I had a last minute chance to hop in with some friends from work and head to Yosemite to hike Half Dome. I’ve always wanted to go, and I jumped at the chance. It was a whirlwind trip lasting just 46 hours. We left at 5:30 am Sunday and were back at 3:30 am on Tuesday morning. Unfortunately, there was a fire that broke out near Yosemite that blew quite a bit of smoke in the valley. Fortunately, this kept quite a few people away and the crowds were much lower than normal.

Merced river

El Capitan. This was fun to see in person after watching Alex Honnold climb it in Free Solo.

We stayed in Curry Village. These were the type of tents we stayed in. Not too bad.

Monday morning, start of the hike. The moon was rising over Half Dome.

This was the most manicured trail I’ve ever seen. Where else do you have granite steps like this. And it was like this for a lot of the way!

Vernal Falls

Nevada Falls

There it is! Half Dome.

The cables!

I took a careful look over the edge at the 1800 foot cliff and 4000 foot drop off to the valley floor. I think the picture makes me more woozy than actually being there.

On the visor. Again, approached with extreme caution.

Nevada falls from the John Muir tail side on the way down.

Then the long drive back home. What an awesome trip! Thank you Kathryn for you support and letting me go on this great adventure.

Hiking started for me in 2019 when I got an invite to hike Mt Whitney with some friends from work. Mt Whitney is a serious hike, reaching an elevation of 14,500 feet and clocking in at 22 miles round trip with 7000 feet of total ascent. Needless to say, that is a hike you need to be prepared for. Lucky for me, we are surrounded by incredible mountains here in Utah. The first serious training hike I tackled was Spanish Fork Peak. That hike was the start of something wonderful. Maybe it’s the definitive nature of the hike that I love. There is the incredibly push up the mountain, requiring immense physical effort. There is the clear goal of the summit, always pulling you forward and upwards. There is the feeling of accomplishment as you reach the summit and marvel at the great distance and elevation you have covered to arrive there. The views are incredible, and pictures just never do it justice. Then there is the long decent, less strenuous but also physically demanding. The clear goal now to return to the car and finish the hike. Once you get back to the car, there is the feeling of relief and pride knowing that you have bagged another peak. There’s just something wonderfully satisfying about this process. Every day as I look up at those mountains all around me, I love thinking “I’ve been there.”

So, here are the Wasatch Seven Peaks, in the order that I hiked them.

Spanish Fork Peak

August 2019

August 2020

Blog link: Maple Mountain
Hiked in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022

Mount Timpanogos

Blog link: Timpanogos
Hiked in October 2019

Mount Nebo

Blog link: Mount Nebo
Hiked in June 2020

Lone Peak

Blog link: Lone Peak
Hiked in August 2020

Loafer Mountain and Santaquin Peak

Blog link: Santaquin Peak and Loafer Mountain
Hiked in July 2022

Provo Peak

Blog Link: Provo Peak
Hiked in July 2022

Cascade Mountain

Blog Link: Cascade Mountain
Hiked in July 2022

Looking south from Provo Peak

Looking north from Provo Peak

Cascade Mountain is in the bag! This was a steep sucker. I went on the Upper Pole Couloir route instead of taking the saddle and the ridge line clear across. This route was quite a bit shorter sounded like fun.

The route wasn’t bad, just slow careful going. Here you can seen what the couloir (pronounced /ko͞olˈwär/) looked like.

At the top.

Looking north to the sister peak with the weather station on it.

I decided to head over and check it out. Here is a view from that spot, looking back south to the main peak.

A nice side shot of Timpanogos.

Deer Creek to the north east.

Awesome pano view of Utah Valley.

Destination: Provo Peak, starting at the Y trailhead. It was supposed to be a 100 degree day, so I got a nice and early start. On the trail at 5:10 am.

Top of the Y

Crazy lush grove up in the saddle above the Y

Amazing panoramic views from the top!

✓Nebo, ✓Santaquin Peak, and ✓Spanish Fork Peak to the South.

Cascade, ✓Timpanogos, and ✓Loan Peak to the North. Of the Wasatch Seven Peaks, I only have Cascade left to do.

Stats:
13.88 miles
7.5 hours
6,236 feet elevation gain