Couple waiting for sunrise

**Half Dome webinar  HD info**

Sunday night 7 pm

 http://hikehalfdome.com/the-half-dome-hike-all-of-it-1-hour-webinar-sunday-may-19/

 Camping on the top of Half Dome ended in 1992. I never did it. Can you imagine a field to tents up there?  So why did it end? Well, not only did you have to lug about 30 pounds of gear up, there are no toilets there. So you can imagine the odiferous molecules that wafted on Tissiak. Human impact beyond do-do was the normal litter we tend to see. I took the above photo about 5:30 am in July. this couple were huddled in sleeping bags awaiting the rays of the sun.  Is this camping?  I say no. Camping implies you intend to erect a tent, have cooking gear and all the other stuff we use. although no ranger is going to go up at 3 am to check, if they see you coming down with gear, you will get nailed – and fined.

The overarching reason, however, was that the habitat of the Mt Lyell salamander was impacted. In the early ’90′s there was a surge of Greenpeace type environmentalists who were alerting the nation to the ills we were causing to other inhabitants of the 3rd stone from the sun.  Seems when campers built windbreaks by stacking up the small slabs of stone into walls 3 feet high, the poor salamanders were rustled from their homes. They burry down into the rocks and rarely come up.  So no more.

File photo of Mt Lyell Salamander

Unrelated thought worth quoting: “Be at the webinar tomorrow or I will hold my breath until you log on.” – Me

MrHalfDome™ – Rick Deutsch – www.HikeHalfDome.com

One Best Hike: Yosemite’s Half Dome

http://hikehalfdome.com/the-half-dome-hike-all-of-it-1-hour-webinar-sunday-may-19/

Friends of the big granite monolith. Sunday at 11 am is the ultimate LAST chance to confirm your Half Dome permits. I think it’s 11 am because the vendor who manages this is in New York State and want to go home on Sunday at 2:00. If you don’t confirm, your efforts will have been for naught. Really. All that time and agony of the NPS Mega Lotto  down the drain. Your permit will be zipped and put into the 2-day mini lottery. I did mine and it was painless. DO NOT print out your permit until you are SURE that you can go. Printed permits cannot be refunded.

Kind of a real dumb idea. If you won the lottery – you won and should not have to “confirm” – that process is new for 2013. Either they are trying to catch people napping or they want to make sure that every permit is loved and cared for. Come here for details on what the heck to do. Gangnam Style. Whop Whop.

If they sense you are not serious then,  more  who REALLY want to go can get those slots.  Oh well.

Also note—>
“Permits will only be valid if the trip leader and/or alternate specified on the permit is part of the group and has valid ID to present.  Once you have printed your permit, group size cannot be changed, the permit cannot be cancelled and no refunds can be made. The $8 permit fee is fully refundable if you cancel your permit more than two days before the hiking date.”

Unrelated thought worth quoting: “The mountains are calling and I must go.” – John Muir 

MrHalfDome™ – Rick Deutsch – www.HikeHalfDome.com

One Best Hike: Yosemite’s Half Dome

Lasting adventures – Non-profit Guide Service

If you did not snag a permit in the March Half Dome lotto, and you don’t want to risk the 2-day lottery, I’d like to tell you about a way you can still hike to the summit. I have a relationship with a non-profit guide service that has been around 15+ years – Lasting Adventures.com. I am a qualified guide and will be leading many of the one-day hikes up Half Dome.

As a commercial outfitter, Lasting Adventures has secured permits for groups of 5 for: 5/24, 5/31, 6/11, 7/6, 7/8, 7/15, 7/19, 7/29, 8/16, 8/18, and 8/23. Imagine hiking Half Dome with Mr Half Dome. The rates are lower than any other service and when you register, you will be given a copy of the only hiking guide to HD, “One Best Hike: Yosemite’s Half Dome.  

Your Lasting Adventures guide, or me (depending on availability) will narrate the history and geology of the hike as well as getting you safely to the top. All hikers will also receive my recommended nitrile (rubber) gloves that stick to the cables. This is not an easy hike, but many prefer the confidence and safety a guide provides. We carry First Aid kits, a water filter and other necessary safety gear.  For more information on the program and to secure your spot, visit their website. Lasting Adventures.com.

**Half Dome webinar HD info**

Unrelated thought worth quoting: “In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks.” – John Muir

MrHalfDome™ – Rick Deutsch – www.HikeHalfDome.com

One Best Hike: Yosemite’s Half Dome

Small boulders block the JMT below Clark Point

Last Saturday morning, 2 rockfalls occurred on the Lower Mist Trail. No one was hurt. By most measures they were small but it will take the park a few weeks to get the debris out of the way. Geologists feel that the recent heavy rain loosened the soil and gravity took over to let the boulders slide. The area that is closed is the John Muir Trail below the Panorama Trail and on the switchbacks above Clark Point. This graphic shows the area in question.

Graphic showing the impacted area at Yosemite

Most Half Dome hikers go up the Mist Trail and return via the JMT in order to save their knees. The 29 switchbacks are way easier and safer than going down the wet lower Mist Trail. One work around, rather than going down the Upper Mist Trail (by Nevada Fall) and then past Vernal Fall, is to go the JMT west of the Nevada Fall footbridge, and continue to Clark Point. At this spot, go right towards Nevada Fall and that spur trail will intersect with the path to the Emerald Pool and above Vernal. That’s the only way to get down. At least you skip the hard gully to the west of Liberty Cap. Use poles to steady you down the Mist Trail.

Unrelated thought worth quoting: “Up the Down Staircase” – 1967 film starring Sandy Dennis 

MrHalfDome™ – Rick Deutsch – www.HikeHalfDome.com

One Best Hike: Yosemite’s Half Dome

1 hour webinar 

Sunday, May 19
     7:02 pm Pacific time

You are invited to a webinar I am hosting on Sunday, May 19 at 7:02 pm Pacific time. I will go over the entire hike up to Half Dome (and back). If you are planning to do the hike, this will orient you to what the hike “is like.” I will pull from my gigabytes of photos to show you what to expect. I’ll point out Points of Interest and secrets most people don’t know. Half Dome repeaters should also attend to refresh their memories (sunrise hike next?). We will have a Q&A at the end.

 We will be using GoToMeeting. To help defray the costs of this webinar, I am asking $8.97 to attend = a latte & muffin. Feed your brain, not your belly. Any Active Duty Military, Reserve, National Guard, Veteran or Retired Military can attend FREE.

Please send payment to my PayPal Account:
ricky.deutsch@gmail.com
(Use PayPal.com – you do not need an account and you can charge to a credit card.) Upon my notification by PayPal, I will send you the link.

Questions on the webinar:

MrHalfDome@gmail.com NOT wcbelew@gmail.com as your confirmation states. He is my admin.

Carpe Diem!

Rick Mr Half Dome

San Jose-by-the-sea