half dome...barely

went to yosemite this past weekend. once again, i had to pull an all-nighter to get something to my prof before i took off...got it to her at 3:30ish, took a shower and finished packing at around 5:00, then took off to meet the carpool over at hank's at 5:30. got in a coupla hours during the drive, so that helped...

we got to our rental house at around 1ish, waited for jeff and went on a short hike. the next morning, got up at around 5 to try to start the half dome hike at around 6, but of course, we didn't get there until 7:30. the hike takes about 10-12 hours, and it took our group about 13. i have to admit that i was the reason for why it took us so long...getting up there was hard, but coming back down, i was dying. my legs were definitely not cooperating during the last few hours, but everyone was super-patient and helpful. ended up hiking the forest in the dark, but most of us had flashlights and/or headlamps...and we got to see the stars, which were spectacular. in the end, we were so thankful to get home and find dinner waiting for us, courtesy of the group that was smart enough not to do the half dome hike.

sunday, we hit a few yosemite sights, and then drove back down. all in all, a great weekend - the weather was perfect, it was great to hang out with friends and meet new people, and yosemite was soooo beautiful. as for the half dome hike...in the words of my fellow sufferer, meghann, i'm glad i did it, but i'll never do it again...if i can help it. here are some pics for your enjoyment.