3 Shoes 1 Chappal - A happy ordeal

A month ago, there was a planned hike in Yosemite. Three days before the hike, San tore a back muscle and was in ER. So there was a "veri" to get back and do that hike. The replacement day was yesterday (without knowing there was a Cricket world cup final that India would play in!). Then again, permits are permits and plans are plans.

 So four of us started at 4:45AM and made it to Yosemite non stop. Given I was driving this time, wanted to be "comfy" and went in my chappals. Once we parked at the trailhead and everyone went to change to their hiking shoes, there was a horrible realization. My shoes were left at home! They did not make it to the car. 

There was a palpable disappointment on the faces of my fellow hikers and San turned into a navarasa nayagi that would have made Padmini give her a pat on the back. Me... I was just sad to let them down like this.

A decision was made that I would hike to all the waterfalls as planned in my chappal and if at any point it gave way or my feet became a problem, I would make it back to the van and sit out the rest of the hikes.

The first hike was to Wapoma falls on the side of the Hetch Hetchy reservoir. It was a six mile round trip. The Bata chappals made it. Even led the way on the return without stopping so as to not let the group down. 

When Chappals become shoes, rocks can become benches!

 

Started this hike at 8:45 and came back at Noon. Then we drove towards Vernal falls. Took us an hour to get there and another 20 minutes to find parking. Started hiking at 1:30 PM and the plan was to see how Mr. Bata does at the top of Vernal and make a call to go to Nevada or turn back and go to Bridalveil on the way out. 

Some pictures from this hike..

Nature picture galleries..

portrait format photos.. 

THis was the first photo from the reservoir.. the still water and the reflections were motivation enough for me to keep walking!

San's smiling face was added motivation. She had calmed down and decided to temporarily forgive me till the return journey. . . it was like being granted bail. Gladly accepted that.

No shoes does have its advantages when trying Yoga poses on rocks, but that is about it for advantages

Wapoma falls is awesome! Glad we made it this time..

It was not easy to hike up Vernal as it was wet and slippery with the mist. At one point just went barefoot which was better! We got treated to amazing views and thoroughly enjoyed the waterfalls.

We had seen a dead snake on the Wapoma trail which started a discussion about my open feet. It was decided that hiking shoes might not make a difference and I could always use the slippers in my hand as a defense mehchanism.. 

we saw a live snake on the Vernal trail and there were no jokes this time. Just glad to have not stepped on this one! Bata might protect your feet from the ground, but not this. 

this would be a good place for a bench.. that was my thought.. might be iced out most of the year.. still..

The rainbows created by the mist were just amazing!

The next picture is nothing special.. but has an inside joke for our family.. it is left in this post as a memory jogger..

Saw a group of desi kids from Mountain View posing with an Indian flag. They told us India had won the game. Thanked them for that update as we had no cell signal since 9AM! The flag was borrowed and a photo was taken! 

By the time we made it back down it was already close to 5PM. So we decided to drive and do the very short walk to Bridalveil falls and then drive out. Bridalveil did not disappoint. Just enough water to be amazing and not get us drenched. 

Folks came up to me and said "that was cool what you did on that rock".. for once San didn't scream when I tried balancing on one leg on a rock.. 

The BYSJ 60 day challenge got a lot of talk time on trails is my guess.. which reminds me that it starts again tomorrow!!! 

Had some well deserved tea and started driving back. Managed to drive the last 2 hours of the return once the feet calmed down. 

Here is a video highlights reel..

Friends make everything special!!!

The feet are pretty roughed up from the walking in sandals and being barefoot but did not let the group down!

Call me waterfall crazy all you want. Happy to be just that!

Upper Yosemite falls- a tough hike

Last year saw us do both Clouds rest and Half dome hikes in Yosemite. This year we had no plans. Two of our yoga teacher friends wanted to hike with us and also test out the RV they are building. So we made a quick plan to go with them to Upper Yosemite falls. After seeing posts and reports on the hike, they decided to bail out and do a shorter hike instead. In retrospect, they made a wise decision!

We were this close to canceling the hike but decided to make a day trip, thanks to other friends who decided to join us. 

Woke up at 3:30 AM to make tea for the trip. There is no hiking without Chai! Started the drive before 5AM and we reached at 8:30 AM. After eating breakfast and drinking chai, we started hiking up at 9. The plan was to make it to the top by at least Noon or 12:30. It ended up being a hot day the sun was over us the entire time. We reached the top only at 1:15. 

Most of the folks had a face washing session while I decided to take a dip in the very cold water. It was really refreshing. Also the change of clothes was much needed!

We ate the food that was packed. It was windy and scary but we did go down to the falls head view point using the railing.. (you can see it in the video). 

Tried my hand at doing yoga poses before and after lunch. As usual San and friends were scared of me trying to balance on one leg on top of rocks. 

San was so happy when we made it to the top. Even she found it hard. 

Then we made our way back. Our downhill speeds were different. It is hard to pause on the return. The entire thing is rocky and you have to watch every step. The rocks are all slippery and dangerous. The good thing was it was windy and shaded on the way down. Given we all split up, some guy helped take this photo. Folks came down anywhere from 4:35 to 5:45 depending on their ability to go downhill or take breaks on the way.

There was a beautiful rainbow in the middle of the falls.

After practically hopping and running down without much of a break, all our legs were shaking uncontrollably for a good two hours!

Some more photos..

It was a very challenging hike even compared to Half dome because of the sun! The park service does classify this as a hard hike. 

A mile into the hike we get to Columbia rock, a view point where we get to see half dome. it is a great spot to take a break and get some photos of the valley! 

We started driving back at 6:30 PM after eating food we had packed and came home at 10:30 PM. 

A short video of the hike..

Definitely recommend this as a day hike, ONLY if you have been hiking regularly and can handle a steady climb that keeps going for 3 hours straight. Not recommened for beginners or people who have difficulty coming down rocky terrain. 

While we struggled through the hike, we enjoyed the company and had a sense of accomplishment after coming back to the parking lot. The hike is 7 miles from trailhead to top and back , but we walked 10+ miles in total. The elevation gain on this one is 3200 feet in 3 miles. So a steep challenging hike.

One more hike in the Yosemite National park checked out. Next year, we will find another interesting hike to do in YNP!

Half Dome hiking experience

This weekend we finally made it to the top of Half dome. This was not the usual weekend hike. It was an experience. Something that will stay with me for a long time. Three years ago, would have thought this impossible.. thanks to COVID, the regular walks that turned to short hikes, the short hikes that turned to longer and longer hikes.. we eventually made it to this point! This is all thanks to the ladies who push their hubbies in our hiking group. 

We had the permit months ahead. We all had our ups and downs and last minute setbacks, but somehow things came to place for the most part and we made it. There were intense planning sessions, zoom calls, training hikes (Mission peak twice back to back, El sombroso in half a day, Black mountain with extra load etc.), but none actually close to the real deal. 

San always told me that she was not sure if I would make it to the top of Half dome.. but "if you make it past the sub dome, you will make it to the top". Heights was not an issue for me or almost rapelling down. The slow and steady climb for hours was the challenge. 

To top things off, the one day we left the kid alone at home, she got sick and we had to drive back as fast as we could.. after hiking for 15 hours, drove back 4 hours straight. Not sure if my legs are sending back signals to the rest of the body anymore.. they have gone on strike after the events of yesterday!

Usually this blog starts with pictures.. but this time, starting with a video of the entire hike.. stitched together from 10 second clips recorded at around every mile.. 

and now for pictures..

We got a glimpse of the golden face of Half dome as the sun set across it the previous evening. We were going to the top of this thing the next day! That realization was something in itself... we checked out the parking situation at the closest lot to the trailhead and decided it would be best to park there and start. Otherwise it would have added another two miles to our trip. The plan was to leave the Curry Village lodgings at 4AM, start hiking by 4:15. 

we were on plan!

The first two hours were difficult because it was very smoky. The air quality was bad at the lower altitudes. We just kept going. That is mars you see in the picture through the haze! It was a new moon day and before this early light, it was pretty dark.

As the sun came up, we were treated to amazing views and colors. We were already above Nevada falls by sunrise. 

Then the mosquitos came.. in numbers! They preferred me for some reason. Having learned that lesson from the Clouds rest hike, this time I was ready to turn into the mosquitos bride with a net around my face. 

You see the first light strike the half dome and realize how amazing, creation is! 

it is something !!

Took a lot of panos, but nothing topped this one from the golden hour!

Shortly after this we managed to take a wrong turn and instead of hitting Nevada falls, we ended up walking towards Illilouette falls! Luckily we realized we were on the wrong path and turned back. that added another 30 minutes to our effort.. but we laughed it off and kept going.

She keeps smiling like that, I can go hiking hour after hour.. and if you have a bunch of giggling ladies who lift up the groups mood, any hike is easier... (note .. I just said easier.. not easy!). The next two hours were a blur. Nothing eventful, no amazing views.. we were going to Yosemite village and it was a slow and steady climb. the group was slowly losing steam visibly, but we kept going.

Then we were at the start of the sub dome to show the ranger our permits and ID's. Every day only 300 folks are allowed up on the cables to go to the top. We did some rough calculations to see what percent of folks make it to the top of the sub dome, then make it to the top of the cables. If 2/3 reach, that is 200 people a day and the cables are open for a 100 days ? That is 20,000 people a year. They have an average of two fatalities on the last part or so we were told. We just didn't want to be part of that statistic. Tied up the shoes, took some electrolytes and off we went!

The sub dome is indeed the hardest part of this hike. It is a steep climb on rocks with a high risk of slips and falls. The camera never came out during this part. Was just reciting mantras (yes, that works) and kept going one step at a time. There are no photos of me clambering up.. here is my friend walking up the last part..

Correction.. two of my friends sent pictures of me on the subdome.. so here it is.. we go up this and then come down and up the horn sticking up on the top right!

Making it to the top of sub dome! For once the person who is considered the photographer in the group did not take enough photos but the rest of the gang did! Again, it is great to go with friends!

There is no trail anymore.. it is just a test of will power at this point. Once you climb up sub dome, you climb down a bit to reach the cables.

The cable section tests your fear of heights. Need gloves (preferably Gorilla gloves), but I just used the regular costco winter gloves. Many folks made it up and realized they didn't have gloves and were asking folks if they could borrow?!

You are going up a 60 plus degree slope with wire cables and a bunch of 2x4's on the floor every 8 feet to stop yourself. At one point there is no 2x4's and you have to rapell down a 20 foot stretch. Luckily for us there was not a big crowd here. Still there were two folks who held us up. A lady who went halfway up and got scared and just clung on to a pole and refused to move and a guy whose backpack ripped open halfway and hurtled water and gatorade bottles on the people below. A water bottle missed me by a few inches as it came down. You see the power of gravity as a water bottle hurtles so fast from above!

It is a good idea to leave backpacks below (however one of our friend's backpack got chewed on by squirrels as they tried to get the food inside! So there is no easy way out. Best to go with backpacks where the zippers don't give. Let's just say we got lucky!

Once there at the top, there is a flat open space and a ledge... this ledge is a photo op dream.. folks on the flat side can take pictures of the people on the ledge. So I gave the camera to San and went to the ledge. She started screaming.. everyone on the top probably thought I was on some kind of suicide mission. In any case, did take some pictures. I started trying a standing bow and there was a mini tremor from San's screaming from the other side a good 200 meters away. So backed off and came back to try yoga poses in the flat side of half dome. 

There was an actual conversation with a guy on the cables as we passed each other.. he asks me "what is a 60 day challenge?" and I explained it to him, while hanging on for dear life! Told him that is hard, but this is like doing a 60 day challenge in 15 days!  Of the twenty or so folks who were at the top with us, everyone was impressed with the yoga effort.. a bunch of folks even asked me if I taught yoga! I was in splits hearing that.. pun intended!

There was more screaming after that toe stand and I just had to come down..

Here are the highlight pictures..

that picture on the ledge was something!

then we started the long walk down. We had a good break to wait for water to filter for all of us. Almost all of us ran out of the 2.5 to 3 liters of water per person. I got an allergic reaction to something and my hands broke out in rashes as well as my inner thighs got all bloody thanks to allergies and sweaty wet clothes. Should have worn dri-fit clothes instead of cotton pants. That is a lesson for the future! 

We decided to walk on the mist trail for the last leg and see Nevada and Vernal falls on the way down. While it was a mile shorter, it was a lot harder coming down slippery steps. Next time (when there is one), we will come back on the JMT (John Muir Trail), the same way we went up. Longer is sometimes better!

Even with less water Vernal falls never ceases to amaze me!

We got back to the parking lot, knew that we had to rush back to a sick kid and didn't take a break. Just kept driving non-stop for 4 hours. San ate something and fed me while I was driving.. all the while trying to talk to the little one to make sure she was okay and had our neighbor come in and help. 

Made it before midnight. It is one thing to walk a few thousand feet for a few hours.. another thing to do it hour after hour for 15 hours. This graph tells it all..this is the most I have walked in a day since this health app showed up on the iPhone.. maybe the most in my life!

Now after that and 4 hours of non stop driving on windy roads in Yosemite and route 152, my legs are in bad shape. Have to rest, take it easy on the legs and recover for a few days!

All said and done.. this is something that I thought would be impossible in this lifetime. Thanks to all the yoga, the encouragement and support of the hiking group and the push from San, was able to make it. 

Fortunately, I am already recovering nicely and so is the little one. 

If you decide on going to half dome, no matter your age, do your research, plan well, get the right gear, train properly, go with the right group and you will enjoy the experience!

What next? We will wait for a few weeks and then ask ourselves the question!