Sparkle

Spending a weekend in Yosemite has always been an exciting idea for me, and when it worked out that John, Lobo and I could be here on my birthday weekend it seemed just perfect in itself. John was also really exited to make sure that we hiked up to the top of Half Dome that he had done a few years earlier. Friday night (my birthday) we had a lot of fun packing bags, making sandwiches and opening birthday presents! On Saturday morning John and I headed up the trail to Half Dome around 7am. We could have started earlier since John didn’t seem to be sleeping and I kept waking up all night to hear him moving things around the van, taking apart the fan, and whatever else. So finally we just decided to forgo our granola and yogurt to cook up a big breakfast and get going! Bags packed, we hit the trail – 8.5 miles with a 4,800ft gain to the top of one of the most impressive geologic features in the US. We charged through the mist, past Vernon and Nevada falls and before too long the weather cleared and we were zooming up the trail to the base of the famous “cable climb”. If the last 800ft of the trail to Half Dome are crazy steep, the very last 400ft are ridiculous; granite slabs at almost 60 degrees with several steel cables bolted in for those who forgot they are hikers and not climbers and don’t have ropes with them. The curve of the rock is pretty extreme in some places so while your shoes are gripping pretty well, you can still see the 4,800+drop in your peripheral vision. Still, this is what we do, so up we went.

At the top we had the most spectacular view of what Yosemite has to offer all to ourselves. The deep Yosemite valley, Merced river, expansive meadows and glacier carved cliffs were dazzling our eyes with color and contrasts. John suggested we sit on the edge of Half Dome and dangle our feet over for a look. Sure, no problem. What a spectacular place “We should do something memorable” he said and told a simple story of a man in New Jersey in 1939 who fell in love with a woman Susanne Suitch and when he knew he didn’t want to live his life without her he gave her something special: his name was Fredrick John Hartley Jr. (John’s Grandfather), and this is what he gave her. And then MY John (Fredrick John Hartley IV) gave me the same beautiful antique ring, 68 years later. I giggled, and apparently it was hard for me to stay focused, and who knows what I said, but in there somewhere it was pretty clear that I feel the same way he does and I said yes! What a wonderful weekend in Yosemite!