So close, and yet so far...

The next morning we woke up early (5am!) in order to get on the trail by 6am towards Half Dome. Knowing that the trail and the cables in particular start to get crowded early and that we would still have a long hike back to the valley to follow, we thought it best. And the fact that we didn't want to be climbing or sitting on baking hot granite at high noon also entered our minds. It ended up being perfect timing, actually!

We head out on an easy two mile hike around Morraine Dome towards Half Dome. We really did manage to set ourselves up for a great day by finding that spot the night before. We saw some people as we neared Half Dome who were camped out at the base. Cheaters! I don't think you can do that anymore...oh well.

When we made it to the base of Half Dome and the "2 Mile" sign, we met up with people coming up from Little Yosemite Valley. Their day was already tough as they'd been going uphill either from Yosemite Valley at the floor or Little Yosemite Valley. I can't imagine the day hike some people were doing from the floor of the valley - that's over 16 miles, and none of it easy!

We posed for pictures with the sign (2 Miles - really?) checked our gumption (got it, we think) and started out. I was actually nervous! Like, really nervous! What if I can't do it? What if I don't make it!? I can't not make it! What about our packs!? Are we crazy to do this with our packs on!? But I couldn't think that way, not for these last two miles! We were so close - and yet sooo far.

We one-two stepped up the first mile taking a few breaks to the sub-dome and then went back and forth about what to do with our packs. Hide them before climbing the subdome? Take them with? We took them with (after I made Drew go look for a suitable hiding spot, of course) because we knew you weren't supposed to ditch your pack anywhere. Rule-followers, I know. Heart thumping, we started up the sub-dome, which really is infinitely harder than the cables. From where we started that morning, this was the part that looked unclimbable. Those coming down the subdome (they'd already summitted or hadn't been successful) were cheery and enthusiastic. "You can do it! It's the hardest part but you're almost there!" Bite me, is what I wanted to say. Later on, I would be that same person, though.