Half Dome Hike, Yosemite National Park California. Fully Epic. Fully Scary.

The pano view from Half Dome.

The Half Dome Hike in Yosemite National Park in California is an adrenaline pumping full day Experience!

I didn’t think much of it to be honest. I have stared at the Half Dome rock in person and on Instagram for years. I had always wanted to do it. I heard about the infamous “cables.” I heard about the 4,800 feet in elevation gain. I had heard people have died.

We have the unique gift to be alive at this moment and the unique possibility that we might die in the very next moment. I have had the privilege to do a lot of outdoor adventures that others deem NO WAY. Below are a few that I cherish in my memories.

Angels Landing. Mt Kilimanjaro. The Salkantay Trek in Peru. Highline Loop in Glacier National Park in 3 hours. A 15 miler jaunt on a whim from some dude’s backyard in Iceland. Arenal Volcano Costa Rica. Skydiving, twice. Winter Mountaineering with Tommy Caldwell’s Dad in Colorado. The Manitou Incline in Colorado Springs. A self sustained winter trail marathon. Wrestling Grizzly Bears. ETC. You name it I have at least considered it.
Are you reading close? Did you catch the wrestling grizz bear drop? No I haven’t done that because you PLAY DEAD when you see a grizz! When it’s a black bear ya get in the square circle and do some wrassling.

4am wakeup call. Hit the trail with a headlamp by 515am. Would have been earlier had I brought directions to get to the trailhead. Jersey K gave me a WTF face a few times in the day but this was definitely the first one. In return I gave her a few too for wrapping her water bottles in towels to keep it cold. Say what?!

I didn’t think it was gonna be any crazier than all these other hiking adventures I have done.

I didn’t give much time to over analyzing what Half Dome was all about. I wanted to do it, I was way grateful to win lotto permits this year (not easy to snag), and felt especially thankful to get to somehow squeeze it in when living within a few hours of the park.
Manifest what you want. It works!

Mist Trail Up. John Muir Trail Down.

Half Dome took 12 hours, 20 miles, 44,000 steps, and 90 minutes on the infamous cables to thrive and survive the scaling of the 2nd most infamous 65 million year old rock in Yosemite National Park in California.

Sooooo….back to the hike.
It went as planned. As in I survived and it was awesome.
(Nod to El Capitan here for being the most infamous rock, Alex & Tommy push you ahead.)

I have climbed Angels Landing and they have chains that scare the bejeezus out of people. But here’s the thing…you don’t depend on them the whole time. Maybe a few times. You LITERALLY can not get up or down half dome without them unless you are a super creature like the late Royal Robbins was!
You are hoisting yourself up the cables with your upper body strength because it’s vertical and you have no footing.

One caveat: If you had a private day on Half Dome doing the cables by yourself would be much easier. It’s the holding PLANK POSE vertical with the support of cables for five minutes while a group passes on your right that is the brain buster of it all.

As steep as it looks. Actually steeper when you are on it.

But the thing is none of this hit me until maybe two days later.

Sure I had a woman behind me almost be frozen with fear on the cables, the park ranger told us we were about to climb a “WORLD OF STAIRS” (and that was the Sub Dome portion prior to the cables), and people screamed out obscenities to someone (or to no one in particular) a few times during the cable ascent and descent.

Still though all that being said…
It wasn’t until looking through the pics in Paso Robles two nights after the hike that it fully hit me.

What hit me was that death was possible. Death was imminent with one slip. But I was also well in my control at the same time. Does that make sense? I guess you’ll have to do it to understand.

I fully understand some think I am crazy for doing these things. For me though I feel normal. I feel alive and I feel complete. I learn from these mountains, domes, rivers, plane jumps, and grizzly bear fights. (There was a bear sighting the next day, another cub. I strike again with a cub sighting this summer!)

I am not crazy. I am alive. I am a wanderer and an outdoorsy dude who is following his heart. I’ve had friends die young without the ability to even know what their dreams might be and I’ve had friends tell me in recent years on their deathbeds (at the same age or younger as me) that the time is NOW to go live and not be paralyzed by the fear of death. They have told me this and died within the week. I keep listening and keep reminding myself of their words. (RIP Tracy, Rich, Joe, Emily, Bill, Julie, Al, and all you other cardinals who went young and keep pushing me.)

Epic Shot from the top of Half Dome.

My point is I don’t view it in a hysterical fashion. I view it as building my life resume.

As an experience builder. To learn about myself, the world, and spend time in places that I love doing stuff with like minded humans and animals. Other than you Edward.
(Shout out to EDWARD the park ranger for trying to convince me to do Clouds Rest, a 14 mile round trip hike with 4,000 feet of elevation gain, THE NEXT DAY before even leaving the park that day. Pizza is on the menu for tomorrow. Not Clouds Rest but thanks for the suggestion Edward.)

Half Dome was EVERYTHING I expected and a bit more. I just had some intense sensations, emotions, and feelings after the fact that I normally don’t feel after a hike.

Whatever it was Half Dome was something else. Yosemite is something else. Even just walking around the Yosemite Valley Floor and capturing a pic of Half Dome is an experience you will never forget.

Want to go up? Permits are available day of through a lottery (though everyone kept saying they were striking out in the coming days there) or the official lottery happens every April.

Whatever your dreams are, I hope you are going out and achieving them and treat all people with the love they deserve while on your journey. This life is special, Half Dome is a rock that is old as shit, and she is gorgeous, strong, scary, and epic. Go pay her a visit when you can! Questions or comments about hiking Half Dome? Comment below!

Until next time friends…stick to the dirt paths and turns with no directions. Adventure will find you.

Mike R

Waterfall chasing included on the Half Dome Trail, bonus items friends!