pics of the dome... check out the guy who brought his GF in his backpack (blowup) lol

there was a 2 hour wait to get up the cables. the others in my group bailed on it... Having been there 6~7 times already, going on the ouside of the cables is not a big deal with the right gloves & boots. took me about 20 minutes to get to the top. I wore my heart rate monitor the whole trip... burned 9400 calories over 13 hours & 55 minutes, had a max heart rate of 182 with an average in the 140's... yeah it's quite a workout.

enjoy...


















at the top of Nevada falls... steep switchbacks








If you look in the saddle here you can see the trail of people moving over to the cables...











"the Stairs"... very steep, very narrow




half way up the stairs... looking down



and looking up...







the 2 hour line to get up the cables... (no thanks, I'll take the outside... no waiting).





Looking down the cables from about 1/2 way up... there is another pic that shows the slope 2 or 3 pics down from here...





The top... time for an awesome sandwich and a fresh pair of socks!



guys GF couldnt make it so he brought in the reserves...











I was talking with this guy for a few minutes, he was joking as he whipped out his camera and saidthat the tour book said i'd be there at 1:30... so we traded shots...

 

those are amazing pics!
Is that just for rock climbers, or is it a hiking trail?
I'm not huge into rock climbing, but that would be an amazing trip.

Outstanding!

 

thanks! the hiking trailis open to anyone, going up the face however, needs a special skill set...

 

WOW Steve your effing NUTS !!! I can't STAND heights !! I did climb up to the top of some Hawaian volcano while I was there, but that was about it fo me.

I chose to spend the weekend completely 180 degrees from where you spent yours. I spent mine on fairly level ground with a 12 pack and some Matchbox cars. YEP, that's right, that Matchbox races were ON !! It's 5 dollar buy in per car 2 elimination race. Man it has GROWN !! It all started out as a joke, but as you can see by the turnout, it's now serious business !!

The track is nothing more than a few pieces vinyl siding screwed together. My first time there I brought a Mercedes that I drilled the rivets out of, removed the interior, and filled it with nickles.That thing FLEW !!! Unfortunately, I was immediately disqualified because you are "supposed" to use stock cars. When I balked a bit about that because it waspretty obvious that not all cars in the race were stock, I was told that they needed to "appear" stock.

Aaah ... NOW I get it !!

Here are some pics. Sorry so blotchy, I guess my lens needs cleaning...

 

Wow, I would have dropped loads all the way up. scared of heights.

 

ah so you need to fill it somehow with lead or something heavy!... might I suggest tearing it appart, making a mold of the chassis and melting down some lead to make a new one? might be a fun project! looks like you had quiet a crownd there!


Yeah the half dome hike has turned into an anual event... the last 2 years I said I was done & got talked back into it. on the weekend of 7/14 we have a backpacking trip into the Little Yosemite Valley area which is behind the dome, the plan is to hike back to Merced Lake. a hike I've always wanted to do but cant do it from the valley floor... too far for a day hike. I'm not 100% sure i'm ready for it either... my day pack on this trip was about 25~30 lbs (camera gear, water filter,food & water) and I'd expect the backpack to be 50~55 lbs when loaded... Plus I have to bring a daypack as well for the merced lake hike. ouch, going to be a rough one! good thing I love it!

 

you just need to look forward and you'd be ok.. 2 years ago there was a gal who was petrified... you could see it as she was going up the stairs, then the cables. but she made it. her signif. other took good care of her along the way.

 

Honestly Steve, I haven't quite figured it out yet. I DID do what you had suggested .... kinda.

Like I said, the car must "appear" stock. I can't drill out the rivets and make it look stock again no matter how hard I try, so what I did do was I bought a car with a removable winshield, popped out the windshield, removed the interior, melted some lead and filled it, and I blacked out the winshhield so that you can't see inside anymore ( for obvious reasons ). The car ran pretty good, but it was eliminated quickly. My black car was basicly a stock car, but it had a loooong wheelbase. I wouldn't say it was very heavy, but it ran VERY straight and fast !! It took 3rd place. All I did to that car was put a little graphite ( on the sly, but many did this) to the axles. The car that won it all was a lady who grabbed one of her kids cars. It was a Ford Cobra obviously bone stock with no mods ( graphite ) at all.

Anyone have any tips / ideas? I'm going back again this weekend.

 

If you have a relatively new car run the wheels in using a motor to spin them (drill) and use the graphite to lube em up while running them in. Also look at the wheels for the "mold gates" that are there from manufacturing (little raised spots on tire tread) smooth those out with a nail file or fine sand paper. If you are adding weight, add it as high as possible. Got these tips from another boy scout dad after the pinewood derby. I'm gonna deploy them next year.

SteveO, when you get high you really get high!Too many people there for my taste, when I get "back to nature" I like to be alone orwith one or two people,but those were some awsome pics!

 

Mayfair, maybe see about getting some sturdy axles if there's a problem there


As for the Hike, Whoa.... that's some nice photography! and an amazing area. Looks like a blast, but yeah, too many people...