So when she decided to come visit me in San Francisco, I knew this time would be no different. Normally, I'm a pretty good planner, but Michelle is so laid back that I know we can always swing something last minute if we need to. We had only loosely planned a few things for her visit and nothing was really set in stone up until a week before she came out. So when a friend at work started telling me about her recent camping trip to Yosemite and showed me pictures, I decided I needed to take Michelle camping there! The only problem was that campsites are apparently hard to come by. It was only a few days away and I wasn't sure I'd get something last minute, but I thought I'd give it a shot. And what do you know, there was one campsite open and I got it!
So then I decided that we should attempt to get permits to hike Half Dome, an intense hike that is listed as one of the "Top 10 Must-Do Hikes in the US." Based on the pictures and stories, it seemed a little bit intimidating, but I had a feeling it would be a lot of fun if we got to do it. Due to the popularity of the hike, only a set number of permits are issued per day to hike it. I prayed we'd get lucky and applied for the permit lottery two nights before Michelle got to town. The next night, I got an email telling me that I was one of the lucky few who had scored two permits for Half Dome! I sent Michelle a text late that night and told her to pack her hiking boots. We were going to hike Half Dome!
Saturday morning, Michelle arrived and we set out for our adventure. The drive to Yosemite was about 3 1/2 hours from Oakland, which was the perfect opportunity to catch up in the car. It turns out we were enjoying our chat a little bit too much...because I missed the signs that tell you to turn off your air conditioning while driving up the switchbacks. It was a hot day and there was a lot of uphill driving on the way. We were chugging along when we heard a noise underneath the car, as if something had broken or fallen off. I pulled off to the side of the road to see what was wrong, but Michelle and I didn't notice anything abnormal. So we got back in and kept driving until I noticed that my temperature gauge was getting hot. As I was looking for a place to pull off, my car started to smoke. There was a parking lot off to the right hand side and I pulled in to see what was going on with my car.
We had no cell phone service and weren't quite sure what to do. Then a few people pulled up next to us. We thought they were stopping to help and then noticed the sign in front of us. It said "Welcome to Yosemite." We had made it all the way to the entrance! I guess if your car is going to overheat, that's not a bad place to pull over. After realizing how close we were to the ranger station, we walked up and used the phone to call my insurance. Basically our options were 1) Try to fix the problem ourselves or 2) Tow my car. I wasn't about ready to let them take my car away. We were within walking distance of our campsite, but the Half Dome trail was miles away and I had my mind set on hiking it. We hadn't come this far for nothing!
The nearest gas station was five miles away, so we had to hitchhike down to buy some coolant for my car. We had no problem catching a ride and jumped in an RV with a friendly British family that was heading out of the park (this was another time I was thankful that Michelle is so laid back). We enjoyed hearing about their adventures driving across the US. Then they wished us luck as they dropped us off at the gas station. We bought the coolant and then surveyed the options for people to hitchhike back into the park with. We met a friendly Swiss couple and they agreed to let us ride with them after they filled up their gas tank. "First I just have to figure out what type of gas to put in my rental car," the guy said. He had the car manual out and was flipping through hopelessly. I smiled and told him not to worry. We may not be experts with car mechanics, but we could certainly help him choose which gasoline to put in his car :) Ahh, I just love foreigners!
After I got to practice a few phrases in French and hear more about Switzerland, the couple dropped us off at our car and told us they hoped to see us on the Half Dome trail the next day. Things were looking up and in spite of the hiccup with the car and Michelle and I were having a great time. Soon enough, we were setting up camp and preparing our packs for the big hike the next day.
On Sunday morning, we woke up early and headed up the road for the Half Dome hike. In the first five minutes on the road, my car started overheating again and my heart sank. "No, this can't happen! We have to hike Half Dome!" I popped the hood and Michelle poured in more coolant. We were starting to get pretty good at this. Then we rolled down the windows and cranked on the heat (a little trick we were taught the day before about cooling down your engine) and said a prayer that we would make it. After that, it was smooth sailing and next thing we knew, we were at the trailhead for the big hike.
The scenery was beautiful all the way up with stunning waterfalls and massive granite walls around us. We met a few people on the way, including a couple named Camilla and Max who quickly became our new hiking buddies. Camilla was from England and Max from Germany, but they had met each other in Tanzania. We all shared stories about Africa and our humanitarian work overseas and after bonding over our love for Africa, we decided that we should all hike to the top together.
Max and Camilla proved to be great hiking buddies and doubled as photographers when we found a great view and wanted to take pictures. After a long, hot, hike we finally reached the cables. Michelle and I looked at each other with big eyes. We had heard it was tough, but standing there watching all the people pulling themselves up the steep incline made us both a bit nervous. "Are you thinking of turning back?" I asked Michelle. "No we came this far. We have to do it," she responded very matter-of-fact. I was glad she was all in because I certainly didn't want to do this alone.
Next thing we knew, we were climbing the cables, slow and steady, one step at a time. One of the challenges of going up was that it was a bit crowded when we started and we had to carefully pass the people who were coming down. So there we were, holding on to the cables with both hands, trying not to slip at the extra steep parts and only looking down occasionally. It was one of those times that I got to experience what the saying "hold on for dear life" really means. It took a lot of upper body strength as well, as you're literally pulling yourself up the mountain.
Finally, we made it to the top and celebrated with a drink, a snack and some photos. We had finally made it! On the way back down, there were a lot less people, so it was nice that we didn't have to worry about passing all the hikers climbing up. Surprisingly enough, I found that going down was not scary at all. We just came down backwards holding the cables and before we knew it, we were at the bottom. After a few miles of hiking, we stopped by the creek for a little while to pump fresh water and relax. Even though we would've loved to stay there the rest of the night, we knew we had to finish up the hike so we headed back down the trail.
As our journey came to an end, we said our goodbyes and parted ways with Max and Camilla. On the drive back to the campground, the stars were so amazing that I had to pull off for a few minutes. Michelle and I had a few minutes of taking in the beauty of God's creation and I silently said a prayer thanking Him for getting us safely up and down the cables in one piece.
Back at the campground, we celebrated a successful day with a small campfire (thanks to Michelle and her fire-building skills) and roasted marshmallows over the fire. It had been a fun adventure and I was grateful to share it with such a fun, adventurous group of people. I don't know if I'll ever make it back to hike Half Dome again, but I can definitely say that it was an incredible experience that I will never forget!
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