It's true! Last Thursday morning (6/6/08) a group of us happy campers set out at 6:00am to begin our hike to the top of Half Dome. Being afraid of heights, I set it as my goal to get to the bottom of the rock where the cables begin. Four of us moms gave each other encouragement as we trekked the 8.2 mile hike taking us over 8,000 feet in elevation. Five hours later, we reached the summit! What a rush! What a view! What an accomplishment! My leg had begun to cramp up about three fourths up the cable. So when we made it to the top, I was thrilled to see snow patches up there where I put some ice on my tired muscle. In fact, a few guys were making snow angels in the snow! We took pictures, we reveled in God's creative beauty, then we ate lunch on the "Visor," which is the piece of rock which juts out from the rest of the dome. I couldn't eat much because I was so worried about how in the world I would make it down! Needless to say, about an hour later, we knew it was time to leave. The best part about being up there, however insignificant, was finding a crevice in which to use the "restroom." Us girls had so many laughs about marking our territory while up on the huge rock's "visor." We covered for each other as we all took turns! Well, with that said, heading down the cables was much faster and less daunting than I had imagined. Praise God! We arrived safely back about 3 1/2 hours later. We ran down between the switchbacks and Nevada Falls, and then again after Vernal Falls' Mist Trail. It actually felt better to run. That was a definite highlight of the trip as well as of my life. What a picture of the sojourning pilgrim in one of my favorite books, Pilgrim's Progress. Honestly, I think I could do it again.
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