On Thursday, I gave my Half Dome presentation at the REI in Reno, NV. I drove the new Dome-mobile (’08 Honda Civic) on its maiden voyage. Was pulling 36 mpg and jammed to CDs on a pretty decent stereo. We had 66 folks at the talk. The big problem for Nevada hikers is getting to the park. It’s a long ride with the Tioga Road snowbound.  If you are not familiar with the area, Hwy 120 is the only East-West direct route into Yosemite. With it closed, you have to go all the way to the California Central valley (west) then a bit south and then back east on 120. I decided to shoot over the newly opened Sonora Pass. VERY scenic and very slow. You can see the snow height near the summit (over 9,000 ft).  Along the way I passed the US Marine Corp Mountain Training Center. I’ll defer this for a future blog. Traffic was light and although I left Reno at 9 am, I made a ton of stops for pix.  More fodder to share later. I got to the park about 7 pm in time hit the wifi and post this. Next stop: my sleeping bag in a Curry Village Tent cabin. Tomorrow I’m going to try to get to Lost Lake (behind Liberty Cap) then to the Diving Board. Nice and easy day – maybe a siesta along the trail. I expect it to be muddy and a wet mess. Had to buy a poncho for the Mist trail – I KNOW it will be a shower.

Unrelated thought worth quoting: "When you're alone and life is making you lonely, You can always go - downtown. When you've got worries, all the noise and the hurry Seems to help, I know - downtown." - Petula Cark

*Carpe Diem Experience– Rick Deutsch–www.HikeHalfDome.com*

I often say that Half Dome is our Mt. Everest. Well, the real Mt Everest is having some action now. May is the only month to climb the world’s highest peak. The jet stream by-passes the top and decent weather is prevalent. As part of the Chinese Olympic hoo-ha, they have sent a team up to the top with flames from the real torch.  The 19-member team, dressed in red parkas emblazoned with Olympic logos, broke camp at 27,390 feet before dawn and 5 men reached the summit of the 29,035-foot mountain a little more than six hours later. A live TV broadcast confirmed the trip. The team captain and the final torchbearer were both Tibetans. Now if they could only clear up the smog in Beijing the marathon runners might stand a chance.

Unrelated thought worth quoting: “I have only one burning desire, let me stand next to your fire." - The Jimi Hendrix Experience

*Carpe Diem Experience – Rick Deutsch –  www.HikeHalfDome.com*

For those of you trying to get to the Valley from the Nevada side via Hwy 120…here’s a plowing update. Tioga Road opening operations are continuing and the workers are moving eastward. So far they have cleared about 45 miles heading east from the Crane Flat gate. Specifically, through to the west end of the Dana Meadow Avalanche Zone. Average snow depth is 5 Feet. With any luck it’ll all be cleared by Memorial Day. But no promises. You should be OK for an early June Half Dome hike.

Unrelated thought worth quoting: “Well if you ever plan to motor west, take my highway, that's the highway that's the best. Get your kicks on Route 66." - Nat King Cole,

*Carpe Diem Experience– Rick Deutsch–www.HikeHalfDome.com*

Editor’s note: See the April 29 blog if the following is greek to you.

The winner is . . . XX See bottom of blog – more exciting that way. XX’s identity revealed there.

I had a busy morning today sorting thru the quiz entries.   XX was the first one into my mailbox (time tagged by the massive GOOGLE gmail computer network.) XX entered the aether at 8:00 on the dot. YY came in the box second (at 8:01) – but had one mistake.     Others jammed in behind, XX had a perfect score of 25 correct answers. I’ll coordinate with XX to get the bottle of fine wine dispatched ASAP. Thanks to everyone who entered and I hope you had a little fun – and learned a bit more about Half  Dome. I’ll be at Yosemite this weekend. I’m speaking at the LeConte Memorial Lodge at 8 pm Saturday. Come on by and say hi.

Here are the correct answers:

1. 5.9

2. 1899

3. Horace

4. 1872 – 1968

5. Clips

6. 21

7. 16

8. SteriPen

9. Global Positioning System

10. Mt Broderick

11. B. 700

12. Raker Act

13. George Anderson

14. 1875

15. Tis-as-sack

16. Constant freezing/thawing resulting in large sheets of granite flaking off in vertical sheets.

17. Arch Rock

18. Lafayette Bunnell

19. 1927

20. Giardia

21. YARTS – Yosemite area Regional Transportation System

22. www.adventurebuddies.net

23. Silver Apron Bridge

24. 0

25. 425 feet

XX is Sonke K. of Hamburg, Germany. YY is Kathy L. of Sonora, CA. (# 10 wrong) Now, how do I ship wine to Germany? Maybe hand-deliver!

Unrelated thought worth quoting: “There's a party goin' on right here, a celebration to last throughout the years. So bring your good times, and your laughter too. We gonna celebrate your party with you.” - Celebration - Kool & The Gang

*Carpe Diem Experience– Rick Deutsch–www.HikeHalfDome.com*

Pictured is the grand (and only) prize going to the successful entry in my "First Annivesary of the publication of One Best Hike: Yosemite's Half Dome" contest. It is the only guidebook dedicated to the Half Dome hike. Gosh. We've sold acouple thousand but need to educate more folks to keep this a safe adventure. Hey, it's our Mt. Everest, without the oxygen bottles and human debris. 

OK, the rules are on the April 29 Blog, so I won't repeat them.   Oh, and have fun....life is too short! Carpe Diem.  Answers and winner (?) posted tomorrow, same Bat time, same Bat channel.

Blog quiz

1.  How far is the “Little Spring” from the Happy Isles trailhead?



2.  What year was Camp Curry opened?



3.  Name the Roman poet that is believed to have first coined “Carpe Diem?”



4.  What years did the “Firefall” run? (format: i.e. 1492 – 1533)



5.  In 1924 people going up the cables used _______ attached to their waists.



6.  How old was R. Robbins when he did the first ascent up the face of Half Dome?



7.  What is the number of the shuttle bus stop at Happy Isles?



8.  Name the brand of Ultraviolet light generator used for water treatment.



9.  What does the acronym “GPS” stand for?



10. What is the formation that lies between Liberty Cap and Half Dome called?



11. Approximately how many steps are on the Mist Trail (next to Vernal Fall)?  



     A. 400   B. 700     C. 1200   D. 1500                                              



12. Name the Congressional Act that allowed Hetch Hetchy dam to be built?



13. Who was the first person at the top of Half Dome?



14. What year did he/she do it?



15. What did the early Miwok Indians call “Half Dome?” (don’t worry about spelling)



16. Relative to Half Dome, what is meant by “exfoliation” (3 sentences max)



17. What is the NPS name for the entrance to Yosemite via Hwy 140?



18. Who wrote the book “The Discovery of the Yosemite and the Indian war of 1851 which led       to that event?”



19. What year did the Ahwhanee Hotel open?



20. Name the water borne parasite that can cause diarrhea found in park water.



21. Name the commercial bus system that provides service from outside the park.



22. What is the website for the company that provides training on the proper use of         trekking poles?



23. What is the name of the bridge that crosses the Merced just above the Emerald Pool?



24. As of June 2007, how many trash cans are there on the Half Dome trail above Little     Yosemite Valley?



25. How many vertical feet do the cables allow you to rise from the base to the top?

*Carpe Diem Experience– Rick Deutsch–www.HikeHalfDome.com*