Nic and Katie: Yosemite and Beyond

Let me ask you a personal question--what is the most outrageous place you have ever played a game of Yahtzee? Have to think about it? That's a shame. Katie and I recently rolled a few games on the bald granite summit of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park.

Yosemite

After a few days with Katie's parents in Loomis we drove south toward Yosemite. We had reserved our permit months in advance to hike to the summit of Half Dome. Under the new permit system only 400 people can climb the final 100 meters to the summit each day. Until the permit system was put in place thousands of people made the climb every day.

The hike is strenuous enough, climbing almost 5,000 vertical feet over the course of the 8 mile trail to the summit. The trail climbs past stunning waterfalls, chilly rivers, and some downright gorgeous views. As the trail nears the summit the grade turns even steeper, switchbacking up the granite mountain on the top of which Half Dome actually sits.

The final 100 meters must be ascended with the assistance of fixed cables. This keeps the trek within the realm of hiking rather than technical rock climbing. The ascent up the cables is insane. The rock is steep and slick from the shoes of millions of hikers. The equally polished cables are the only things between the hiker and 5,000 feet of air. One wrong move and you get almost a full mile of free fall to think about it. Still, the summit was relatively crowded when we made it.

The "summit" is not a peak, but rather an open, flat field of granite. It ends abruptly in an enormous overhanging precipice on one side, and gently slopes off into oblivion on the other. A perfect venue for a few rounds of everybody's favorite dice-based game of skill and strategy. Katie and I had gotten hooked on Yahtzee while on the Big Island. We packed the five dice and a notebook to keep score so we could do a little extreme Yahtzee-ing.

We made it down the mountain safe and sound before dark. We enjoyed a glorious dinner and camped for the night.

Chewing Gum Lake

Chewing Gum Lake was he next stop on our trek. Chewing Gum is a rather small lake tucked back in the Emigrant Wilderness area of the Sierra Nevada, north of Yosemite near Sonora, CA. My grandfather used to take me there when I was a boy. My dad continued to take me there after my grandpa died. I hadn't been there since I was 15.

The hike in is only about 4 miles. But after hiking close to 18 miles the day before, Katie and I found ourselves running out of gas early on in the hike. Our conversation waned into silence as we focused on putting one foot in front of the other.

The lake was exactly as I remember it as a boy--pristine and undisturbed since the day God himself put it there.

Chewing Gum Lake is not the sort of place you waste your time failing to describe adequately on the internet. It's the sort of place you don't let too many people know about so it's still pristine when you want to take your own kids there someday.