Half Dome... Again

We just got back from a trip to Yosemite... one of my favorite places. David, Rachel and I took Jared, Joshua, Tanner and their cousins, Aaron and Derek, to Yosemite so they could start the John Muir Trail. We spent a few days camping in Yosemite so we could get the proper permits and then we started backpacking last Monday morning. We went to Little Yosemite Valley where we spent the night and then the next morning we climbed to the top of Half Dome. Since David, Rachel and I were going to camp in Little Yosemite one more night, we didn't have to pack up our stuff. We got up at 6:15 am and started up the trail by 6:30. The boys got up at the same time but they fixed breakfast and packed up all their stuff so they could just continue on after we did Half Dome. They didn't leave camp until 8:30 am and they arrived at the bottom of the cables where we were waiting only 20 minutes after we got there. It's a good thing we started early so we didn't hold them up with our slow pace.

The climb to the top of Half Dome was great. David and I have already climbed it before but Rachel really wanted to do it so we went again. She did it without any problem and we ate lunch on top. The boys climbed down and headed off because they had a long ways to go that day. For those of you who aren't familiar with the JMT, it is about 230 miles long and takes them about 3 weeks to hike.

David, Rachel and I hiked back to Little Yosemite and spent the afternoon swimming in the river which was so fun! We got up early the next morning to hike out. After we picked up the cars, we started our drive home and happened upon the boys as we were driving through Tuolumne Meadows. They were having lunch and everyone seemed to be doing great.

 We drove to Reds Meadows where we dropped off a box of food for the boys to pick up in a few days and then we drove to Whitney Portal where they will end their trek. We left our van there so they can get home. We left there and drove through Death Valley. It was 120 degrees at 10:00 pm. I would hate to go through it in the middle of the day. We were exhausted by the time we got to Las Vegas at midnight so we got a hotel room and slept until 6 am. Then we headed home.

We had a great time and once again, I am already planning my next backpacking trip. Anyone got any good suggestions?

Gaylene and Rachel practicing their synchronized diving.  :-)