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*