FOILED AGAIN!

We came, we saw, we almost conquered. Two out of the seven of us made it to the top of Half Dome. Not Me. We made the ascent on the hottest day on record in a long, long time. 104 degrees on the Valley floor, and hovering near 100 in the high country. I drank over six liters of water. Not only that, but lightening strikes had ignited three fires within the park boundaries, pumping smoke and particulate matter into the air. It was sort of like hiking the scenic seven levels of Dante's Inferno.

I know I can never try this as a day hike again. I just don't have the legs to hike for seven miles above 6,000 feet and then climb another four miles going up 2,000 more feet. Then there's the eight miles back down. The John Muir Trail--AKA, the Devil's Escalator--was not designed for middle-aged legs.

A couple of us are thinking of trying it again in the Fall. This time we'll backpack up to Little Yosemite Valley, spend the night and make the four mile, 2,000 foot ascent fresh in the morning.
Gott Willim!