And what a half mile it would be!
Little rock holds up big rockCopyright 2008 Lydia Hinshaw
YOSEMITE, CA -- Tuesday was our only joint day off this week, so Prince Charming and I set out on our second big hike of the summer.
We chose North Dome, a 9.5-mile trek from a trailhead 45 miles from our temporary home in the Yosemite Valley.
The top photo shows North Dome, half a mile ahead of us. What it doesn't show, and what we didn't know yet when I shot the picture, is that the half-mile would require a steep descent into a forested gully, followed by a climb up the smooth granite rock on the other side. All of this territory would have to be covered again in reverse, when we started back.
Once we got over the top of North Dome, we encountered several rocks just lying around, having tumbled from somewhere higher up. We were glad to see them, because they provided some shelter from the howling wind on top.
The view was great, though not particularly well-lit for photographs. With our binoculars, we could spot hikers on top of Half Dome, and other tourists on the other side of the valley at Glacier Point, a popular spot that is reachable by car or bus.
We hiked through lots of snow, crossed four small streams and took a steep side trip to an arch on Indian Ridge.
Our hike was a welcome break from the crazy tourist hell that is the Yosemite Valley. Driving shuttle buses, we each encounter at least 800 tourists per day.
In more than five hours on the trail, we saw just five other hikers, not counting the youth group we passed in the first mile and didn't see again until we were almost back to the car.
It made us feel good to know that a couple of old folks had completed such a long hike, while 20 teenagers had given up and turned back long before they got to North Dome.
We chose North Dome, a 9.5-mile trek from a trailhead 45 miles from our temporary home in the Yosemite Valley.
The top photo shows North Dome, half a mile ahead of us. What it doesn't show, and what we didn't know yet when I shot the picture, is that the half-mile would require a steep descent into a forested gully, followed by a climb up the smooth granite rock on the other side. All of this territory would have to be covered again in reverse, when we started back.
Once we got over the top of North Dome, we encountered several rocks just lying around, having tumbled from somewhere higher up. We were glad to see them, because they provided some shelter from the howling wind on top.
The view was great, though not particularly well-lit for photographs. With our binoculars, we could spot hikers on top of Half Dome, and other tourists on the other side of the valley at Glacier Point, a popular spot that is reachable by car or bus.
We hiked through lots of snow, crossed four small streams and took a steep side trip to an arch on Indian Ridge.
Our hike was a welcome break from the crazy tourist hell that is the Yosemite Valley. Driving shuttle buses, we each encounter at least 800 tourists per day.
In more than five hours on the trail, we saw just five other hikers, not counting the youth group we passed in the first mile and didn't see again until we were almost back to the car.
It made us feel good to know that a couple of old folks had completed such a long hike, while 20 teenagers had given up and turned back long before they got to North Dome.
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