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(Below): An expansive view of Half Dome across the valley from Glacier Point. Also visible are Nevada Falls and Vernal Falls in the lower right. One walks past these two spectacular falls on the way up to Half Dome if taking the trail from Happy Isle through Little Yosemite Valley (about 8 miles each way from the valley floor to the top of the dome). It was here at Glacier Point in 1903 that Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir had slept out in the open and posed for that famous photograph.
(Left): Half Dome just before sunset, as seen from Yosemite Valley.
"Yos-sem-i-ty" was the name given to the valley by the
Mariposa Battalion who arrived in March 1851, thinking it was the
name of the Miwok tribe living in the area (they called
themselves Ahwahnechee, and the place, Ahwahnee). The Battalion
proceeded to burn the Ahwahnechee settlements, thus ensuring that
the area would be safe for future generations of tourists.
The geological origin of Yosemite Valley and the missing half of Half Dome are steeped in academic controversy. Half Dome appears to have been split in the middle by the forces of uplifting that created the Sierra Nevada. The valley, over time, was carved by glaciers and the mighty Merced River.
(Right): The giant slab of granite, as seen
from the saddle leading to
Half Dome's summit. Faintly visible in the middle of the picture
are the cables that hug the rock. Between the cables are narrow
wooden planks to provide more secure footing. It is not unusual
to get logjammed halfway up the cables as people second-guess the
wisdom of their decision to go up. For this reason, it is
preferable to start out earlier in the morning to avoid the
crowds. In any case,Half Dome is not for acrophobics as the climb
is very exposed. And just to make the adventure more interesting,
this monolith serves as a very effective giant lightning rod,
thus making a lucky summiteer's experience potentially
more...well...electrifying.
(Below):
Half Dome's summit area, at 8,842 feet, is about the size of 17 football fields (uh, make that
American-football fields). The reward for the effort? 360-degree
views, including those of the nearby peaks, the valley floor
4,700 feet below, and the opportunity to crawl, on one's belly,
and peer over the lip of Half Dome's 2,000-foot sheared face.
(Left): Another view of Half Dome from Yosemite Point, above
Upper Yosemite Falls. Although the park receives a steady stream
of visitors year-round, late March/April is probably the best
time of the year to visit the park--runoff from melting snow
powers Yosemite's many spectacular waterfalls, crowds are
thinner, and the park will have recovered from the abuse it
received the summer before.
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