Half Dome – Yosemite Musings

As you ascend the cables on Half Dome, you will be going up vertically about 425 feet. Using your 8th grade trigonometry,  with a incline of 45 degrees, this works out to a hypotenuse of about 900 feet. (Isn’t math fun?) That is the actual run of cable you are pulling yourself along. There are 2 x 4 inch boards spanning the width of this “banister.”  I figure the poles are set about 10 to 12 feet apart. So you get to rest on about 75 to 90 boards. I have never counted them. I’ve tried, but I get distracted every time. (Maybe I’ll bring a clicker next time.) Anyway, the boards are laid flat on the upper side of the poles and are held in with flimsy straps. If you look  on page 26 of my book you can see a vintage photo where the boards were placed on edge. Hmmm The boards are a key to a comfortable pull up. The rock is worn smooth from almost 90 years of use. Standing on the boards allows you to rest and get vertical for a few minutes as you trundle up.  IMO the whole system could stand an upgrade, but maybe because of historic reasons the NPS can’t … I dunno. As you can see above, sometimes the boards are missing.  I know all are installed at the start of the season. Rangers have told me that jerks probably take them to use as firewood. Camping is prohibited on the Rock, but there aren’t enough staff to police  it. When I did the moonlight hike, it was clear that many folks slept up top waiting for sunrise. And that’s the story of the boards.

Unrelated thought worth quoting: “Wild thing...you make my heart sing...You make everything – Groovy." -  The Troggs

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