Pct day 31A zero in the hiking community is where you don’t walk any trail miles. I very rarely take one and when I do it always turns out like today. Today I didn’t walk a single mile that counted today. But I did walk 25 that didn’t count. I woke up extremely early and set off up half dome. It’s something I have never done before and today was the day to do it. The climb was steep, strenuous and littered by panting people. Because of my last minute decision to climb half dome I didn’t have a permit. Luckily the Rangers were really accommodating and found a way to legally allow me to climb. Half dome is a 8 mile hike followed by a 1/4 mile climb straight up a granite dome. There are posts with cables set in the granite to hold on to. It was incredible and gave me a view of all the major features of Yosemite. It was interesting to see all the others pushed out of their comfort zone with the climbing element. I met a few amazing people on top of half dome and relished the opportunity to talk with great people! After the long climb down I packed up everything and began the difficult task of getting back to the trail. It took over an hour to get my first ride and it was from two incredibly kind girls. I road in the back of their truck with their kayaks for a good 30 miles. It was quite a story in itself. After they got me as far as they could after a relatively short time I linked up another ride and finally made it back to my home: the trail. Between half dome, being social, working to get a ride and everything that goes with navigating a sea of tourists, I was ready to call it a day without walking a trail mile. I made a fire, ate my dinner and went to bed. Tomorrow I am going to try this hiking the PCT thing again!
Miles 942-942
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