New places, New experiences.

Hola peoples.

It's been awhile, eh? yep. I've been busy. ...moving to California! woohoo. back to the motherland. I'm enjoying it.

Since coming out here I have learned & experienced a few firsts:

• how to drive a stick shift (very excited about that.) I drive it every day & I rock, thank you.
• indoor rock climb (they say I'm a natural?)
• Went to Yosemite National Park (soo pretty!)
• went on my first hike
• Climbed Half Dome. (wow, Tough! but I loved it.)
• Went to San Francisco, loved it. (which I still can't spell correctly)
  
• learning all new things for a new job
• learning my way around a brand new town

So yay for me. Oh, and of course I've met many new people and have learned lots of names & faces.

San Francisco

So let me tell you about Half Dome!!! It was incredible. For me, it was like going to Disneyland as a kid. The experience has stayed with me.

Half Dome is a high point in Yosemite at 8,842 ft elevation. The hike that we did in one day had a 4,800 ft climb in elevation. We took the John Muir Trail up and the Mist Trail down. So our hike was 15.35 miles (from the trail head).

Below is some info from this site. They suggest taking a gallon of water for this hike.

Hike Distance: 14.2 miles (22.7 km) round trip via Mist Trail
16.5 miles (26.5 km) round trip via John Muir Trail
20 miles (32 km) round trip via Glacier Point
23 miles (37) km round trip via Tenaya Lake
7 miles (11 km) round trip from Little Yosemite Valley campground

Half Dome Elevation: 8,842 feet (2,650 meters)
Total Elevation Gain: 4,800 feet (1,600 meters) from Yosemite Valley

Hiking Time: 10 - 14 hours

Difficulty: Extreme. It's long, steep at the beginning and end, and more dangerous than most Yosemite hikes. It's probably the most difficult of all Yosemite day hikes. On the traditional 1 to 10 scale, this one rates an 11.

That site also tells the number of fatalities that have occured on Half Dome.

Just 2 weeks after I had been up, 2 people died up there in one week. Here's one story. And another story with an eye witness testimony which also reported 10 to 12 people die in Yosemite each year.

This page has a google map picture that shows the various trails.

The last picture at the bottom of this webpage has a view of half dome from further inside Yosemite. A neat perspective.

It took me forever just to get this written because I had so much information I wanted to share. But I was getting tired of not getting this posted. So here it is. (It only took me 2 weeks to finishing what I started on this post!)

If you're completely enamored, here are a few more websites ...
1 - real informative
2 - Yosemite web1, Yosemite web2
3 - current conditions in Yosemite

Living so close to Yosemite, I am very hopeful to get over there again to spend more time, get many more pictures and see the huge sequoias.

Oh yeah, here is some wildlife we saw that day.

The bear was in the parking lot. He/she just snagged an abandoned cooler. A couple guys scared him off yelling "go bear go!" The deer was super close on the trail. And of course, lots of squirrels and such. Below is not a blue jay but a steller's jay (news to me.) He wanted our snacks. To the left of that this furry creature resides at the very top of half dome! Kind of a desolate place to live, but he has many visitors! He is a marmot.


It was a great trip, and I would do it again, for sure.