The Shopoff Showoff

to the top of Half Dome! And wow...what a hike! This is my first of several posts about the Shopoff vacation to Yosemite last week, but I thought I'd start out by telling you about one of the most physically challenging things I've ever done.

On Friday, August 7th, at 5 a.m., nine of the Shopoff clan set out to hike to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. Patrick's dad, his three uncles, three of his cousins, and the two of us loaded up our backpacks with all of our hiking supplies and drove out to the trailhead in the valley. This is where our hike began. Now I could write a huge description of the hike, but I don't know that it would paint a proper picture of what we did that day. Instead, let me start with some facts that help you understand the Half Dome hike:

Half Dome elevation: 8800 feet
Elevation gain from valley to peak: 4,800 feet(yes, as in almost a mile)
Distance from valley to peak: 8.2 miles
Total distance to complete hike: 16.4 miles
Numbers of hours to complete hike: 10-12 hours
Number of people who make it to the top each year: 50,000
Best description: "Half Dome is the ultimate Yosemite day hike - the one you can't die without doing, and the one you're most likely to die while doing"(yosemitehikes.com).

If that isn't enough to get your attention, check out this picture of the final 400 feet of the ascent to the peak of Half Dome:
Yes, you actually climb to the peak of Half Dome by holding on to two cables mounted to the face of the granite.

Now that you know that the hike is like, let me tell you about our experience. It was a beautiful morning with fantastic cool weather. We set out on our hike from the trailhead in the valley at around 6 a.m. and immediately, we began to climb. The beginning of the trail consisted of very large granite steps, beautiful waterfalls, and stunning views of the sun rising on Half Dome.


The next part of the hike consisted of very sandy trail and less climb. We saw some beautiful mule deer and reached the halfway point to the top during this period.

The final part of the hike was the climb up quarter dome, a mixture of granite steps and rocky trail, and then the final ascent up the cables on to the peak of Half Dome. This was by far the hardest part of the hike, both physically and mentally. You are left very exposed on the face of the granite as you climb and it can be very scary!


And at last...........WE MADE IT!!! We were awarded with some beautiful views of the valley.


After spending a little time on top of Half Dome, it was time to head back down. We ate our lunch on quarter dome before beginning the trip back down to the valley. Due to a small miscommunication, it took us 1 1/2 hours longer than expected to get back to the trailhead. However, we still made it to the car only 11 hours after starting our hike, which totaled around 18 miles round-trip with the added trek to and from the parking lot. I was very proud, very exhausted, and very sore. Overall, it was well worth the climb. It was a day of fun, physical challenge, and celebration...just another day with the Shopoffs, I guess.

"...and I must go." ~ John Muir

Patrick and I have been talking about going camping for months but we just haven't found the time. We spontaneously decided late this week that this weekend was the perfect chance for us to go camping. We made a last-minute decision on Friday to go to Queen Wilhelmina State Park in Arkansas.

It was a beautiful drive and the views from the campground were just gorgeous! We had a great time hiking, playing Skip-Bo(which of course...I won), and enjoying the scenery. Kaiko was quite a trooper and put up with the long hikes and car ride. She even made up for last time when she wasn't such a guard dog(see A Camping We Will Go) by catching herself a chipmunk. Poor little guy! Here are some pics of our adventures...