Sunday, July 31. – My second trip to half dome.
After hiking the 4-mile and Panorama trail on July 17, I was eager to hike to half dome for the second time. My only obstacle was getting a permit. After several posts on the Yosemite and National Parks Facebook pages checking to see if anyone had an extra permit, I had no luck obtaining one. During my venture to get a permit I learned that the NPS was releasing an additional 50 permits per day for the following day to climb the cables at Half Dome. I still had no luck on Saturday trying to secure a permit for the 31st. The reservation person said there are 300 plus people fighting to get one of the 50 available permits. I didn’t let that stop me. I decided I would still go on Sunday regardless of getting a permit. I remembered that last year when I did half dome there were two people in my party who were able to get extra permits by other hikers attempting to go the distance to the top of Half Dome.
I had checked weather reports all week and it said there was a 30% chance of thunderstorms. Thinking the odds of 30% was pretty low, I didn’t let that stop me either. Sunday morning came and after about 3 hours of sleep, I got into my jeep and headed to Yosemite to hike to half dome. The drive there was amazing. There is nothing like seeing the clear night sky and the stars shining so bright. I arrived in Yosemite around 6:30 a.m.
7 a.m. – I made it to the Mist Trail trailhead. The weather seemed clear and Vernal and Nevada Falls were on my horizon. When I reached my first stop, Vernal Falls, I stopped for a moment to look to see how someone could even attempt to cross the barrier into the rapid water headed towards the 300 plus foot fall. There are signs posted everywhere and barriers to the rapids. Just a day after I was there the last time, three hikers crossed the barriers to take a picture and sadly all three went over. The search and rescue teams still have not recovered their bodies.
9 a.m. – I made it to the top of Neveda Falls. This point was exciting because the sign posted said 4.5 miles to go. I knew I had already gained 1900 feet in elevation gain and about 4 or so miles which was close to half in mileage but still about 2000 feet higher to go. The next two miles included scenic views of Little Yosemite Valley and Half Dome from different angles. During this time half dome permits were secured and I finally knew this hike was going to be worth it – I would get to go up the cables!
10:30ish – The two mile to half dome mark. The weather still seemed ok. As I continued on the trail clouds began to form and the sprinkles had started. Being optimistic, I decided to continue on the trail. The higher I got in elevation, the darker the clouds got. I began to hear thunder. I had never heard thunder so loud and so close. With about a mile or so to go, I had decided, I am not going up the cables. There is just no way in this weather. At this point I had not seen lightening, only heard the loud rumbles of the thunder in the distance.
Sometime between 12 and 1230ish – I made it to the base. At this time I can honestly say, the weather scared me. I saw lightening clearly in front of me, it wasn’t off in the distance like what I see at home. It seemed to get closer and the thunder was getting louder. The air became cooler and the wind was blowing. People began rushing down to get out of the open and the rain started pouring down. I followed. I remember reading that when stuck in a lightening storm to go towards groups of trees or forest areas. Luckily most of the trail was protected by trees.
1:30ish – The rain continued for about 2 miles. Luckily going down is much faster and easier than going up. While going down in the storm there were several hikers “parked” on the side of the trail under trees trying to stay dry. I had an emergency rain pancho in my pack that I put on to keep dry. I had never hiked in the rain before. I had hiked in the snow and dark but never in rain. It wasn’t that bad. The lightning and thunder became less and more in the distance behind me. While headed down I passed search and rescue teams, one was in a hurry talking on a radio. When asked what happened, she was hesitant to say anything because it wasn’t any of my concern, but did say the dome was hit by lightning. My thoughts were that there were people who freaked out and wouldn’t come down the cables. I couldn’t imagine anyone going up those cables with the weather the way it was or even knowing it had rained or sprinkled for thatmatter. Common sense is when granite gets wet, it’s slippery.
3:30 – 4 ish – Made it back safely and unharmed. I looked up to the sky and saw a helicopter. And again, my initial thoughts were people are stuck on half dome because they were scared to come down because of the lightning. I got back to my jeep to remember I had the top off, thankfully, the warmer weather dried up the wet seats for the most part. Blister free and in good spirits despite the weather and not actually making it to the top, I went to Curry Village to enjoy some pizza and beer.
The next day…
Sad news hit the internet and news stations. Another person died in Yosemite and this time it wasn’t from crossing barriers, it was from descending on the cables on half dome. This was on the same day I decided not to go climb the cables because the weather was incredibly horrible. Approximately 400 people had permits for the half dome cables that Sunday and only about two dozen people chose to climb the cables at half dome. There were several people who I talked to along the trail. Some who I saw up at the base choosing not to go because the weather had just gotten too bad. I even talked to a group of girls before starting asking about extra permits, I wonder if I had come into contact with her in my quest to get a permit. Another group who I talked to were up at the base at the same time as me and even offered me their permit if I was planning on going, I said no thanks! I still can’t believe this happened to that young girl. I couldn’t even imagine what her friends and sister experienced or any others who may have witnessed this tragedy. It is a sad reminder that people should use common sense and read the signs posted. At the base there is a sign that states “If a thunderstorm anywhere on the horizon DO NOT PASS BEYOND THIS SIGN lightning has struck Half Dome during every month of the year”. And it struck on Sunday, July 31.
About twenty or hikers met at Starbucks at 630 a.m. on a Saturday. It was interesting to go to Starbucks not knowing who you are meeting. Marianne, the organizer of the event welcomed me. Everyone I met seemed friendly and kind. After a brief introduction by everyone, those who wanted to drive were asked to raise their hands. With this being my first “meet up” I felt I wanted to drive. I had two takers who decided to drive with me. Dave and Shelley were troopers. It was a tad bit chilly on the way up with the top off the Jeep. I just reminded them that on the way down after hiking all day, it’s going to feel great! 
I had never been to Courtwright Reservoir. The elevation is close to 8200 feet and has access to fishing, camping, boating, hiking, and 4x4. From the bridge you could see multiple domes surrounding the reservoir. On the opposite side of the bridge was the valley from Courtwright to Wishon, another reservoir down the way. It looked like a small canyon with the depth of the valley being much lower. 
