CONTACTS 
0202 - IBM Credit Corporation                                                                                                                                             O-00000319 0201

SUBJECTS
Yosemite, 940826
Armstrongs, Ross, etc.

0504 -
0504 -    ..
0505 - Summary/Objective
0506 -
050601 - Follow up work at ref SDS 3 line 30.
050602 -
050603 - Hiked to Half Dome.  Ross made it, and I got close.  This was a major
050604 - effort.
050605 -
050606 -      [On 950916 another hike to Half Dome less successful. ref SDS 4
050607 -      0001
050608 -
050609 -
050610 -
050612 -  ..
0507 -
0508 -
0509 - Progress
0510 -
051001 - We started early.  Decided not to have breakfast.  Went to the car and
051002 - assembled the backpacks for the hike.  I was suprised by the weight,
051003 - especially relative to hiking up to Vernal Falls which is a very steep
051004 - climb.  When Millie and I did this hike with Bob Chapman and Peggy
051005 - Ferris a few years ago, it seemed like a significant effort.  After
051006 - getting the packs ready this morning, I was not looking forward to
051007 - carrying an extra 50 pounds or so.
051009 -  ..
051010 - After getting the back packs ready, we drove to the Ranger Station to
051011 - get a permit for staying over night on the Half Dome trail. We stayed
051012 - in a line for about 45 minutes or so to get the permit.  I played
051013 - catch with a young boy for awhile, using a football.
051015 -  ..
051016 - When we finally got to the head of the line, the Ranger said all of
051017 - the permits had been issued yesterday.  This was not a huge
051018 - disappointment to me, since it meant we would not be taking the
051019 - backpacks.  It was troubling though that the Ranger didn't just make
051020 - this announcement in her pep talk prior to starting to process
051021 - everyond waiting in line for permits.
051023 -  ..
051024 - Anyway, we drove to a parking area near Happy Isle, and I think we
051025 - then took a bus to the place were the trail to Vernal Falls starts,
051026 - which is also the route to Half Dome.
051028 -  ..
051030 -  ..
051031 - We hiked up to the foot bridge across the Vernal Falls gourge.  Then
051032 - we started up the steeper trail to Vernal Falls.  Ross went ahead, and
051033 - I struggled up the trail.  I actually seemed to get going after
051034 - awhile.  Made it into a little contest, to see if I could avoid having
051035 - anyone pass me on the way up.  Noticed I was a little dizzy near the
051036 - end of the trail to Vernal Falls.  Once at the top, seemed like I
051037 - would never get there, the view was spectacular, but there was no
051038 - Ross.  I waited for about 10 minutes to see if somehow he had gotten
051039 - behind me.  Thought about just going back to the Valley, but finally
051040 - decided to go forward and look for Ross.
051042 -  ..
051043 - I asked some hikers how to get to Half Dome.  They showed me the trail
051044 - to Nevada Falls, which they said is the way to Half Dome.  This was
051045 - not as steep, but I was very tired from the effort on the Vernal Falls
051046 - hike.  Took about 45 minutes to get to Nevada Falls.  Ross was not
051047 - there.  I was on the bridge that crosses the river near the falls
051048 - thinking about going back or going on.  I didn't have any water,
051049 - because Ross had it so I didn't have to carry any extra weight.
051051 -  ..
051052 - Just when I had decided to turn back, I heard Ross calling out my
051053 - name, but didn't see him.  I yelled out an answer, and he suddenly
051054 - showed up.
051056 -  ..
051057 - Ross said I took the wrong trail coming up the Vernal Falls route.  He
051058 - said there is a separate route that takes off of the Vernal Falls
051059 - trail shortly after crossing the foot bridge.  I told him I didn't see
051060 - any sign for Half Dome.  Ross said you have to know it is there.  He
051061 - said he took that route, and then when he didn't see me on the trail,
051062 - he doubled back and came up Vernal Falls looking for me.
051064 -  ..
051065 - I told him I am thinking of turning back, that I have accomplished my
051066 - objective to extend myself.  Ross asked me to go on.  So we went ahead
051067 - together.  A short distance up the trail, less than .25 miles, we
051068 - reached a rest area with water and bathroom facilities.  I felt even
051069 - more like returning, but Ross encouraged me to go on.
051071 -  ..
051072 - From this rest area just above Nevada Falls, the route is fairly steep
051073 - and rugged for about a half mile, then we reach Little Yosemite Valley
051074 - and the trail gets easy, relatively flat for a mile or so.  There is
051075 - some sand that makes walking difficult, but much less so than the
051076 - prior trail.  Then there is another mile of steeper terraine where
051077 - there is another rest area.  There are no apparent facilities, but
051078 - there are a lot of hikers just sitting and resting.
051080 -  ..
051081 - Getting to this location, we took a number of intermediate rests for
051082 - me.  Ross was fine.  We did seem to get passed by a lot of hikers and
051083 - then later passed them, so that everyone seemed to pass one another
051084 - several times.
051086 -  ..
051087 - After about 20 minutes, we started on the next phase of the route.
051088 - About a half mile or so, we came to a stream and wanted to get more
051089 - water, since we were very low at this point.  There were a lot of
051090 - people getting water, and there was very little water at the stream
051091 - which was simply bubbling up.  I am not even sure that Ross actually
051092 - got any water.  At some point, though we went forward.  I was going
051093 - very, very slow at this time.  My legs were cramping up, so I had to
051094 - stop and let them relax.  On the flatter stretches, I was okay, but on
051095 - the steeper parts, my calfs and thighs knotted up.  Ross went ahead.
051096 - ..
051097 - Somehow, I dragged myself to the last rest area before the final
051098 - climb to the top of Half Dome.  We waited here for about 30 minutes so
051099 - I could rest up. Finally, we took off.
051101 -  ..
051102 - This next part is a very steep, winding and narrow trail.
051104 -  ..
051105 - We got very near the top of this climb and my legs cramped up again.
051107 -  ..
051108 - We rested for awhile and I got up to go on, but my legs cramped again.
051109 - I suggested Ross go ahead and I will catch up.  He said the cable
051110 - leading to the top is just over the rise.  This trail is very busy
051111 - with people going up and people coming down from the top of Half Dome.
051112 - I waited for another 10 or 15 minutes then tried going up again.  My
051113 - legs cramped up again, so I decided this was as far as they were going
051114 - to carry me.  I was concerned about being able to walk back in the
051115 - dark, which seemed like it would be necessary if I continued forward
051116 - at the current pace.  I didn't want to do that, so I headed back down.
051118 -  ..
051119 - I didn't have any water and we had had little to eat on the trail. The
051120 - food mix we put together didn't taste very good, so I hadn't eaten
051121 - much of it.  Obviously going downhill went better than going uphill,
051122 - except it is much harder on the knees.  When I got to the water
051123 - stream, there were a lot of people again, so I did not stop.
051124 - Basically, just kept going like a zombie.
051126 -  ..
051127 - Continued without stop all the way to the foot bridge at the bottom
051128 - of Vernal Falls.  The hike down Vernal Falls was especially difficult
051129 - because it is so steep, and of course at this time I was very tired.
051130 - It was great to finally reach the bottom where I could get some
051131 - water.  I rested for about 10 minutes, then made the final walk to
051132 - the beginning of the trail.  My mouth was extremely dry.  There is a
051133 - vending stand to buy drinks, food and ice cream at this location, but
051134 - I had left my wallet in Ross' car in the parking lot, and he had the
051135 - key, so I could not buy anything.
051137 -  ..
051138 - Walked to the bus station and had a long wait.  It was very crowded
051139 - from others coming back down the trail, so I could not lay down.  My
051140 - entire body ached at this point.  Finally, the bus came.  When we got
051141 - back to the area near the House Keeping camp site, the driver
051142 - announced we could get off and walk across the field and a bridge to
051143 - get there, rather than wait for the bus to make the circule route to
051144 - the regular bus stop for House Keeping.  I went ahead and got off the
051145 - bus here and walked over to the camp site.
051147 -  ..
051148 - My first assignment was to have more to drink to relive the dryness
051149 - in my mouth.  Since I didn't have any money, I could not get ice at
051150 - the store, so I took some cokes to the river to make them cold.  This
051151 - did not work very well.  I took my boots off and walked in the river,
051152 - but the rocks on the river bottom hurt my feet too much.
051154 -  ..
051155 - About an hour later Ross showed up.  He had made it to the top and was
051156 - excited in telling about the view and the satisfaction from
051157 - accomplishing this goal.  Fortunately he seemed to be in excellent
051158 - shape, at least compared to me.  We went to the store and I bought
051159 - more things needed for dinner.  Seemed like I never stopped drinking
051160 - fluids this evening.
051162 -  ..
051163 - Ross fixed steaks and some vegetables.  We had a fire, and finally
051164 - brought the mattresses out and slept on the ground at least until the
051165 - fire went out, so we could see the stars.
051166 -
051167 -
051168 -
051169 -
0512 -