We snaked out of Berkeley at around 6, stopped in Manteca to crush some gut and hit the Yosemite Valley Floor around 10. Most campsites were pretty quiet when we rolled in, with many people already in their tents for the night. We parked in our campsite and set to unpacking the food to put it in the metal bear/Clayton proof boxes which are found on each campsite. I made some hot chocolate and by 11 we were all ready to rack. Since we planned on waking up at 4 to start hiking no one wanted to set up the tents we brought with us and we ended up just laying the sleeping bags out. The stars were brilliant out there without the light and smog pollution of the city. It reminded me of canoeing on Bottle Lake in Ontario when I was younger where night sky was just as dark. As I fell asleep I saw a few shooting stars pass the tips of the trees.Around 3 in the morning I woke to the sound of grunting and I rolled over. I heard my backpack which was sitting on the picnic table no more than 5' away fall to the ground. It was dark but I could see the shadow of a large animal as my eyes were still adjusting. I didn't move much partly because of the restricting mummy sleeping bag I was in. As I came to my senses I realized it was a black bear of at least 300lbs with it's nose in the top of my backpack. My heart was pounding and at first I really wanted to get up and either run or try to scare it off. Instead I stopped myself thinking it was probably better not to startle it and I didn't have any food in my bag anyway. I just lied there quietly and watched it pull things out with it's mouth like a pack of cards and smash around my stove a bit too. I turned to hit Paul and wake him up and the bear ran off in an instant. Not knowing exactly where it had gone I grabbed the flashlight and looked in every direction. I jumped out of the sleeping bag and surveyed the area. After 10 minutes or so of being jumpy and telling the others what happened I snuck back in the bag nervously. Soon after we heard a truck drive slowly into the campsite with a bright light, then a loud bang and two park rangers ran right past us with flashlights and tranquilizer rifles. Still in a state of disbelief I lied there quietly without sleep until Clayton's cell phone alarm woke us up at 4.
We all got up pretty quickly and packed up the sleeping bags while periodically rehashing the events of the bear. I brewed up some super strong percolated coffee and smashed some granola bars and trail mix into my grill. We hopped into the cars and headed to the trailhead parking lot not far away. After loading up our stuff all five of us head out towards the trailhead under the light of two headlamps at about 5.
The first leg of the hike was strenuous, partially because we started off quick but also because of the darkness causing several mis-steps. After hiking for a while we realized that we had taken the turn down the John Muir Trail which bypasses the Vernal Falls visible from the Mist Trail without knowing. The John Muir Trail is a bit longer but avoids the steep steps up the side of Vernal and Nevada Falls that we had taken the year before. By the time we'd realized this we had already climbed nearly to the elevation of Nevada Falls which was visible across the small valley below.
By this time we were also given our first glances of Half Dome to the Northwest.
We reached Nevada Falls and the temperature was pretty cold near the crest. After a short stay we started into the flattest part of the hike through the Little Yosemite Valley along the Merced River with Half Dome peaking through the tree tops.
After maybe a mile or so we were back to hiking uphill through the woods as we ascended up the back slope of the dome finally reaching the rocky section before cables.
This section of the hike is comprised of many rocky switchbacks, some with steps and some just rock face as you make your way into the saddle point where the cables begin. We approached the cables sometime just after 9.
Since the last time I'd hiked it the park has removed the pile of gloves that used to be laying at the bottom. Knowing this before we came, we brought gloves for gripping the metal cables on the way up and it makes a world of difference. Last time I was stuck with leather work gloves that slide down the cables everytime I took a step up to the next wood platform. This time I had kayaking gloves with rubberized grip which made the cable run way easier. Once on top of the dome you are treated with some awesome views of the Valley, El Capitan, Cloud's Rest and Glacier Point.
We rested on the dome for an hour or so, eating some food and taking a nap. Making it to the summit is only half the story coming back down was just as intense because your knees have to endure the impact of about 40000 steps down 2 inches each on average. Before taking on the trek down we had to deal with taking the cables down with a huge line of midday hikers coming up. It may sounds scary but it was way easier coming down on the outside of the cables instead of trying to pass all the people coming up.
We made our way back down to Little Yosemite Valley and stopped beside the Merced River to refill water and eat some hot dogs. This was the last major stop before descending past Nevada Falls and the abundance of horse dung on the trail towards the Happy Isles trailhead and eventually our cars. We left Yosemite at 5 having survived the climb to Half Dome and the black bear!
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