I’m back! I took a break from the blog after a busy fall and early winter. I’ve had several blog posts in my drafts for a couple of months, but the timing to share them never seemed right.

November ended up being a rough month in my personal life, I was unable to adventure as much, and I took a step back from sharing everything.

Since my last post, I hiked Half Dome for the third time, and went on numerous climbing trips. I think re-capping every single climbing trip would be boring for most readers – not much happens except hours and hours of climbing. ☺

I’ve been taking fewer pictures on my adventures lately, and I’ve been spending more time enjoying the moment and not focusing on material for the future social media update. I’m going to get back into the swing of things with the new year behind me. Happy belated New Year, by the way! We’ll see what 2018 brings.

Here are thoughts from my final hike of 2017…

Do you see the rainbow in the waterfall?

I love hiking. I don’t necessarily enjoy reeeeeally long, steep stretches of trail, but something makes it worth it, because I always go back for more.

It’s become a tradition for me to hike the Upper Yosemite Fall trail. It’s the second trail I ever hiked in Yosemite. After the first time I hiked it, my calves were sore for four days. I said it was a “one and done” hike.

But then, I did it again the next year as part of a long training hike for Mt. Whitney. It was rough, but not as horrendous as the previous year. I was feeling more in shape.

The end of 2017 was approaching, and I was free on December 31. To me, there’s no better place to round out a year than in Yosemite. With Tioga Pass closed, I was limited to mainly Valley trails, most of which I’ve done. I’d be hiking solo, so I wanted a fairly popular trail. I’d been wanting to hike to Eagle Peak for some time, which is most easily accessed via the Upper Yosemite Fall trail. I decided it was time to hike it, again.

I got to the trail around 9 AM, and it was still cool outside. The interesting thing about the Valley is that the floor can stay cool and shady for much of the day, but the upper parts of trails in the sun can be very warm. I ended up tossing my gloves, hat, and jacket in my backpack by the time I got to Columbia Rock. The trail starts to get more sun after that, and I was sweating.

I was feeling good, and instead of strolling up the trail at a relaxed pace, I found myself pushing it. I ended up turning the hike into a full blown intense workout. I’m sure other hikers thought I was crazy.

I only stopped briefly to snap a photo of the falls…notice the lack of snow and ice!

Only a small patch of snow existed at the base.

The top of the trail has endless switchbacks, and those are always the hardest to me. But I kept going.

I got to the top, looked around, and realized there’s no prize for hiking the falls in 1.5 hours. I’m not sure if I felt accomplished, but I felt exercised 😂.

The trail turns right at the top, and you can access the actual top of the falls. I went straight, which leads either to Eagle Peak or toward Tioga Pass.

I made it about a mile into the woods. I hadn’t seen a single soul, and it was peaceful. I started encountering icy patches, and carefully navigated my way through them. I had microspikes with me, but I was too lazy to put them on, only to take them off again in the ice-free spots. It started getting really chilly in the woods above 7000 feet, and my sweaty clothes weren’t helping.

Long story short, I decided I was in a terrible position if I were to slip and fall, all alone in the wilderness. I didn’t have to come up with too many more excuses to convince myself that it was wise to turn around.

It’s always a fun surprise to see how photos turn out in timer mode.

I made it back to the popular part of the trail and hung out at the top of the fall for lunch. Finally, I forced myself to relax. I’m not very good at it.

I soon started back down the trail, half galloping on the less rocky sections because I apparently was still in a competition with myself for speed hiking. I made it down in an hour, and headed back to the car.

Top of the waterfall

Every time I go to Yosemite, I remind myself how lucky I am to be able to visit as a day trip. I was back in Fresno by 4 PM, and I made my 6 PM bedtime. I knew the midnight fireworks and gunshots would wake me, but I had tired myself out enough so that I would easily fall back asleep. It was the first New Year’s Eve that I was actually able to sleep!

I have to say, spending the day in Yosemite was one of the best New Year’s Eve parties I’ve ever attended.