Unfinished Business (Her Story)

The alarm went off at 3:00 am and the wake up call came shortly after - a real human being on the other end of the line. How nice to hear a human voice wake us up instead of a computer, but how awful for the person who has to be up at that hour to make those calls. Despite being tired the night before, I didn't sleep well. I probably got about 5 hours of sleep - not enough. Too many anxious thoughts running through my head.

I called the valet service to ask them to have our car ready in half an hour. Then I jumped in the shower and then got dressed. I put on my pants and immediately knew something was wrong. They were a tad too tight and then I realized - with horror - that I had accidentally packed Duane's hiking pants and not mine. They are exactly the same color - the only difference being the belt loops and the lack of a boot zipper at the bottom of the pant. Fortunately, we're about the same height and size, so they fit. Unfortunately for me, however, men's pants are cut narrower in the thigh. Although the pants fit, with every uphill step I would be fighting these pants. Subdome wouldn't just be difficult. It would be awful. I briefly considered wearing my jeans and quickly discarded that idea for a multiplicity of reasons. Duane's pants would have to do.

I was ready to go by 3:30 am, as we had planned. Duane was still packing his pack, which he hadn't done the night before. Grrr! By the time we left our room, it was 3:45 am. We were now 45 minutes later than I had wanted to be. I didn't get out of the parking lot, before realizing that I had left my National Park Pass in the hotel room. I ran back up to the room to get it. And then we were on our way to Glacier Point and the Panorama Trail trailhead.

It took us about 40 minutes to drive to Glacier Point. The road is currently gravel and torn up from Highway 41 to the turn off for Badger Pass ski area - about six miles. Fortunately, the road is graded well and is not badly washboarded. I was able to maintain between 20-30 mph on the dirt portion of the road, just under the regular speed limit. We arrived and parked near the outhouse. There were more cars than I expected - about eight vehicles - at that time of the morning. We parked and prepared our hiking poles, tied our hiking boots and put on our packs. Duane spent precious minutes repacking his backpack. I really didn't understand why this wasn't already done the night before. By the time he was ready to go, it was nearly 5:00 am, almost a full hour after we should have been on the trail.

One of the best things about being up at the wee hours of the morning at Glacier Point, was the heavenly view of the sky. We could easily see the Pleiades, Cygnus, Orion and the Milky Way. The sky was so full of stars that it was difficult to pick out familiar constellations. We could also see Venus just to the right of the black lump that had to be Half Dome. A beautiful sight, but we couldn't really stop at length to enjoy it, already being so late.

We found the trailhead and away we went. I wore two headlamps on my visor, but even though I was able to see, the lack of depth perception made hiking slower and more difficult. I didn't want to take a misstep and fall and hurt myself in the dark. Duane seemed to have better luck carrying his headlamp, but I knew that wouldn't have worked for me with both hands gripping my hiking poles. About halfway to Illilouette Fall, we could see the thin band of morning's first light breaking over the eastern horizon. About this same time, we saw pinpoints of light as if floating in the distance and lower across the canyon. This must have been other hikers on their way to Half Dome. It didn't get light enough to hike without head lamps until we reached Illilouette Fall, around 6:45 am.

For a while, we played the question game. Duane pulled a Reggie "Val Kilmer" moment. Marilyn Monroe was not appearing in films made in the 1970s (she died in 1962), nor was she as well known for her dramatic roles as she was for romantic comedies. No way I would have gotten that with the clues given.

After a short break to eat a trail bar at Illilouette Fall, we continue on across the bridge, up and out of Illilouette Canyon and to the Panorama Cliffs. At this point, rosy fingered Dawn was finally hitting the western peaks of Yosemite Valley. Beautiful! We decided to pass up a short trip to Panorama Point overlook. We had already been there in June and we were already very late. We continued on.

We reached the junction for the John Muir, and Mono Meadow at about 7:30 am. This was the first time we had seen any people at all since we started. One group of three passed us, followed shortly thereafter by two more hikers. The two hikers asked us if we were on our way down from Half Dome. What?!?!?! We pointed across the Canyon and told them that Half Dome was on the other side of the Merced River and pointed towards it. Half Dome, at this point, was mostly hidden behind Liberty Cap. We turned them around and set them on the right path. The group of three that we had passed earlier, came running down the switchbacks to Nevada Falls shortly thereafter. Apparently, they had also taken a wrong turn.

Why would anyone take on a hike as long and strenuous as the Half Dome hike without a good trail map? Inquiring minds want to know...

We reached Nevada Fall at about 8:15 am. We stopped at the restroom so Duane could use it. I tried to eat my sandwich, but was attacked by several yellowjackets. The last time I ate a lunch at Nevada Falls, the only critters that wanted my sandwich were squirrels. They were much cuter than yellowjackets! I gave up and put my sandwich away. I was amazed that there were so many people here at Nevada Falls this early in the morning. Oh what a difference that hour would have made!

A few minutes later, we continued on, past the restroom and up the stone steps around Liberty Cap, until the trail leveled out and followed the Merced River for another mile. Here the trail was so full of sand, it was like walking on a beach. It was actually much easier to walk just off the trail. There was actually a fresh trail cut by hikers, right next to the main trail, for this very reason. I used it.

Shortly before the junction for the Half Dome trail, we stopped at riverside to refill our water bladders for the grueling 3.5 mile trek to the top. After reaching the Half Dome Trail junction, we turned left and headed up the saddle between Half Dome and Cloud's Rest. We were about a mile past this junction, when we heard the loud distinctive sound of helicopter rotors chopping air. It had to be nearby. We looked up at Half Dome just in time to see the helicopter take off. Being out of communication, we weren't sure what had happened, but we knew that it couldn't be good. Flying a helicopter to the top of Half Dome is not done unless there is some kind of emergency.

I pulled out my small handheld transceiver (HT) thinking that I would use it to find out what was going on, but had forgotten that the Wilderness Protocol frequency - 146.52 on 2 meters - was programmed in my other HT and I couldn't remember the frequency. I put the radio back in my pack. Without that frequency, that hunk of plastic and metal was useless and I may as well not have brought it at all. We hiked on, though now a question mark had been cast over the day. What had happened on Half Dome?

At the same time, we were being passed by many hikers. Duane was getting more and more nervous and made up his mind at one point that he was not going to go on. He didn't want to try the cables in a crowd. I didn't either, but without knowing what was happening at the top, I didn't want to quit. I was angry with him. I had not come this far to beat myself mentally - or let him do the same. If there is one thing I have learned over this past year of training, it's that any endurance activity is as much a mental contest as it is a physical contest. My body might not hold up, but my mind wasn't going to give in. What I didn't read correctly was his sense of concern.

I reasoned with him that many of the people passing us would probably already be on their way back down by the time we got there. We estimated we would reach the cables by 12:00 pm, at our current, slower pace. I agreed that if it became clear that we could not get to the top and descend by 3:00 pm, we would turn back. He agreed to continue on.

At the same time, the weather was taking an interesting turn. The weather had been forecast to be 85 degrees and perfectly sunny. We checked my hiking thermometer and it was 80 degrees, though it didn't even feel that warm. But clouds were gathering over Half Dome, coming in from the west. We couldn't be sure, from this direction, what kind of clouds they were because they were partially hidden. Were they the beginnings of the dreaded cumulonimbus - thunder clouds that could immediately put an end to our hike? We weren't sure, but we paid attention.

We reached the two mile sign and the junction to the John Muir and Cloud's Rest trails. There were many people loitering, snacking and resting here. It was easy to find someone to take a photo of us. At this point, I zipped off my (actually Duane's) pant bottoms figuring it would be easier to do all the uphill. We hiked on. About ten minutes and a half mile later, we reached the spring. If we hadn't already known that it was a spring, we would have thought it was a puddle and hiked right on by. We hiked on for another several hundred feet up this series of interminable switchbacks.

By this time, we were beginning to see some hikers on their return. We stopped some of them to ask if they knew what had happened at the top. This was when we found out that it was a suicide. A few hikers later and we discovered that the cables had been closed and would be closed for approximately two hours. Hundreds of hikers were pooling at the Saddle between Subdome and the beginning of the cables. At this point, I knew that our Half Dome attempt was over. Even if we got to the top of Subdome by 1:00 pm, we would never get up and down the cables to Half Dome in the time that we had planned with throngs of people ahead of us at the Saddle.

At the same time, I was beginning to run out of gas and my appetite was so suppressed that I was finding it difficult to eat. I knew I needed to eat - I just didn't want to. I had to force myself to eat trail bars. My sandwich was out of the question. Duane had also tried to eat his sandwich, but was immediately attacked by five to six yellowjackets. He also gave up trying to eat his sandwich. I'm not sure whether my slight anemia played a part in this, but I'm sure it didn't help.

We were almost at the top of the ridge line, where we would have been at the tree line. We could see sky above the final switchbacks on the hill. We could see hikers going up the granite switchbacks on Subdome right in front of Half Dome. We could see hikers climbing up - or perhaps only down - the cables. So near and yet so far. We were disappointed. But I knew that in my current state of exhaustion, I would not be able to get up, let alone down, the cables safely. Neither of us wanted to hike back down tired and in the dark. So we turned around, going back over the ground we had so recently traversed.

The only constructive thing I could do at this point was to say a decade of the Rosary for the deceased (though I was so tired it was difficult to hike and count Hail Marys at the same time). It's difficult for most people to know what can drive a person to despair so deep that they see no value in their own life and no hope in the future. But I have known someone who killed himself. In his case, he had chronic depression, a kind of mental illness. Others I have had a passing acquaintance with had financial or family problems. None of them were bad people, but all of them were too proud to seek help. In their weakness they chose to throw away their lives.

Suicide is inherently a selfish act. One can never commit suicide without having an impact on the family and friends left behind. Sometimes that impact is a financial one. More often it is an emotional impact. It also impacts strangers, such as the hiker who found today's suicide or the postman who found my ex-boyfriend hanging from a rope off the balcony of his house in the middle of the forest five days after he had killed himself. It impacted the helicopter pilot who had to make a risky flight to the top of Half Dome to retrieve the body. It impacted all of the hikers trying to reach the summit, causing a dangerous logjam at the cables. And it impacted the deceased who will never again see another sunrise, another sunset, or another smile. So I prayed that, whatever his situation, God would have mercy and compassion on him and would help him sort this all out.

We returned to Nevada Fall, where we took off our boots and socks and, standing on the slick granite soaked our feet in the cool river water. It felt so wonderful. My feet were so hot, but fortunately not even a hint of a blister. Thank God for REI's generous boot return policy! It took four pairs of boots before I finally found the right size and this paid dividends today. We put fresh socks on and continued on down the mountain.

The next decision was whether to take the faster, steeper Mist Trail down the mountain or to take the longer, gentler John Muir Trail. We opted for the safer, surer John Muir Trail. Along the way down, we met two ladies who were both having knee problems. Duane gave them his extra knee strap and they gave us a bar of chocolate. That was wonderful and probably really saved me. I would never have thought to bring chocolate on a hike for fear of it melting and making a mess all over my backpack. But this was dark chocolate with less likelihood of melting. I wasn't hungry for much of anything, but I was still able to eat electrolyte beans and the chocolate was wonderful! My energy level picked up a bit. Even so, I was moving like an automaton over the rocky trail at this point. The last mile or two down the John Muir Trail was the most difficult, not because of the downhill which is harder, but because my energy reserves were so depleted.

At one point between Clark Point and the Vernal Fall footbridge, Duane fell down. I heard him start to go down close behind me, so I stopped and planted myself like a tree. He grabbed my leg and this stopped his fall, but not before he got a skinned calf and bumped elbow. We stopped, I pulled out the first aid kit and we disinfected his scrape and applied a bandage. We continued on.
We reached the Vernal Fall footbridge at about 5:15 pm. It was at this point that I drank the last of my water. Duane's hydration pack had run out about half an hour earlier, higher up on the John Muir Trail. Here, I made a much needed stop at the restroom and splashed cool water all over my head. (We still each had 32 ounce bottles of water remaining, however.) It felt wonderful! It was here that we met the curly, blond haired teenager and his friends who found the suicide's body and who called 911 on his cell phone from the top of Half Dome. He didn't seem too shaken up, but we were both sorry that this had happened to him.

We continued on, arriving at Happy Isles at a couple minutes past 6:00 pm - just after the snack stand had closed. Drat! But we were in time for the shuttle, which meant we didn't have to hike the last half mile to the Curry Village parking lot. Yeah! We reached the "welcome car" and changed our shoes and used the restroom at Curry Village. We decided to eat in Curry Village rather than wait until we arrived at Tenaya Lodge. We still had to pick up our other car at Glacier Point, so it would be at least two hours before we got to the hotel. We each had a hamburger at Curry Village. Yum! Then we hobbled to the "welcome car".

Neither of us were inclined to buy the we-made-it-to-the-top-of-Half-Dome tee shirt. So we took a pass. At this point, we both wanted a hot shower and bed.

It did indeed take another two hours to get back to Tenaya Lodge. I dropped Duane off at Glacier Point, traversing the six miles of gravel road once again though this time with much more traffic. He took some final photographs of Half Dome in the last light of the day.

We arrived back at Tenaya Lodge at a little past 8:00 pm. Duane showered and I soaked in a hot bath. I didn't have the energy to put on my swimsuit and head down to the hot tub. I could have fallen asleep in the bath. We ordered room service - we were both still a little hungry - and I ordered a margarita. We wound down a little bit before finally going to bed, sleeping like the dead.

Even though we didn't make the summit of Half Dome, we both felt that this was a big accomplishment. We hiked a further distance, over more time, at higher elevation than we had ever hiked before. We came within a mile to a mile and a half of the summit of Half Dome. Neither of us are twenty-something any more. Neither of us ever thought, in all the years that we have been visiting Yosemite, that we would ever have attempted to hike to the summit of Half Dome.

Water, Water Everywhere

We set our alarms for 5:45 a.m this morning, but as it turned out it was unnecessary. Our son knocked on our door at 5:00 a.m. Our son and Uncle Dave were up early to see us off!

We showered, dressed and packed the final items in our packs. I packed my sandwich and we both filled our water bladders. I left a little bit of room in my hydration bladder and filled the rest of it with ice. That kept my water nice and cool for much of the day.

In doing all of this, I put my pack on my bed for a moment and when I picked it up a few minutes later, I noticed that there was some water on the bed. It turns out I had put the pack on the valve and released some of the water. I quickly cleaned it up while Duane gave me a hard time about doing this and reminded me to keep the valve closed. (He had done this at home about two months ago, emptying the entire remnants of his bladder onto our kitchen floor.) Duane meanwhile, had also put his pack down on the bed and, only moments later, noticed that he had a HUGE leak. (Uncle Dave named it "Lake Havasu".) Unfortunately, it wasn't just on his bed. The entire contents of his pack were soaked, including his spare socks. Apparently, the lid to the hydration pack had not threaded correctly. He quickly pulled the bedspread off the bed so that at least the mattress wouldn't get soaked, refilled his hydration bladder and this time put the lid on correctly.

Worse yet, he discovered this at 6:25 am, only five minutes before our shuttle was supposed to leave. We went downstairs, checked in for the shuttle and while we waited a few minutes for it to be ready, Duane unpacked his wet pack and dried the contents out and repacked, while I fetched him some dry spare liner socks from our suitcase. Fortunately, Duane didn't have his sandwich in his pack or that would have gotten soggy too.

We loaded our team, the Panorama #4 team, into two shuttles and headed off for Yosemite National Park and Glacier Point. About 40 minutes later, we arrived and, after some photos and an opportunity to use the bathroom, we headed off. Our son and Uncle Dave drove separately to Glacier Point to see us off. It was clear that they were going to have a really fun day together! Ten minutes and a few switchbacks down the side of the canyon and we heard two voices yelling "Bye" at us - our son and Uncle Dave waving at us from Glacier Point. That was really cool!

Almost immediately after we started our hike, we noticed a bush with white blossoms. Our guide Roddy told us that it was Whitethorn. I thought it looked an awful lot like Ceanothus, except that it wasn't blue. It turns out that Whitethorn IS a white Ceanothus.

The view of Half Dome, where several of our teammates were hiking, is much more imposing and intimidating from Glacier Point (seen above with Vernal and Nevada Falls to the right) than it is from the valley floor. I must admit to having mixed feelings about not making the team, especially after what happened last week. Fortunately for our teammates, the weather is perfect. Not too hot and no rain. They will have a good day.

The first stretch of our hike was mostly down switchbacks, not terribly steep. We made it to the first junction and the group was still mostly together. By the time we got to the junction of the Panorama and Buena Vista trails, about 2.6 miles into our hike, one of our teammates was falling seriously behind. We waited about half an hour at that junction for the group to come together before trekking on. This teammate apparently didn't participate in most of our training hikes - so much so that I didn't even realize this hiker was on our team. Apparently, this hiker had an issue with blisters and, to make things incredibly worse, had chosen not to wear the hiking boots that had been left in the car. Instead, this hiker wore ordinary tennis shoes. No hiking poles either.

On a short hike, this might not make much of a difference. But on a longer hike with a lot of downhill, this was a stupendously bad idea. The tennis shoes did not have enough room in them at the toes for all of the downhill we were doing. Consequently, this hiker was jamming toes into the end of the shoe and will probably lose both big toenails and perhaps others as well. This teammate hiked the last paved mile from the footbridge to Happy Isles in stocking feet.

Similar problems had happened to me earlier in the season and I was not unsympathetic towards this hiker. I was unable to finish our Windy Hill hike. That's when I discovered that my boots were too small and that I needed an orthotic to prevent problems with my metatarsal arch. As of today, I am on my fourth pair of hiking boots, but I sorted these issues out months ago and I kept at it until the problem was solved.

There is apparently a requirement that all Team in Training hike participants wear appropriate hiking boots for our last and longest two hikes and also for the event. So why this hiker was allowed to participate with inadequate gear doesn't make any sense to me. Where was our coach who was acting as the sweep on our hike? Didn't she notice? And what about the officials who were taking check ins? Tennis shoes would have been fine for the easy, level Valley Floor hike, but not for a 9.6 mile hike with a 3,179 ft. elevation drop!

The immediate consequence for the rest of the group was that we had longer and longer waits for this hiker to catch up at the trail junctions. By the time we got to the Vernal Fall footbridge, just past the junction of the Mist and the John Muir trails and nearly at the end of our hike, we were waiting about an hour. Our muscles started to cool down and tighten up and we had to keep stretching. Our hike, which should have taken between five and six hours, instead took about eight.

But even that couldn't ruin the glorious day that we had. The weather was perfect and the temperature never rose above 80 degrees. We hiked down to Illilouette Creek and crossed the bridge, reaching Illilouette Fall a few feet later. Illilouette Fall can not be seen from the bridge or even from just above the Fall - we had to view it on our way down to the bridge. We dawdled a bit at the bridge before hiking our one incline of the day (about 700 feet) out of Illilouette Canyon and on to Panorama Point. Panorama Point has incredible vistas of Half Dome, Yosemite Valley and the Merced River. Awesome!

After Panorama Point, we pressed on along mostly level terrain until the junction of the Panorama and Mono Meadow trails. From there we descended a series of switchbacks down to Nevada Fall. Wildflowers were in evidence throughout the day, with the best specimen being the wild azalea that we saw just before reaching Nevada Fall. They were wonderfully fragrant, reminding me of the perfume of star jasmine or wisteria.

We stopped at Nevada Fall for lunch (would someone please remind me NOT to put avocado on my sandwich when I order it the day before). There was also the opportunity to use the bathroom conveniently located slightly upriver from the Fall. We had wonderful views of Liberty Cap and the Merced River, while eating our lunch.

Roddy, our trail guide, had been given about five pounds of M&Ms and trail mix to carry in his pack. Why, I wasn't sure, since we all had our own food. Apparently, people didn't bring enough food last year, so this year the guides and everyone else over corrected. So poor Roddy had to carry all that extra weight the entire hike and, of course, he took every opportunity he had to offer us M&Ms. We obliged as we could, but refrained from giving any M&Ms to the two squirrels who befriended us during lunch.

Of all the trails we have hiked over the past several months, this one had the most bathrooms, located at Glacier Point, Nevada Fall and the Vernal Fall footbridge. I think there was one at Vernal Fall too. Ironically, I didn't need to use any of them, which was even odder considering that I nearly always need a bathroom about ten to fifteen minutes into a hike. Go figure. I must have calculated my liquid and electrolyte intake just right. I drank a 32 ounce bottle of Gatorade on the first half of the hike and another 32 ounce bottle of Gatorade on the second half of the hike. In between I sipped water out of my hydration pack. By the end of our hike, I had almost no fluids left. Perhaps, being at higher and drier elevations, my body also knew that it needed to use more fluid?

My equipment was also working well. My hiking boots were comfortable all the way to the end of our hike. My newly purchased sweatband worked wonderfully, keeping my forehead nice and cool while at the same time keeping my glasses dry. The water-laden neckerchief that I had purchased was refreshingly cool on my neck and I was glad to have it along.

Oddly, our group was composed of several teammates with injuries. Duane had a knee injury earlier in the season as did another of our teammates. A different teammate was recovering from a broken collarbone. And there was our hiker with toe issues. But most of us had been training for Half Dome and were in pretty good shape despite all, remaining at our near the front of the pack. Duane's knee didn't bother him the entire hike - his knee strap did its job.

After lunching at Nevada Fall, looking at the Fall from the observation point and taking several photos, we moved on. At this point, we made the decision to take the John Muir trail down to Happy Isles, rather than the Mist trail. The Mist trail goes right next to the waterfalls and is composed of two runs of large granite steps cut out of the side of the canyon. Going down the John Muir's more gradual switchbacks would be easier on the knees and feet than the Mist's granite staircases, despite the extra half mile, and we already had one hiker with serious feet problems.

As we descended down the John Muir Trail, we were passed by a few mule trains which left their smelly droppings along the trail. We hadn't encountered these during our April hike to Vernal Fall, most likely because portions of the trail were still covered with snow and it was too early in the season. Despite this odiferous portion of our hike we had a stunningly glorious view of Nevada Fall on the way down, hiking under an overhang dripping with snow melt. Very refreshing, but we had to watch out for our cameras!

By the time we got to Clark Point, all was beginning to look very familiar albeit with less snow than there was last April. Only 1.7 miles to go! We hiked down this last portion of the hike reaching the junction of the Mist and John Muir Trails. Our guide Roddy decided to wait at that junction for the rest to catch up and told the rest of us to proceed a short way down to the Vernal Fall footbridge. It was a nicer place to wait, complete with bathroom, drinking faucet and a place to wash off the dirt. We waited there for about an hour before hiking the last bit to Happy Isles.

At Happy Isles, we caught the shuttle bus to Yosemite Lodge, where we were to check in from our hike before catching our vans back to Tenaya Lodge. I stopped in at the general store and purchased a six-pack of Bud Light, which I shared with our teammates. Our hiker with the foot problems was very happy to be back and I was glad to offer my congratulations with a beer! On the way back to Tenaya Lodge, we stopped for a bathroom break and I finally had the desire to unleash what was left of the pent up fluids I had consumed earlier in the day. Ahhh!

We had an hour and a half to shower and change into fresh clothes, after reaching the lodge and reconnecting with our son and Uncle Dave. Felt so much better! I wasn't much sore this evening, despite the length - and duration - of our hike. This trail really wasn't very challenging. But, oh, what gorgeous vistas! At 8:00 p.m., we went to the Celebration Dinner, where we ate a pretty good meal and even had enough energy left over to dance some swing. After dinner, I soaked in the jacuzzi for an hour with some of our fellow hikers, sharing stories of the day, before turning in for the night.

What a wonderful day!

Vernal Falls and Beyond...

After a quick breakfast, we departed for Yosemite National Park. We parked at Curry Village and took the shuttle over to the Happy Isles trailhead.


I was carrying two bottles of G2, two water bottles, two granola bars, trail mix, and sports beans. Duane carried his knapsack with more of the same and our son carried his hydration fanny pack. Unfortunately the belt wouldn't cinch small enough for his waist, but I managed to tie the straps together and make it just right. For some reason, there was no clip attached to the hose, so I had to snake it up through the belt for easy access.

We started off at about 10:30 am, several hours later than we are planning to begin this hike on June 20th. The John Muir Trail follows the Merced River which, at this time of year, runs strong and swiftly from all of the snow melt. We could see Illilouette Falls running in a distant side of the canyon. In fact, after hiking probably only a quarter of a mile, we had fantastic views of Illilouette Fall to the side of us, Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall ahead of us and Yosemite Falls behind us. The trail wound gradually up to a footbridge.

Here at the footbridge is the last flush toilet and water fountain. We took advantage of the opportunity! We crossed the river where the trail meanders through the woods for a bit. After that, the Mist Trail splits off from the John Muir Trail and we began our ascent up the approximately 800 granite steps, which would take us up to Vernal Falls, 1.5 miles farther and 1000 feet higher than where we began.

I won't say the steps were easy, but I will say that I expected something more difficult. The stairs themselves are rough hewn out of Yosemite granite, and most of the steps are higher than normal. I was particularly grateful that we had been walking up and down Communications Hill multiple times. As we got closer to Vernal Falls, we were treated to a beautiful rainbow off the mist, which also got us plenty wet as we went up the stairs. We had to put on our jackets for a time and even so, we got pretty wet, but it wasn't far from the top and the water felt good after our climb.

We rested and refueled at Vernal Falls, enjoying the beautiful view of the powerful water rushing over the slick granite. After our rest, we hiked up the Merced River about another 100 feet, before taking the connecting trail up to Clark's Point where we joined up with the John Muir Trail once again. We chose this route because we wanted to save our knees the pounding that would surely ensue going down all of those wet granite steps. The switchbacks, which still had snow, on the John Muir Trail was twice as long, but we didn't have rubber knees at the bottom.

We reached Happy Isles again at 2:00 pm, and quickly caught the shuttle back to the car at Curry Village. We had just enough time to make it to the Awahnee Hotel for Sunday brunch! This is one of my favorite things to do in Yosemite, not only because they have a killer buffet, but because the dining room is so beautiful.

In we walked, hot and sweaty and in our hiking clothes and they seated us anyway! (They do have a dress code for dinner.) Our son had fun picking out his favorite yummy lunch and I had some really great sushi and other treats.

At about 3:30 pm, we began the long drive back home. Duane took the first shift. Our son and I slept in the car all the way to Mariposa where we switched drivers and Duane got to take his nap.

We had a great time this week! We walked all over the place, we hiked in the mountains and we managed to come home with mostly clean clothes! Tomorrow it's back to reality...