One Best Hike: Yosemite's Half Dome. Rick Deutsch

      

      One Best Hike: Yosemite’s Half Dome

      2nd EDITION 2012

      Copyright © 2012 by Carpe Diem Experience, LLC (Rick Deutsch)

      Text and photos by the author, except where indicated.

      Cover design: Larry B. Van Dyke and Scott McGrew

      Book design and layout: Andreas Schueller and Annie Long

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Deutsch, Rick.

      One best hike: Yosemite’s Half Dome / Rick Deutsch. — 2nd ed.

      p. cm.

      Includes bibliographical references and index.

      ISBN-13: 978-0-89997-674-7

      ISBN-10: 0-89997-674-3

      1. Hiking—California—Yosemite National Park—Guidebooks. 2. Hiking—California—Half Dome—Guidebooks. 3. Half Dome (Calif.)—Guidebooks. 4. Yosemite National Park (Calif.)—Guidebooks. I. Title.

      GV199.42.C22Y664 2012

      917.94’47—dc23

      2011053068

      Manufactured in the United States of America

Published by:	Wilderness Press
	P.O. Box 43673
	Birmingham, Alabama 35243
	[email protected]
	www.wildernesspress.com

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      Distributed by Publishers Group West

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher, except for brief quotations used in reviews.

      SAFETY NOTICE: Although Wilderness Press and the author have made every attempt to ensure that the information in this book is accurate at press time, they are not responsible for any loss, damage, injury, or inconvenience that may occur to anyone while using this book. Readers are advised to recheck phone numbers, prices, addresses, and other material. You are responsible for your own safety and health while in the wilderness. The fact that a trail is described in this book does not mean that it will be safe for you. The potential for falls, heat exhaustion, dehydration, hyperventilation, or other problems are possible (though not likely). Be aware that trail conditions can change from day to day. Always check local conditions and the weather, and know your own limitations.

      Acknowledgments

      I would like to thank:

      My wife, Diane, for her patience during my many hikes of Half Dome, my training, and the hours I spent at the keyboard.

      My sister, Michelle Deutsch LaMarche, who did the hike before me and encouraged me to do it the first time.

      The National Park Service and the Yosemite Conservancy for their support of this precious American resource.

      Dan Anderson for his efforts in digitizing many of the early Yosemite historical manuscripts in the Yosemite Online Library so that everyone may enjoy them.

      Harv Galic for his compilation of the Chronicles of Early Ascents of Half Dome.

      The many new friendships that Half Dome has introduced me to, including Sonke Kastner, Sister Kathy Littrell, Scott Gehrman, Pat Townsley, NPS ranger Mark Marschall, NPS ranger Daniel Schaible, Pete Devine (Yosemite Conservancy), and my many Facebook fans, blog readers, and audiences.

      My hiking buddy, Yosey (as in Yosemite), a 5-pound Yorkie whose zest for life inspires me.

      Rick Deutsch

      Mr. Half Dome

      Contents

       FOREWORD:

       PREFACE:

       1 INTRODUCTION

       2 GEOLOGY OF YOSEMITE AND HALF DOME

       How Yosemite Was Formed

       How Half Dome Was Formed

       3 HUMANS IN YOSEMITE

       Native Americans

       Arrival of the Whites

       Gold Fever

       The Crush Begins

       4 THE ASCENT OF HALF DOME

       Construction of the Cable Route

       The Slippery Slope

       Half Dome Today

       Overview of the Half Dome Hike

       Leave No Trace

       5 PRECAUTIONS

       Intensity

       Weather

       Altitude Sickness

       Mosquitoes

       Ticks

       Waterborne Critters

       The Falls

       Falling

       Wildlife

       6 GETTING THERE

       Arriving via CA 41 Northbound

       Arriving via CA 140 Northbound

       Arriving via CA 120 Westbound

       Arriving via CA 120 Eastbound

       Entering Yosemite

       7 PREPARATION

       Accommodations

       Permits