Conquering Half Dome with Cables Down

Hike: Yosemite Half Dome: 10/16/19 - 10:07 hours, 17.9 miles, 4800 + elevation gain Stayed at: Camp Curry - Curry Village Tent Cabins In 2019, I’ve been working on leaning into my fears and allowing myself to be vulnerable. Since last Monday, I have driven from Seattle to Yosemite and stayed in the famous Camp Curry at Curry Village in a tent cabin (so cool, highly recommend this) and am currently in St George, UT, on my way to canyoneer the Subway at Zion tomorrow morning. Hiking half dome with the cables up is a challenge for any hiker, but doing it with the cables down (and under a cold 😷🤒🤧) will forever rank as a high point in my life. The steel cables serve as an erected handrail for hikers to grip to make the final ascent to the top of the dome accessible. While scary in itself, it pales in comparison to the thrill of climbing half dome with the cables down, sans any other hikers, for double the challenge and an ascent that becomes the province of climbers, with the right gear. With some encouragement (okay lots -thank you @vpaitoon ) from one of my oldest friends, endurance, and the mindset of allowing myself to be my most vulnerable, I made it to the top of this sacred monolith with the cables DOWN, drank in the well earned views, and am now walking a little taller than 5ft knowing that my limits will forever be stretched by the magnitude of this incredible and humbling experience. The coolest part was the cables were meant to come down on Columbus Day, and for some reason the rangers were in the midst of taking them down on this day. We waited 3 hours for them to complete the takedown and were able to snap a great photo with the ranger crew, cable poles and planks in their backpacks. This was the start of an incredible journey through many of the western states I have previously lived in, and rising to the challenge of the most iconic hikes in each. Looking forward to Zion’s Subway tomorrow and Rim to Rim at the Grand Canyon later this week.