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  • Tag: national parks

    • half dome: part 2 (the climb)

      Posted at 8:00 am by jasminedesirees, on August 9, 2018

      Our Half Dome climb day was Tuesday, July 9th, so I drove up to the Bay on Saturday morning to spend some time with friends (and drink a lot of vodka, which was maybe not the best training strategy). On Monday morning, I set off from Pleasanton to make the trek to Yosemite, about a 3-hour drive. I had planned to meet my friend and another girl that was hiking with us along the highway somewhere, but we didn’t have firm plans, and I didn’t realize until I was about halfway there that I didn’t actually know where we were staying.

      I realized this at almost the exact second that I completely lost cell service, which I had known would happen well in advance. I called my husband the night before since I knew I wouldn’t be talking to him that day or probably until I left Yosemite, but it never occurred to me to find out where I was actually driving to, since I wouldn’t be able to contact my friend once we were there.

      Even though I was pretty stressed and annoyed with myself, the drive there was stunning, there is a beautiful lake as you come up to Yosemite, and the rock formations are gorgeous. It took a lot of swearing and little bit of standing on top of my car, but eventually I got a text message through, and we met up at our rental cabin in Half Dome Village. There are a few rental options in Half Dome Village, including tents that are already set up, and little cabins, which are basically like hotel rooms with a bathroom, and two beds in each room.

      We got lunch right away, there are a few little restaurants there, including a pizza place, a burger place, and a coffee/ice cream place, then went exploring for a few hours around the park, including riding the shuttle over to Yosemite Village to stamp our National Parks passports (I bought one at Yosemite, even though I’ve been to about 10 National Parks in the last two years and have never before felt the urge) and check out Lower Yosemite Falls. There are a lot of really cool looking hikes in the area, but we thought we should save our energy for the next day.

      We headed back to our cabin to get our stuff organized (read: to pack our snacks), ate all the carbs for supper, and went to bed early, although I don’t think any of us slept much.

      We woke up at 3:15 the next morning, put on our hiking clothes and some sunscreen, and head out. One of the reasons we wanted to stay at Half Dome Village, is you can walk right to the trailhead, and don’t have to worry about parking, which we heard can be kind of tricky.

      We arrived at the trailhead at 4:30 a.m. It was still dark, but two of our group had headlamps so we were able to see the trail. It was really neat to be roaming through the forest in the dark, although I did freak out a couple of times when I saw random shadows and decided they were snakes/bears.

      There are two waterfalls along the way to Half Dome, and we made it to the first one just as the sun was starting to come up. The hike from our cabin door and back down (spoiler alert, we made it!) was about 18 miles total. The first part is pretty well groomed trails, with lots of stairs. After the second waterfall, there is kind of a flat wander through trees and meadows by a river that was really pretty in the morning, but goes on for quite a long time.

      We made really good time on our hike; we were so energetic and excited that we got to the sub dome by 10:00 even though we thought it would take us until noon. Right before the sub dome is where you have to show your permit to be able to continue up. I feel like everyone talks about the terror of the cables at Half Dome, but the sub dome is kind of scary in its own way. It’s very steep, parts of it are stairs, and parts are just flat rock that you kind of scramble up, but there are no railings or anything and it’s a long way down if you fall.

      The view from the sub dome is beautiful, but the first glimpse of the cables is pretty sobering. It looks very steep, especially from the top of the sub dome. There was definitely part of me that didn’t want to do it, but I told myself I had hiked 9 miles, and I wasn’t ever doing this again, so I had to at least try to get up to the top.

      The cables are bolted into the side of Half Dome, and there are pieces of wood laid out about every 10 feet. It’s pretty steep, and it’s basically a straight drop down on either side. Some people bring harnesses to clip onto the cables to make it a little safer, I would say about 20% of the people had them, including the two girls I was hiking with.

      But I didn’t, I just wanted to get up as fast as I could, because I knew if I had too much time to think about things I might freak myself out. I didn’t want to be behind anyone that was taking extra time to clip and unclip all the way up, so I decided to go first.

      It’s about 400 feet of cables to the top, and it starts out a little bit steep, ends a little bit steep, and then is pretty much straight up and down at parts along the middle. It was pretty scary, but the best thing about Half Dome were the other hikers, as there are people going up and down at the same time, and almost everyone is super friendly and helpful, and works together to make sure everyone has a safe climb.

      I couldn’t tell you how long it took me to get up, time kind of stops as you just pull yourself, try to go by other people, and keep your footing, but I would guess it took me 20-30 minutes to get up to the top.

      The view from the top was amazing; we had great weather so it wasn’t too hot or too windy up there. We hung out for a while, took pictures and had some snacks, all while trying to fend off attacks from the hungry squirrels that swarm the Dome. If you left your pack alone for 30 seconds to take a picture or talk to someone else, they would be in your bag stealing your food, and throwing your stuff all over the place.

      We stayed up top for about 45 minutes, and then started the trek down, which I honestly thought was scarier than the climb up. It might have been because there were a lot of people coming up at the time and there were points were I was just kind of hanging out and not able to move for a few minutes at a time.

      I didn’t fully relax until we were back at the bottom of the sub dome, that’s when we really felt like we had done it and everything was fine, but then we still had nine miles to hike to get back down, and we were starting to run low on water. The sun was fully up by then, it was about 1:30 when we got back to the trail, and it was very hot, and slow going on the way down, since we were all tired and sore from the first half of the hike.

      By the last mile of the hike, I really didn’t know if I could finish, the bottoms of my feet were burning and it hurt every time I took a step. I was about to just lay down on the side of the trail and give up, when out of nowhere, like 3 baby angels, a group of very attractive Australian boys joined up with us. They were on a tour of the U.S. and had just done a two mile hike, so they asked us a bunch of questions about where else they should visit, and we told them all about the hike we had done. Before we knew it, we were back at the village, essentially unscathed, and it was basically a miracle.

      The first thing I did when I got back to the cabin was crack open a grapefruit LaCroix, take off my boots and put my sore little feet up on the headboard. They were very dirty and puffy, but I didn’t really have any blisters (maybe thanks to these socks) and elevating them for a few minutes really helped.

      We had big plans to celebrate, but after we showered and went to get burgers, I think I drank about half of a beer, and then went home to bed. I slept like a rock, except for several times when I jolted awake because I had nightmares about being back on the cables. The next day, I woke up feeling a little bit stiff, but honestly, fine.

      In the end, I’m SO glad I got to do Half Dome, it was a great experience with girlfriends, and I’m proud of myself for making it to the top even though I was scared of the cables. If you’re thinking about doing it, I would just say, it is kind of hard (nobody really said that to me, everyone just told me how much fun it is and how great the views are) and make sure you bring a lot of water, more than you think you’ll need. Also, bring Oreos, which aren’t technically a necessity, but are definitely nice to have.

      Posted in California, travel, USA | 0 Comments | Tagged California, half dome, hiking, national parks, summer, yosemite
    • white sands

      Posted at 8:00 am by jasminedesirees, on February 22, 2018

      Last summer, right before my fellowship started, D and I decided to take a road trip that I’d been wanting to do since we moved to Arizona.

      Actually, a visit to White Sands National Monument was on my list of requirements when deciding to move to AZ (instead of L.A.), along with a trip to Page, to see Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend, and to Arches National Park.

      We didn’t really have a plan, other than White Sands and we had 3 or 4 days before we had to be back, so we just loaded up our tent and headed out, which is, in my opinion, the only way to road trip.

      D had never been to Texas, so we made a slight detour to have lunch (Tex-Mex, obviously) in El Paso before heading up into New Mexico. I really wanted to make another detour to Truth or Consequences because I can’t think of a cooler town name, but I had already gotten sidetracked by some lunch margaritas, and we wanted to make it to White Sands before dark.

      Alamogordo is the nearest town to White Sands, and our plan was to stay in the area for two nights, camping on the dunes the first night, and then staying in town the second night.

      I’d seen pictures of White Sands before we went, but pictures can be misleading. As we started getting closer to the monument, I started to see sand on the side of the road, and I wasn’t sure if it was THE sand; it was white, but not as white as I thought it would be. But then we came around a bend in the road, and I saw the actual dunes, and there is no mistaking it, it is blindingly white. It looks like fresh snow.

      We got to the visitor center around 3:00 pm, and learned about the camping options, there were open spots but it was about a mile hike each way from the parking lot, which wouldn’t have been a problem normally, but by the time we got there it was so. freaking. cold out. And super windy. I’m pretty sure our tent would have blown away in the night with us inside of it. So we decided to camp in town that night, and come back and stay at the monument the next day instead.

      In case you aren’t familiar, parts of White Sands are used for missile testing, the first test of an atomic bomb was actually done there. They still do tests, including the night after we arrived, so we weren’t able to camp on the dunes that night either. You can call ahead to check the schedule, if you’re so inclined, or you can be like me and just show up and see.

      We stayed out on the dunes for sunset, the wind did end up dying down a little bit, but it was too late to camp by then. The dunes are so gorgeous, it’s really stunning to see, especially at sunset. You can also rent little saucers to go sledding down the dunes, but I’m not the most coordinated and decided the emergency room in Alamogordo was a site I could probably skip.

      We stayed overnight at the KOA in Alamogordo, and had a couple of drinks around the campfire with a guy we met from Seattle who was road tripping around the entire outside perimeter of the U.S. The next morning, we packed up, and basically flipped a coin to decide if we were going to keep going northeast to Santa Rosa (dyinggg to go here), northwest to Four Corners, or head back south.

      I would definitely recommend a visit to White Sands if you’re going to be near the area, it’s really stunning and has an interesting history. And luckily, I didn’t find out that the area around White Sands was the inspiration for the movie The Hills Have Eyes until I was safely back in Arizona, or I probably wouldn’t have slept at all.

      Posted in exploring, life, new mexico, travel | 0 Comments | Tagged national parks, new mexico, road trip, white sands, white sands national monument
    • zion

      Posted at 8:00 am by jasminedesirees, on January 3, 2017

      Just 8,000,000 pictures of Zion that I had to share because it’s so completely stunning. We stopped in Zion (well actually, kind of just drove through) on the way home from Montana over the summer, after stopping at Arches.

      zion national park

      zion national park

      zion national park

      zion national park

      We were actually only about half an hour from Yellowstone at one point on the drive home and we thought about going there as well to fit in as many national parks as possible, but it was already a 20+ hour drive so we decided against it.

      zion national park

      zion national park

      zion national park

      zion national park

      zion national park

      We didn’t get to spend a ton of time in Zion, but it was so beautiful there I can’t wait to go back. The little town where the main entrance is, Springdale, was really charming and had some really neat stores and delicious looking restaurants, so I definitely want to stay for at least a couple of days next time.

      zion national park

      zion national park

      zion national park

      zion national park

      zion national park

      The other thing I really want to do next time we are there is hike Angel’s Landing. It’s supposed to be really scary if you are afraid of heights (I’m not) because some parts of the trail are not very wide but completely worth it for the view at the end.

      zion national park

      zion national park

      zion national park

      zion national park

      zion national park

      zion national park

      I might actually do this for my birthday in March, I kind of have a different trip planned, but since we may not be in Arizona for too much longer, I don’t want to miss out on any of the things I wanted to do while we were there.

      zion national park

      zion national park

      zion national park

      zion national park

      Posted in travel, USA | 1 Comment | Tagged national parks, travel, utah, zion
    • arches national park

      Posted at 8:00 am by jasminedesirees, on December 14, 2016

      I can’t believe how long ago I actually started this post (August) vs. when it’s actually getting published, how embarrassing. But our trip to Arches National Park was pretty amazing, so I still wanted to share it.

      When we moved to Arizona two years ago, one of the things that we liked about Phoenix was how central it was and how many cool places you could get with just a few hours of driving. So I made a list of places I wanted to visit while we lived in AZ, and Arches was at the top.

      The problem is, it’s not really near anything else. It’s about 8 hours NE of Phoenix, so it’s not really on your way to Salt Lake City, or the Grand Canyon or anything like that, and there isn’t really much around it, except a few other national parks, so it’s kind of where you are going, if you are going there.

      arches national park

      arches national park

      We were driving home from Montana in August, and it was already going to be like, 20 hours, so I guess I thought “What’s another 5?”, and decided to make Arches part of the trip.

      We got to SLC the first night, and planned on going hiking but were thwarted by a biking event, so we just went drinking instead. The next morning we were up early, had breakfast, and drove the rest of the way to Moab, which is where Arches is located.

      About half way there the landscape started getting really rugged and gorgeous, with jutting rocks and beautiful vistas around every corner, so it kind of felt like we were in the park already, and it went by really fast. We got a campsite at a really cute little campground right outside the front gate of the park.

      arches national park

      arches national park

      arches national park

      We got settled in and then went to the park about 11 a.m.. If you are going to Arches, especially in August, make sure you have a full tank of gas, and bring LOTS of water and snacks. I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting, but the park is enormous, and you drive around it and stop at any of the Arches or areas you want to see.

      There is nowhere to get gas (obviously) so if you had to stop, and drive back out to Moab to fill up, it would take probably an hour. There are also only a few places in the park where you can fill up your water bottle, and they are few and far between.

      It’s a lot of hiking and walking around to see everything, so having water on hand is essential, especially when it’s 110 degrees, like it was when we were there. Also, sunscreen.

      arches national park

      arches national park

      arches national park

      There are lots of arches and things to see inside the park, and you get a map when you drive through the gate so you can see which ones you want to visit. There are some that are better to see in the morning, and some better at night, depending on the lighting and where the sun is located, and there are some that are really famous and pretty busy all the time.

      My favourite things to see inside the park were Double Arch and Turret Arch. Balanced Rock, Devils Garden and the Windows are very popular too. We stopped at the parking lot to go to the Windows, and there were a lot of people there, so we took a right at the trail and ended up at Turret Arch, where there were hardly any people, and I thought it was one of the best ones we saw.

      arches national park

      arches national park

      arches national park

      Delicate arch (the very last picture) is the image you often see of Arches, and there were tons of people up there to get a picture of it with the sunset behind it, but it’s kind of a long walk, and after being in the sun almost the whole day, and being in the park for about 8 hours at that point, I was not into it, so we just went to a view point to see it, and then went back to the campgrounds.

      arches national park

      arches national park

      arches national park

      It was still so hot out that we put our bathing suits on, bought a six pack of beer and some frozen lemonades from the little convenience store, and played in the pool while the sun set.

      We didn’t have any camping gear with us, but we bought sleeping bags at Target (which I’m hoping to use again in the next couple of weeks!) and made a bed in the back of the truck. We ate bag salads on paper plates for supper, watched a movie on my laptop and then fell asleep under the stars.

      It was kind of the best day ever.

      arches national park

      arches national park

      arches national park

      Sleeping in the truck always reminds me of our time in Australia where we spent two months sleeping in the back of our Subaru, or my birthday last year where we spent the weekend in San Diego. Just being able to jump in the car and go somewhere without stressing about logistics and planning everything out is honestly one of my favourite things to do.

      We did get woken up by a wicked lightening storm at about 3 a.m., but even that was kind of cool.

      If you are going to Arches, I would suggest going early in the morning to hit some of the “sunrise” arches, then going back to your hotel or campsite for a few hours during the hottest part of the day to eat, relax and get out of the sun, and then going back to the park later in the afternoon to see a few more things and catch the sunset.

      arches national park

      arches national park

      arches national park

      I’m so glad we got to cross Arches off our list, it’s honestly stunning, I kept wishing we had Derek’s motorcycle with us because cruising those roads is probably the reason bikes were invented. As we start to plan where we are moving to next (more on that soon!) we’re trying to do as much as possible before we go. This is hopefully still going to happen, but it might have to wait until April, once next semester is over.

      arches national park

      arches national park

      Posted in travel, USA, utah | 3 Comments | Tagged arches, national parks, travel, utah
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