Half Dome

A.Ma.Zing. Or as Huell Howser would say, "That is amazing," in his unique tone. But seriously, Half Dome was such an amazing experience that when I reminisce about our adventure, I still get a rush. I went through so many different emotions on this hike: excitement, pain, awe, determination, fear, empowerment, exhaustion, satisfaction, peace. I have wanted to hike Half Dome for a couple years now and I am so glad I finally got the chance to do it. I am also really glad that I am in good shape because it was a pretty difficult hike. It was a true test of strength for me in a couple of areas: physically and mentally.

I have a small fear of heights so the cables were scarier for me than I was imagining them to be; especially going down. Going up was actually pretty cool because you didn't have to look down if you didn't want to, and it wasn't hard to pull myself up. Going down was not so cool. You were forced to look down and while it's a beautiful view, it's freakin' scary. And the rock on the way down seemed steeper and harder to get a good grip with your shoes. There was a brief moment where I lost my footing and slid down to the next board, and it scared the CRAP out of me. But I handled myself like a champ and kept my focus on just getting down. When I made it to the bottom I was immediately proud of all of us for our accomplishment.

The hike wasn't all fun though. I got some pretty bad blisters on my heels on the way up the mountain and by the time we got to the top to eat lunch and rest, I had to use the first aid kit to try and bandage myself up. Luckily the way down is pretty much all downhill so the weight was on my toes. But because the trail was mostly downhill on the way back, my bum knee took a beating. I thought for sure it was going to be swollen the next day but it thankfully wasn't. We also ran out of water and the sun had become more intense than it was on the way up, so we were dying to get to the bottom of the trail. We were practically jogging down; cutting people off, taking shortcuts when there was one. There were some people on the trail with those damn hiking poles that I wanted to kick out of the way because I just wanted to be done and they were hogging the trail. And after being thrilled once we did reach the end and I was able to sit and take off my shoes, I then got eaten alive by mosquitoes.

But all in all, hiking Half Dome was one of those moments in life that will leave a lasting impression. Memories I hope to always remember and natural beauty that leaves you speechless. There has even been some talk between Jody and I recently that we wouldn't mind doing another one of Yosemite's many hikes again next summer. Maybe next time we'll turn it into a camping trip too and stay in the Valley this time. And when Mallory gets older, she can come camping with us; gotta get her used to the outdoors since this Jenkins family loves to be outdoors.