Porcupine Creek, North Dome and a Song (Part 4)

Saturday afternoon, a week ago, found us at Porcupine Creek preparing to hike the North Dome Trail. We unloaded all the food items and stored them in the bear safe bins and off we went. The hike was 4.4 miles each way, though I did not tell my dad that, otherwise I figured he would not have agreed to go. I'm just glad he missed this sign on his way down. Hehe!

The hike began at an 8,100 foot elevation with a steep descent for the first .7 miles on an old paved road but quickly turned into a natural trail.

(Lookin' good!)

The trail leveled off not far into the hike as it took us deeper into the Yosemite forest full of pines and firs as well as dead fall all around .

(Hmmm? Maybe he should pick on one his own size.)

We passed a few seasonal creeks, one of which was Porcupine Creek and a few other creeks struggling to stay alive through the season.

(Look at the size of those roots!)

One of the first things I thought when I started this hike was the old adage that says, "What goes up, must come down." The trail was full of inclines and descents. It is rated a moderate to difficult hike... all I know, is that it felt pretty good on the ol' legs. :) As the trail continued Rueben and my dad made it a point to locate some good walking sticks. My dad even went as far as chiseling and shaving it down to his size. He's extremely innovative. Well, maybe! The stick looks tall enough, but the width seems a little off. Haha!

Our legs were telling us that we were getting closer to our destination while a few people also confirmed we were almost there. We had stopped to rest, mostly because my mom and dad needed it. Dad asked some fellow hikers how much longer we had. He said, "Well, you're almost there. I think it's just about another mile-in-a-half to two miles to North Dome." My dad's response was a very surprised and dramatic, "WHAT? You're kidding me?" He then turned over to me and said, "How long is this hike?" Gulp!! "Uh, it's not that long dad," I said reassuringly. Haha, we really were almost there. Well, with as much as we'd hiked, we really were almost there. :)

We climbed another steep section and began to walk on a very narrow ledge. I was in the front and was leading the way through the steeper sections of the hike. All of a sudden, I heard branches breaking to my left on the steep mountain above me. I was a little alarmed and since we'd already been told that bear tracks had been spotted my mind immediately thought, "Uh-oh!" I turned to look up but no sooner than I did, I heard a big thud no more than 2 feet in front of me - on the path. I immediately drew back and saw a flash of something dart in front of me in a mad frenzy to the mountain below us, remember we were already walking a ledge. I turned to my right to confirm what had just happened and this is what I saw.

A doe had almost stepped on my foot at full speed. Yikes, this could really have been bad. There would have been no other way to go but down... in a whirlwind. Wow, but she sure was beautiful.

What was so amazing was that after her ninety mile an hour run, she just stopped. She gazed off into the distance, would turn to us, look at us and then walk from tree to tree, almost like she was looking for something. I was so excited to get such great pics of her. She was so perfect. We stood there for what seemed like forever just watching her and waiting to see her next move. All of a sudden, reality hit me. Hmmm, why was she running so fast? Oh no, if there really were bear tracks, could it have been that a bear was chasing her and she felt refuge further down the mountain. If that was the case, I realized the bear was likely not far behind. Gulp!! Hmmm, I didn't say anything to my parents because they would have FREAKED! I kept my mouth shut and started praying that God would keep us safe. Besides, we had packed some food items to eat at our destination and I was certain a bear could smell them if he really tried.

I no sooner finished my thought when all of a sudden another racket from the mountain to my left occurred. I didn't see anything and all of a sudden something "large" jumped higher than I was a foot away and down to the mountain below us. In the exact same path as the doe. Crikey! It was going so fast my mind couldn't register what it was, until I looked over and I noticed the doe welcoming her little fawn. Awe, wow!! What a precious reunion. My dad said, "Oh, look at the little Bambi." I unfortunately did not get a picture of this little one because as soon as mama saw him they were off as quickly as they came.

We climbed the steepest part of the trail and based on other hikers, I knew we really were almost there. My parents and Rueben sat down for a spell and then said they could not make it. I told them I understood but that I was not turning back without going to North Dome. I told them to wait for me and that I would take a ton of pictures so they could see it too. My mom was even more determined to make it at that point. We all re-hydrated and continued on the trail. The path began to level off and I decided my muscles had had plenty of time to stretch, I told everyone I'd meet them at the top and took off on a nice jog. I reached the top of the mountain and walked to the edge and was so unbelievably inspired by what I saw. I did not want to continue the trail alone as I wanted to share it's splendor with everyone else, upon first gaze. Everyone finally made it up, so we took a picture... we really were almost there.

(On a ridge above North Dome)

My mom later told me that when I took off running, Rueben had said,

"Man, look at my Tia! She's like a dear!" Haha!!

We finally made it to North Dome! We were at 7,540 feet... huh?

We had actually lost elevation. Hmmm, not sure how that happened but it was still amazing.

The views were so unbelievable I could hardly utter a word. My mom loves nature and she loves God more than anything in this life. When she saw the views, she continued to walk, almost as if she were in a trance. My dad hollered at her to stop, but she kept walking just looking straight ahead and marveling at the wonder of God's creation.

As she walked she quietly said,

"How can anyone deny that there's a God!"

I could not resist taking these pictures of her. It was almost as if she were in another world, completely free of any distractions. She truly looked drawn by the majesty of her Lord.

I walked up to her and I said, "Doesn't this make you want to sing, 'Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds thy hands have made, I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder thy power throughout the universe displayed.'" She joined me in singing this song in praise to the Almighty atop one of His majestic mountains. She sang loudly, "Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to thee, HOW GREAT THOU ART, HOW GREAT THOU ART..." This is my mom's favorite song and it was a perfect song for that moment.

I then began singing the song "Majesty."

"Unto Jesus be ALL GLORY, HONOR and PRAISE!!!"

We captured the most amazing views of Half-Dome and Clouds Rest, which is often dwarfed in the shadows of it's neighbor. Half-Dome can only be seen this close by hiking the North Dome trail. Like my mom said, "It was hard, but it was worth it."

Earlier that day we had been mesmerized by multiple rock climbers and delayed our hike by more than an hour. This meant we would not be able to spend as much time atop North Dome as we would have liked. We spent almost an hour gazing at the beauty surrounding us but felt pressured to begin our journey down the mountain for fear it would darken before we returned. The hike to North Dome took a little over 2 hours so I wanted to be sure we allotted enough daylight to exit. I did however call my sister-in-law to let her know where we were and the route we were taking off the mountain in the event something went wrong.

I had desperately wanted to see a bear, though not too close, of course. So I offered anyone who spotted one for me to photograph a $50 bill. Hmm!?!? All of a sudden every last snapping tree branch or shadow became a possible bear siting. Haha! Rueben and my dad really took this challenge seriously.

On the way back, Rueben had walked along side me and said, "Tia, I'm gonna' walk next to you the whole way back, Ok?!" I said, "OK!" He then said, "I'm gonna' try ok!" After a short while I didn't notice him next to me anymore and all of a sudden her ran up to me and said, "Hey Tia?!" Uh, I'm supposed to be walking next to you." Then I said, "Well, why aren't you then?" He just laughed and said, "Because I can't! You walk too fast." Haha!! I just laughed and told him he was funny. I slowed way down and let both my dad and Rueben go ahead of me! This will be something I'll never live down. My dad is already telling everyone that he 'BEAT' me to the car and that I couldn't keep up with him. Hmmm, really??

Well....

I have evidence otherwise!! :)

He had to stop for a few breaks, and might I add, I never once sat down the whole hike! Though I do have to admit, he did make it to the car first. Only because I was taking some of the following pictures... oh and because I almost had to carry my mom the last quarter mile. Haha! She did awesome! I was impressed with all of them!

(How does life grow on a rock?)

(Lonely wildflowers)

(A tree deteriorating from the inside.)

(A pine growing on the carcass of a fallen pine.
We can learn so many lessons from God's creation if we'll stop long enough to take notice)

I guess if you want to see something bad enough, you can see it;

sometimes in the most unexpected places. Looks like I finally got to see my bear.

This was just moments before the trails end.
 

Everyone was unbelievably exhausted and hungry to boot. I was so proud of everyone I offered to buy dinner for them in Lee Vining on our way home. My dad agreed to drive the 13 miles to Lee Vining but was too sore to continue the additional 3 hours to the house. So guess who got stuck driving? Yep... me! Haha! It was worth it!! :)

Here we are at Nicely's in Lee Vining eating a well deserved meal.

We were all so exhausted from our almost 9 mile hike.

WHAT AN AMAZING TRIP!!!

The weekend isn't over yet.

Sunday proved to be an eventful day as well.

9-11-01

Tuesday 09-11-01, I was talking to Cherita and she asked me if I'd heard. I lived at Tatum/Bell and wasworking on my Bachelors. I was off work that day and quickly gathered my things and went to the student center at Paradise Valley hours before classes began. I watched the attacks repeatedly on large screen. I was in a trance, along with others, unable to move, staring at the same images over and over again.

"United we stand, Divided we fall"... many would say. Churches were filled, endless prayers were uttered, people were changed. Let us NOT ONLY remember, but God help us to live the way we lived the days after the attacks. Feeling that at any moment our lives could be taken. Tomorrow is not certain, help us to "seek God, while He may be found."

Hope is NOT in a nation, 

but in its CREATOR!

God bless all of our military and those who fight to protect our nation.

Rock Climbing (Part 3)

I awakened at 4:45AM. Saturday morning - no alarm required. Rueben and I had slept in the tent and mom and dad had slept in the back of the Navigator. The temperature had dropped through the night to a delicious 31 degrees. MMMmmmm, I LOVE COLD WEATHER!! My mummy bag was true to it's word... I was extremely warm and even had to unzip it in the night as it was getting a little 'too' warm. I stirred Rueben so he could sleep in my bag and then I was off.

I wanted to watch the sun rise. These are some of the views everyone missed that morning. I only wish I would have gotten one of the full moon casting it's light like diamond reflections on the lake. It was breathtaking! The morning was a delicious 43 degrees! Brr! :)

Things began to stir around the campsite and that was when I got a good view of our tent, or what was supposed to be a tent.

Uh, not so much!

We quickly packed all of our stuff and prepared for the days journey.

My dad noticed rock climbers on one of the domes on the way to Porcupine Creek. He quickly pulled over and we watched the two climbers scramble their way higher and higher up the dome. Can you see them?
You may want to enlarge the above image to spot them.

There they are!

It was then we noticed climbers on the dome on the other side of the road as well. They were all free-climbing which means they were only using their hands and feet. Nothing more, nothing less.

How many climbers are in the above picture? Comment to see if you and other readers agree.

It appears one of the climbers in this picture might be injured.

Please confirm with a comment. I did not notice this until I looked at the pictures at home.

Still not sure if they are or not though. Let me know.

Isn't it amazing?!?!

I could not get over the courage of these climbers. This dome was only about a car's width from the road. If anyone fell, if the fall didn't kill 'em, surely the traffic on the two lane road would.

We crossed the street and saw an older man changing his shoes. I asked him if he planned on climbing also but he said he didn't climb that dome anymore. He said he used to be a guide for those climbs when he was younger. I asked him if climbers really only used their hands and feet and he said, "Oh yes, it's not difficult, you do it like this." He then went over to the mountain and began to climb a short piece of it. It didn't look terribly difficult.

Rock climbing has always intrigued me. However these domes seemed awfully intimidating.

I thought I'd try my hand at it, but only went a short way because my dad was there and had not brought his roll of life-size bubble wrap with which to catch me if I fell. I wasn't necessarily dressed for it either. I did however enjoy the section I did... though, I'm not sure I'd ever attempt that steep of a climb. Though repelling from that height does sound intriguing. Definately something I would try.

You may recall a sunset picture at Olmsted Point in my previous entry. Well, this is a daytime view. If you look far in the distance (almost in the middle of the picture) you will see Half-Dome. The hike we were taking would end up on the exact opposite side of the Dome; directly across from it. This is just to give you a visual of where we were going.

Our final destination was the highlight of our trip.

Come along on the next entry to see what we saw & experience what we experienced.