Half Dome Not Half Assed
Annika
6/15/20266 min read
The Call...
Y’all ever just have that one friend who________.
Yeah, anyway that’s my Baylee. And I know what you may be thinking: Annika, you couldn’t possibly know what I filled in the blank with! Well, I simply don’t need to. That’s my Baylee. And this adventure began with a phone call: so hey, we should SUMMIT A MOUNTAIN! A completely not so normal conversation being held, well, oh so very normally. And for Baylee, I’m that one friend who’s just down for anything. So I said, why yes of course OBVIOUSLY. And batta bing batta boom, with little to no convincing I was agreeing to hike Half Dome. Correction, backpack half dome. With a near 45lb pack.
I’VE NEVER BACKPACKED BEFORE IN MY LIFE!!!
Mentioning that, Half Dome is notably NOT a beginner friendly, well, anything! Not a beginner friendly hike, walk, picnic, or backpack. So take caution because Half Dome as a first backpacking trip was slightly mental. But nevertheless she persisted (she being me).
Through some bad weather, road closures, and ungodly traffic we were certainly off to a magnificent start as we made our way into Yosemite Valley. And well, it was mighty cold and you couldn’t see a darn mountain in sight with the cloud cover, but I did ensure to Baylee that they were indeed there and they were indeed massive.
After our first night at backpackers camp behind North Pines Campground (backpacking permit required) we found ourselves packing some wildly massive bags to head up the mountain. With some large packs and minimal training we were ready to begin our trek!
After nearly a million stairs, two waterfalls, five horses, and four hours of hiking later we were ready to set up camp. We unpacked at the Lower Yosemite Valley near the river and began mentally preparing for what the next day would have in store for us. We ate some pasta for dinner, fended off the squirrels that wouldn’t leave the campsite alone, and went to bed early after a long haul. Now you see, with 45 lbs of gear it took us about 4 hours to get up half dome. Well, not Baylee. She RAN and I mean RAN up that mountain. I’m not even quite sure how it was possible for her to go up the mountain so quickly. Whether it be part mountain goat or part demi-god, Baylee hauled up that mountain in record time. We obviously were slowed by the beautiful waterfalls, mountains, horses, and the oh so many photo ops that were in store for us. It was brilliant.
The next morning as per our 4:45 wake up call, we were UP. Setting off around 5am or maybe perhaps 5:30, we were on the trail and ready to hike half dome. Baylee of course ran up the mountain and well, we got there eventually meeting up with her at Sub Dome. Now Half Dome is hard sure, but not enough people talk about Sub Dome. You see, Sub Dome is a unique combination of stairs and switchbacks on granite! Hooray! Now once you make it up that you come upon the cable sections.
Baylee and I put on our harnesses, gloves, clipped in and got MOVIN. We had places to go and VIEWS to see! That and there was a nice gap we wanted to get in before we were stuck behind people. So up we went. Now you may be asking, Annika you really wore a harness? Yes. Yes I did. And guess what, so was almost everyone else that we saw doing it that day. After reading articles and watching videos about people dying or watching their friends and family members die because they slipped, fell, and cracked their skulls open. I wasn’t too willing to one leave my family behind in such a matter or two scar Baylee for life. Was it super necessary with the PERFECT conditions we were in. No, but my foot did slip a time or two and it was more than well worth it to NOT be scared about, well, falling to my death. So yeah, the whole safety thing for me really freaking mattered and that was the case with everyone else out there too. So, if you’re thinking about harness or no harness. Harness, 100%. I can confidently say it was worth it. And definitely wear gloves, the gloves part matters.
After some friendly chatting along the way we made it to the top! We took some photos, filmed some fun videos, walked around, and honestly hung out at the top for about an hour before we headed back down. Pro tip, walk down backwards. Trust me on that one.
We made it back to camp and stopped by the river to cool off after our summit. This was our last day at camp before we were to head back down. It was now that Baylee was losing her mind not having brought her cards to play some card games, but luckily enough for us a troop of high school students in a backpacking class came by and we were able to borrow some cards from one of the girls. She was actually the only girl of her classmates on the trip so I let her know if she wanted some girl time she was more than welcome to come to our camp to hangout.
Soon enough after losing every single card game to Baylee our new friend came over with one of her teachers to hangout for some girl time! We braided hair, played some games, and ate dinner together chatting about life, the universe, and everything. It was truly so fun and special to all hangout together and make some friends in the backcountry.
Bright and early the next morning, we packed up camp and got on the move down the mountain. Baylee of course ran ahead but we weren’t too far behind her. We did indeed make it down the mountain in record time, unpacked the bags into the car, and headed to Curry Village for the classic celebratory post half dome pizza celebration. I obviously got the Half Dome and I can report it was fantastic!
Then we peeled out and headed home, listening to some podcasts to get us through.
So, should you hike Half Dome? Hell yeah! It’s more than worth it. You do need a permit though which can be hard to obtain. But going with a guide is always a great option!
What should you bring?
Here’s my guide for the perfect packing list for hiking Half Dome Day Hike edition:
2-3L of water
Snacks (protein, salty, sweet, lunch)
Electrolytes
Gloves (mine were gardening gloves)
Harness
Sling with locking carabiner (you’ll want two of these)
Shoes with good grip
Hiking poles THAT YOU CAN FOLD DOWN TO FIT IN YOUR PACK (you won’t be carrying them up while on the cables and if ya leave them, they’re gone)
Sunscreen
Hat
Layers
With my gear here’s what I did to get up the cables:
Girth hitch the sling to the hard points of the harness (do this with the other sling as well)
Place one locking carabiner on each of the slings
Clip the carabiners to the cable and lock them (best practice is closed and opposed–this makes it safer and more redundant)
Used two hands to pull up the cables with your gloves on and walk
So, if you’re thinking of Hiking Half Dome, my recommendations to you are to start early, be prepared, know your gear, take some deep breaths, and HAVE FUN!
Xoxo, The Compass Confessions
