get outdoors more often. I plan on doing a hiking trip at least once a month. Even talked my girl into doing it with me ;)
 
Beautiful scenery! I had no idea that you had that range of geography in California. Well done lads!:)
 
GREAT pictures!!!

No pictures of you guys standing on the "diving board" though??? ;) I can't believe how few people were on the cables! I guess that is the BIG difference made by the permit system.

I did this hike in a pair of Merrell Chameleon Stretch hiking shoes, and ended up carrying a lady's pack from our group down the last 3 miles on top of mine (total weight about 50 lb). Luckily since we had camped in the upper campground near Half Dome the first night, I didn't have to do all of my hiking in one day. Boy was I stiil tired that last night though! The drive back to my hotel in San Jose (where I was for work) was NOT easy!

Glad to hear you guys had a good time! Thanks for sharing!!! :thumbup:

edit: Found a picture on my photobucket account from my trip. That's my BIL waving to me.
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Ban said:
This trip inspired me to get outdoors more often. I plan on doing a hiking trip at least once a month. Even talked my girl into doing it with me ;)
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Am I hearing MT Whitney next year? If you do the day hike its only 22 miles and 6000ft elevation gain. ;)
 
SpyderPhreak - Crazy that you did it in Chameleon Stretchs. I had a pair of those I used for work/everyday shoes, and could not hike in em. Not nearly secure enough with the feet sliding all over the place in the shoes.

gimmejr said:
Am I hearing MT Whitney next year? If you do the day hike its only 22 miles and 6000ft elevation gain. ;)
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I'm game for that. Always wanted to do Mt Whitney.

Ban, I think the hiking trip a month thing is awesome. Doubly awesome that your girl wants to hike with you. Even though my gf likes to hike in general, she's never a big fan of hikes with much elevation change.

I've been thinking about organizing local hikes for the south bay guys, aiming for at least once a month...if anyone's down.
 
I would like to do Whitney some day. Need to work up to it though. I would be down if you plan the hikes. Just give me a little notice ;)
 
I'm definitely down for future hikes, mt whitney included! Let's set something up!
 
Yep, we should set something up a few weeks from now. Hopefully, I will have my new boots by then. Anyone have experience with the Vibram Five Finger Treksport Multisport? I have always been curious about those Ninja shoes ;)
 
Ok, sounds good. Let's start in October. I'm out of shape and really need to get back.

I've been wanting to try the KSO Trek (I guess the Treksport is new and improved, cool) model. I'd like to try one of these things that provide a minimal footwear experience (Five Fingers, Inov-8 shoes) with all the emerging thought on minimal footwear being better for you. I've been aiming to try out Inov8 shoes for hiking/backpacking. On top of other possible benefits, the fact that it's lighter on your feet = less fatigue. On that note, if anyone wants to read an thought provoking book on humans and running, check out "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall.
 
yo guys.. awesome pics... i love Yosemite... we were just there at the end of the summer... i have spent A LOT of time there during my climbing days...
 
Yeah, I have been intrigued by the minimalist type shoes and have been looking into them a bit. There is a good article on them in the Trailrunners magazine where they review a bunch of different brands. The New Balance Minimus got pretty good marks.

I just found this article on barefoot running.
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-240-400--13691-1-1X2X3X4X5X6X7X8-8,00.html

I am not quite at that point yet. But I did settle for some Go-Lite Surge to try out. Sportsmansguide currently has them for 49.99.

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=868080

Also, got me some Asolo Fugitive for more heavy duty trips and double duty as combat boots.
 
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