Half Dome – Yosemite Musing
Word “trickling” back from Yosemite is that the Mist trail is gushing soundly. Not a mist, but a real shower. You WILL get drenched … maybe even with a decent poncho on! The winds are moving the spray fast and furious. Batten down the hatches!!! My trip up is June 23 and I expect to get pounded. Even on the way home via the John Muir Trail you will get soaked. Save your poncho. Just a tad down from Nevada Fall and the junction of the Panorama Trail is the cliff overlook back to the Fall. Usually water seeps off the wall and down onto the trail. Now it is pouring out there too. So be ready to get wet. Hopefully, it will be a nice hot day and will cool you off.
You Tube videos are coming out now from folks who are attempting to get up Subdome and do the rock while the cables are still down. Folks, this is insanity. Unless you are a real “big wall” trained climber, don’t do it. See my website on the ACCIDENTS page for the stories of 2 athletic woman who died doing such – one in 11/06; the other in 4/07.
Unrelated thought worth quoting: “It’s close to midnight and something evil’s lurking in the dark. Under the moonlight, you see a sight that almost stops your heart. You try to scream but terror takes the sound before you make it. You start to freeze as horror looks you right between the eyes – you’re paralyzed. ‘Cause this is thriller, thriller night.” – Michael Jackson
*Mr. Half Dome – Rick Deutsch – www.HikeHalfDome.com
MrHalfDome's Blog 
June 14, 2010 at 1:17 am |
can you send me some video of people trying to get on subdome? i tried searching on youtube but i couldn’t find it.
do u suggest going up mist trail at night w the current waterflow? i am doing my half dome night hike this sunday. if it’s too wet and slippery maybe i’ll go via john muir trail.
June 15, 2010 at 6:48 am |
I did the Mist trail recently! Yes, the whole area near Vernal Falls is very slippery, but not dangerous to anyone being careful who is in good condition. As long as you have a good Head Light, you are fine in the dark. I had more trouble avoiding the HORSE and MULE POOP on JMT. The only recent videos I see on Youtube of Halfdome in June 2010 are all part of a series of 6 by the same 3 guys dated the 1st week of June. Interesting that none of these 3 young daredevils would venture very far up the cables. Anyway, what you need to google is half dome cables 2010. Here is a direct link to one video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHsR5ATG1bs
June 14, 2010 at 4:42 am |
Try searching Half Dome 2010 … dunno if there are Sub Dome pix…but you need to google more.
No – I would NOT do the Mist at night now. It’s a bugger in the dark let alone getting sprayed by 17 fire hoses.
June 15, 2010 at 3:14 am |
So, are the cables still set to go up tomorrow?
June 15, 2010 at 3:19 am |
No, it’s the 16th.
June 15, 2010 at 4:53 am |
Um… I meant they are Installing tomorrow while they have the cable route closed to all, such that they are opened the next day… Looks to be great weather, should go as planned. More often than not, it is hard to tell when things are done as planned by checking the official website. Sometimes they do not update critical info for a day or two or more. Just amazing when 2 days after Glacier Point Road opens, all the info that is there is from a few days before when they say the plan was to open the road the next day. How hard can it be to keep the small amount of new website data current?
June 15, 2010 at 5:04 am |
It takes 2 days to get the poles and boards out of storage, haul them up to the base, install the poles/boards, run the cables thru them then give it all a good tug to check.
They were probably working up there today and hope to finish tomorrow, to open the gate on the 16th.
As far as real time updates – good luck. Did you mail in your comments to the Half Dome Stewardship scoping request?
June 15, 2010 at 6:02 am |
I wouldn`t know how to contact the scoping committee… ;p Just being sarcastic/cynical about the lack of time/care committed to the official Yosemite website.
June 15, 2010 at 5:25 am |
We just got back from hiking up the Mist Trail to the Panorama Trail ending at Glacier Point on Sunday. You will get soaked! Even falls that don’t normally have a ton of mist were kicking it out. We had a fantastic time on our substitute Half Dome weekend. Check out Bridal Veil Falls spilling down part of the paved trail! Wear flip flops if you want a closer look!
June 15, 2010 at 6:07 am |
So, with all the recent warm weather after such a wet/cold snap, do you think the falls are even fuller than 2-3 weeks ago?
June 15, 2010 at 6:09 am |
I dumped all human knowledge on this on a previous 459 blogs….
The falls are probably the biggest since the ’97 flood!!