Jen stands on an edge of North Dome; Half Dome in the background.
Jenni coming down one of the channels as we head for the dome. (Extreme 'Woodson potato chip' on left.)
We arrived at North Dome after 4.5 miles over a trail that moved up and down throughout the hike.
It included climbing over rocks as well as our usual extras on said boulders. After three miles, the famous
Half Dome came into view as well as many other fine sights of Yosemite. North Dome, somewhat lower than
the major icon, stood proudly, too. There’s a history to this icon of Yosemite. The hike, with the final
400 feet on chains to the top, is so popular that a lottery is held to limit the number of participants.
We failed to secure spots for the hike a while ago so we found ourselves gazing at the outcrop from
North Dome, separated by the Yosemite Valley thousands of feet below. Currently, the hike is closed for
the winter season—apparently, the dome takes its vacation in the off-season, quite considerate.
We're coming from above North Dome; upon reaching its base, we'll climb again. It felt like we were positioned
in a cockpit just before landing.
From North Dome, taking in a panorama view of Yosemite.
The official story of the dome, as relayed by geologists and scientists, is that thousands of
years ago, half the dome split off and hence, only half remains. Of course, we dispute this supposition.
Should you believe the official version, we can sell you a bridge in Brooklyn for a few hundred dollars.
Back to the dome. If this split occurred, where is the other half? Did it fly off into the distance,
crumble into nothingness or just plain wear away by having so many hikers traipsing upon it? Sometimes
you need a pair of fresh young minds…okay, not so young…to provide a different perspective. We have
undertaken to disprove the current thinking. So each day we visit the park in search of the missing half.
Should we find it then we shall concede we are wrong about current scientific thinking. However, should we
not discover it, you decide.
Down the road in Mono Basin is the famous lake. It's a fascinating place with a history.
Although the trails are very quiet, we meet people from time-to-time and exchange information,
ideas and have interesting conversations. It adds to the quality of our lives; there are so many fascinating
people about. We learn, get different perspectives and generally, are uplifted. Cindy and John, a couple we
met on a trail have been living in their RV for the last five years and are, as expected, well-traveled both
locally and internationally. We met Michael, a man who, to put it bluntly, is living rough. We spoke a while
about his term, ‘trail magic’. He was hiking from Tahoe, heading towards Berkley. We loved the way he mentioned
that rather than hitch a ride the long way round, he would hike through the Sierras, continuing to the next main
road when he descended finally. Before we parted, we had a ‘magic moment’ together, which we won’t forget.
Morgan told us that Dan proposed to her the previous night, the first of eight days on a trek. This young
couple traveled from Banff, Canada to explore the Sierras. The trail magic continues.
We have written often about the special bonding and trust that exists when one party grasps the other's hand in
difficult or tricky situations. It is a moment of extreme emotion. We are unable to record such incidents for
obvious reasons. Sasha and Jason of New York, helped simulate the idea which allows us to introduce the music
of Brian Murray again. Although the situation was contrived on Lembert Dome today, we faced some tricky
climbs as we hiked on the steep sides of the dome.
The pictures below, but for the first one, were snapped by the editor, randomly. We then selected a few
in a sequence that provided some light relief after um...we were going to say, a serious day of hiking. We tried
to fit captions to pictures of these random shots. Should you have reached this position and are looking for a
mature presentation, we advise you to look elsewhere.
It always begins with Eve who seems to be wrapped up with a serpent again. She spent the day cracking her whip and making the poor 'boy-hero' jump here, there and everywhere. Not that he did not enjoy it, though. Eve sits on an edge at North Dome with the famous Half Dome and other mountains behind. A valley, a few thousand feet below, separates the two.
"There? Have you looked at the few thousand feet drop to the ground? You think I'm a chicken?" I wish I could just say 'yes' and leave it at that.
"I'm thinking of commencing from over there as it's a better position...unless, of course, you object."
"This is sort of okay, I suppose. You're sure you want me to do this? No, I'm not whining."
"I don't want to lose my hat, if you don't mind. Are you still sure you want me to do this? Tell the kids I love them."
"I'm just getting better positioned. I want to do this correctly, okay? Give me a break, will you."
The flying
The eagle has landed...almost.
Sometimes, we have a need to reverse our age numbers and have a bit of fun. Who wants to grow up?.
Cheers,
Jenni and Jeffrey
And now for our true favorites, mountain climbers in training:
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