July 1, 2008 Pacific Crest Trail

Destination: Base of Half Dome
Miles: 0

Adrian:
The start of our 18-mile zero day.

This morning we went down to the grill for some egg sandwiches. They were really good but the hash browns were not all that.

After saying goodbye to David and a few others, we road walked a mile or so to the visitor's center to catch the John Muir Trail down to the valley. I'm really grateful to be able to complete a thru-hike of the JMT on this trip. It's a great trail, one of the best, and with an ascent of Half Dome tomorrow, a real gem.

We hiked around Cathedral Peak and had great views of it from all angles. Steve and I had climbed the peak about 10 years ago and it was great to be back. John Muir has the first recorded ascent and proclaimed that never before that day had he attended church in California. It surely is a glorious peak.

The hike went over Cathedral Pass and afforded us great views into Little Yosemite Valley. A bit later Half Dome came into view and we wondered how in earth could a hiking route ascend its flanks even with the aid of cables. Tomorrow we shall find out!

We are camped right under Half Dome and have an awesome view into the Valley, which should be made even better at sunset since we face west. We wake at 5 a.m. to be the first on top and to get off the cables before the hoards arrive from below.

Walk good...

Kirsten:
I'm sure some of you are wondering why we are hiking on a zero day. Maybe you're puzzled by our decision to leave the PCT and hike a different trail.

It's simple; we believe our chances for success grow the more fun we have. As one wise family friend put it (O’Neil I'm talking about you) "Remember, this is a vacation."

Sometimes it doesn't feel like one. We try our hardest to avoid those moments. So for us, getting off the PCT to hike down into one of the most dramatic scenes in the United States seemed like a good choice. It turns out we're a couple of geniuses because this has been one of my favorite days since we started this "vacation."

You may be wondering why I didn't write about the bear we saw in Tuolomne yesterday. This was a bear and I've expressed my desire to see one, after all. The bear yesterday did not meet my standards. This was a tagged bear that has grown up living off people food. This was a trash bear, a yogi bear if you will. And in my eyes, a bear loitering around a campground is not normal bear activity. Now that we're in Yosemite National Park it practically guaranteed we'll see more of these trash bears. The bears here, as one hiker puts it, are pro-leaguers. The forest service has to change the design of the bear boxes every year because they figure out how to open them.