Climbing Half Dome

I got permits to hike Half Dome in September 2016, so I went with my girlfriend and parents. We left the hotel in El Portal in the dark, and it was still dark as we set out from the hikers parking lot. The first few miles are on roads or paved, so they were easy to follow in the dark. When we got to the bridge at the base of Vernal Falls, it had gotten light out. We stopped to use the last flush toilets on the trail, and fill up from the water fountain there.

Water Break

The hike up to the top of the falls was steep, but not too bad. By the time we got to Nevada Falls, the sun had made it up over the mountains. There were some fearless squirrels on the switchbacks up Nevada Falls, and we got some good pictures of it running around.

Not much water in September.

Upon reaching the top of the falls, we had a pleasant hike through Little Yosemite Valley, to the campground. There we stopped to use the bathroom and fill up on water. I shared my water filter with some other hikers whose had broken. The last few miles were uphill through the forest to the base of the subdome. At one stop Jessica ate her noodles that she had cooked last night. My parents got a kick out of that.

The cables.

There was a sign an the base of the subdome, but no ranger, so we continued up. Here the trail becomes exposed and much steeper, climbing the granite. At the base of the cables we took a break to secure our bags and put on our gloves. There were some climbers going over the sides to pick up dropped water bottles and other garbage, and we watched them as we prepared ourselves for the final section.

Very steep. I was too chicken to get out the camera on the steepest sections.

Climbing the cables was less difficult than I thought it would be, though there were a lot of people on them. At the top we were stopped by the ranger, who checked our permits. He said he had caught and fined 5-6 people already that day. The fine is a few hundred dollars.

Dad on the way up.

We ate lunch at the top, and took lots of pictures. Those of us brave enough dangled our legs over the edge of the diving board for a picture.
Going down the cables was tiring, holding on for dear life, but we all made it down safely. There were many fewer people on the cables by this time. The rest of the hike was a long walk out. We decided to take a different route down to avoid the big steps at Vernal Falls. This other route is the one that pack animals take, and it looked like it had been paved in the past, but it was very rough pavement.

In Little Yosemite Valley.

It got too dark to see by the time we got to the bottom of the falls, so we put on our headlamps for the final paved stretch to the car. Once we had all arrived, we ordered a pizza and drove home to eat it and sleep. Jessica and I went to the hot tub to soak our feet and legs in the hot water, but they kicked us out after only a few minutes. The next day we continued our adventures on the other side of the Sierra.

Yosemite

We arrived in the late afternoon, and walked around the valley floor. We even made it to Tunnel View for the end of the sunset. It was quite warm on the valley floor. Not like New England, where going to the mountains means it will be cooler. There was a deer near some of the cabins near the visitors center. Didn't seem like it was afraid of anything.

Half Dome. It doesn't look so hard from here...

Sunset at Tunnel View.

We spent the second day in the Glacier Point area. Great views of tomorrow's destination, and the rest of the valley.

We could see people on top.

The whole area around Glacier Point was crowded, as one would expect. We managed to find a parking spot, then had a look around. We hiked up the dome nearby for lunch, where there were also a lot of people and a bunch of wind. No one blew away, though.

The other part of the valley, looking west.

On the way back we stopped at one of the other viewpoints that looked out over the Illouette Valley, as well as the area we would be hiking the next day.

The trail runs up near the waterfall.

We returned to the valley, and stopped for a while to watch some climbers on El Capitan. They were almost invisible, but for a pair of binoculars. Our hotel room had a small kitchenette, so we bought some food at the general store, then headed home for dinner and an early night. The next day, we climbed Half Dome.

W6/NC-178 Ben Lomond Mountain

Ben Lomond Mountain is a drive up peak near the town of Felton. I drove up after activating three peaks in Big Basin SP (China Grade BM, Mt McAbee, Pine Mtn). There is a CalFire station at the summit, but this is closed to the public. Others have said there is a jail as well, but I didn't see it. Some trip reports on peakbagger mention talking to the fire fighters to try and get to the high point, but that they wouldn't allow it. I setup in a small pull-out near an antenna tower, and set up my mag loop.

Pullout where I set up. True summit behind photographer and to the right.

It was late in the day, and I had trouble getting the four contacts I needed. I always seem to have trouble with activations around the end of the UTC day. The cell service was spotty as well, but there was enough to send out some spots. I eventually got one on 30 and 17 each, and two on 20. There were a lot of flies and bugs swarming around me as I operated. I called for a while on VHF/UHF, but didn't get any responses, to my surprise. I got a lot of looks from drivers and bikers as they went by. After packing up I braved the afternoon traffic on CA 17 to get back to the Bay Area.

Trailhead: Empire Grade Road.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Find somewhere on the side of the road to set up. All private property in the area.
Red Tape: None if you stay on the road.

W6/NC-241 Pine Mountain

Pine Mountain was peak number three today, just after Mt McAbee. This is another peak in Big Basin Redwoods State Park without a view on top. From the park headquarters, make your way to the Pine Mountain Trail. There are a few different trails that will get you here, but the easiest is probably to take the trail that parallels the road.

Opal Creek

The trail leads up to Buzzards Roost, a rocky sub-peak of Pine Mountain. The trail up to the top is well graded, so the climb doesn't feel long or difficult. In the saddle between Pine Mtn and Buzzards Roost, the trail turns sharply left for the final climb to Buzzards Roost. On the right there is a sign on a fence saying the area is closed for restoration. If you go around the fence, there is an old, easy to follow trail that leads to the summit. There is a large pile of rocks at the end.

At one of the ledges on the way up. I'm not in pain, just squinting in the sun.

There are a lot of trees at the summit, but not many branches. This made it difficult to find somewhere to throw a line over for the antenna. Eventually I found a very small branch, no more than a few inches long, and after a few throws, got a line over. I set up the station and was on the air.

Operating position and antenna at the summit. 

I had a weak 4G signal, so I spotted myself. I had never made a contact on 12 meters, so I started there. I got one, then went down to 17 meters where I made two contacts. Keeping with the theme of using the WARC bands, I moved down to 30 and made a bunch. I'd also never made a contact on 60, so I called CQ, and a few minutes later NA6O came back. Since I was having success on uncommon bands, I went up to 50 MHz and called for a while, but didn't get any takers. I then got out the HT to try the VHF bands, and to my surprise I made one contact on 2 meters. He was down near Monterey, so I probably had line of sight to him over Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay.

Buzzards Roost from the "trail"

While I was on the summit I could hear the people on Buzzards Roost easily. They sounded much closer than they actually were. After all the excitement I packed up headed back to the car to drive up to Ben Lomond Mountain, the last scheduled summit for the day.

Trailhead: Big Basin Redwoods Park HQ.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map. When you pay the entrance fee, you get a map.
Route: Make your way to the Pine Mountain Trail, and follow this to the closed sign. Go around the sign and follow the old trail to the summit.
Red Tape: None.

W6/NC-537 Mt McAbee

This was the second of four peaks today, after China Grade Benchmark, and before Pine Mountain and Ben Lomond Mountain. Mt McAbee is a low mountain near the center of Big Basin Redwoods State Park, and a pleasant hike in. Park at the park headquarters, and take the Skyline to Sea Trail up to the top of Middle Ridge. I was surprised there was still some water flowing in the creek near HQ this late in the summer.

Start of the trail at park HQ.

 On the ridge you have the choice of taking the Hihn Hammond Road or the Howard King Trail. I would recommend the trail, I think its more pleasant than walking on the fire road. The trail crosses the road a few times on the way up, so you could take both. Near the top is an overlook with a bench. If its not cloudy or foggy, you can see the ocean from here, or take a break. From this point, the rest of the way up is bushwhacking.

Final trail junction and bench. Enter the woods to the right of the bench.

 Behind the bench there is a convenient place to enter the woods. There seems to be a band of very dense forest along the trail that is about 20 meters wide, then open redwood forest. If you can push through the dense band, it is an easy hike up to the top. I found that if I went downhill a little, there were more openings through the brush.

Near the top.

There were some dense trees at what appeared to be the highest point, but just to the north there was a small clearing. I threw my antenna over a branch and got on the air here. I had zero cell service, so relied on the RBN to get spots. It seemed to work, as I got contacts on the 30, 20, and 17 meter bands from all the usual chasers. I called on VHF, but again didn't get any contacts.
To get back to the trail, I followed a compass bearing. The dense brush was still there, but there was a small embankment that I accidentally slid down to get onto the trail again. This resulted in a few scrapes to my elbow and some dirt in my shoes, but nothing worse. I then followed the road back down to head over to Pine Mountain.

Trailhead: Big Basin Redwoods Park Headquarters
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map. When you pay the parking fee, they give you a map.
Route: Skyline to the Sea Trail up to Middle Ridge. Howard King Trail to the overlook, then bushwhack to the top.
Red Tape: None.

The pacific is under that fog.