Metalheads who Hike

SO -- my about to be a HS Senior has one for sure summer left living here at home, which means one more for sure vacation.  My wife and I started making plans. . . but he said he really wanted to go to San Fransisco and wants to see the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz.  I went to college in Northern Cal, my wife (girlfriend at the time) visited me out there and we did a day in SF. . . really no interest from either of us.  But:  "How far is it to Yosemite?"  Close enough.  Then I went through a job lay-off and employment uncertainty and the entire idea of the trip was in the air, but a few weeks ago we booked it.  I was too late for the early lottery, so I think I'll have 2 shots at the daily lottery for a Half-Dome permit.  This would be a legit bucket-list type of thing for me!  I think between the 2 days I might have about a 50% shot at a permit (if I understand correctly, which I may not?), and then of course need decent weather as well, but it could realistically happen!  After taking a couple months off I've been out "training" the past few weeks and have my climbing legs pretty well back.  Seriously pumped!  Even if I don't get to hike Half-Dome, it will be awesome to be in Yosemite, so it should be a no-lose (although I WILL be a little disappointed).  Wohoo!  There's my hiking "news!"

Semi-related -- a couple weeks ago I watched Free Solo.  Hugely uncomfortable to watch!  But pretty interesting, in terms of both rock climbing and sort of human interest.  I'm not really interested in rock climbing, actually, but loved the film.

This Saturday we hiked about 7 miles from the top of Brasstown Bald (Highest peak in Georgia) to Young Harris. For the most part it was a nice canopied gradual descent. The bottom part was a little rocky and steeper. I woke up this morning barely walking. It was fun tho.

Grindboy wrote:SO -- my about to be a HS Senior has one for sure summer left living here at home, which means one more for sure vacation.  My wife and I started making plans. . . but he said he really wanted to go to San Fransisco and wants to see the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz.  I went to college in Northern Cal, my wife (girlfriend at the time) visited me out there and we did a day in SF. . . really no interest from either of us.  But:  "How far is it to Yosemite?"  Close enough.  Then I went through a job lay-off and employment uncertainty and the entire idea of the trip was in the air, but a few weeks ago we booked it.  I was too late for the early lottery, so I think I'll have 2 shots at the daily lottery for a Half-Dome permit.  This would be a legit bucket-list type of thing for me!  I think between the 2 days I might have about a 50% shot at a permit (if I understand correctly, which I may not?), and then of course need decent weather as well, but it could realistically happen!  After taking a couple months off I've been out "training" the past few weeks and have my climbing legs pretty well back.  Seriously pumped!  Even if I don't get to hike Half-Dome, it will be awesome to be in Yosemite, so it should be a no-lose (although I WILL be a little disappointed).  Wohoo!  There's my hiking "news!"

Semi-related -- a couple weeks ago I watched Free Solo.  Hugely uncomfortable to watch!  But pretty interesting, in terms of both rock climbing and sort of human interest.  I'm not really interested in rock climbing, actually, but loved the film.

Oh awesome!  I hope you guys are able to do Half Dome.  My dad and I did it years ago and it totally kicked my butt though was a spectacular hike.  That being said, there are plenty of fantastic hikes in Yosemite besides Half Dome and while not as iconic, I've heard are just as beautiful.

deathisgain wrote:This Saturday we hiked about 7 miles from the top of Brasstown Bald (Highest peak in Georgia) to Young Harris. For the most part it was a nice canopied gradual descent. The bottom part was a little rocky and steeper. I woke up this morning barely walking. It was fun tho.

Very cool.  The pictures on FB are great by the way.

Kerrick wrote:

Grindboy wrote:SO -- my about to be a HS Senior has one for sure summer left living here at home, which means one more for sure vacation.  My wife and I started making plans. . . but he said he really wanted to go to San Fransisco and wants to see the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz.  I went to college in Northern Cal, my wife (girlfriend at the time) visited me out there and we did a day in SF. . . really no interest from either of us.  But:  "How far is it to Yosemite?"  Close enough.  Then I went through a job lay-off and employment uncertainty and the entire idea of the trip was in the air, but a few weeks ago we booked it.  I was too late for the early lottery, so I think I'll have 2 shots at the daily lottery for a Half-Dome permit.  This would be a legit bucket-list type of thing for me!  I think between the 2 days I might have about a 50% shot at a permit (if I understand correctly, which I may not?), and then of course need decent weather as well, but it could realistically happen!  After taking a couple months off I've been out "training" the past few weeks and have my climbing legs pretty well back.  Seriously pumped!  Even if I don't get to hike Half-Dome, it will be awesome to be in Yosemite, so it should be a no-lose (although I WILL be a little disappointed).  Wohoo!  There's my hiking "news!"

Semi-related -- a couple weeks ago I watched Free Solo.  Hugely uncomfortable to watch!  But pretty interesting, in terms of both rock climbing and sort of human interest.  I'm not really interested in rock climbing, actually, but loved the film.

Oh awesome!  I hope you guys are able to do Half Dome.  My dad and I did it years ago and it totally kicked my butt though was a spectacular hike.  That being said, there are plenty of fantastic hikes in Yosemite besides Half Dome and while not as iconic, I've heard are just as beautiful.

deathisgain wrote:This Saturday we hiked about 7 miles from the top of Brasstown Bald (Highest peak in Georgia) to Young Harris. For the most part it was a nice canopied gradual descent. The bottom part was a little rocky and steeper. I woke up this morning barely walking. It was fun tho.

Very cool.  The pictures on FB are great by the way.

Thanks. It wasn't the most scenic, but being in nature is just great on it's own. Also, it was nice and canopied, so it didn't get as hot as it was supposed to with this heat wave.

DIG joins OSD in state highpointing, I love it!  I was kind of close to taking a trip to hike the MA highpoint a couple weeks ago, but it didn't happen, and probably won't this year.

Kerrick, there would be no "we" on Half-Dome -- if I get a permit, my wife and kid will find something else to do.  Not really a "family vacation" activity, but maybe once in a lifetime and we'll hang together the rest of the trip!

Grindboy, have you gone on your Yosemite trip yet?

This weekend we borrowed a backpack carrier for Gloria and went for a nice little hike along the river.  Gloria loves being in nature which is awesome.    I look forward to getting some good use of it this summer!

Kerrick wrote:Grindboy, have you gone on your Yosemite trip yet?

This weekend we borrowed a backpack carrier for Gloria and went for a nice little hike along the river.  Gloria loves being in nature which is awesome.    I look forward to getting some good use of it this summer!

Awesome!

Thanks!  We're hoping to get out into nature again this weekend too so maybe I'll have more fun pictures to post then. 

Love the pics and the kid in the pack!  Man, the west looks so, so, so different.

We leave for SF tomorrow, which means I'll put in for the Half-Dome lottery tomorrow, for Thurs., and if I don't get it, then again Weds for Friday.  If I get neither, I'm just out of luck.  Here's to hoping!

Oh man I hope you get it!!!  Enjoy your time in crazy California.  Funny, today on FB's "share your memories" thing was this picture of me on top of Half Dome from 2009:

Kerrick, you're killing me buddy!

Applied for two permits, selected for neither.  On the plus side, they DID encourage me to apply again next year.  Ahhh, you're so sweet, recreation.gov!

On the plus side, it was really a good trip, and even managed to have a great time in Yosemite with my family despite my disappointment.  Seriously, I've seen some pretty cool stuff in my day, but Yosemite was really beyond description.  And California IS weird.  Like I never knew what receptacle to put my trash/recycling/compost into, and of course everything was taxed fourteen times over, and it just so happened that we were in SF during Pride weekend (although we didn't really see anything too crazy. . . like our last Lyft driver had been seriously traumatized). 

Also, after a couple of meals in Little Italy. . . Olive Garden is stupid.  I now get the elitism!

Aww dang!  I was really hoping you'd get the permit.  Bummer!  Nonetheless, as you said, Yosemite is pretty amazing.  There aren't many other places in the world that can match its grandeur.

It sounds like you got your taste of CA to last you for another few years (unless you get next year's permit!).  I was just in the San Jose area myself the past few days for work.  While there are some good folks there who I miss, I sure don't miss all of CA's craziness...

Where the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers meet
Where Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland meet

Went to the other side of the USA

Yes!  This is turning into the Yosemite thread, ha ha -- just otherwordly.  Are you still there now?  For the love of everything good, don't miss Glacier Point!  Also. . . did you intentionally stack those bottom two pics like that?  Because it kind of looks like. . . um. . . ha ha ha ha ha I'm not sure if it's funnier if it's on purpose or an accident!!!

HaHa, I hadn't noticed the unintentional pause that refreshes picture stacking until you pointed it out. LOL lol LOL

Btw, I've decided. . . definitely funnier as an accident.

Grindboy wrote:Btw, I've decided. . . definitely funnier as an accident.

   Grindboy, the puns just flow out of you...  

Can anybody guess who on this board has a toddler?

This just in
The Highest Point in Every State
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-highest-point-in-every-state/ss-BB108mJg?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=hplocalnews

oldschooldoom wrote:

 Just to be funny, one day I want to hike to the top of Mauna Kea to say that I hiked the tallest mountain in the world. Measured from its base on the ocean floor, it rises over 33,000 ft, significantly greater than the elevation of Mount Everest above sea level. But from sea level, Mauna Kea is only 13,803 ft.

 And today I checked off my bucket list Mauna Kea

Woah!  That's crazy cool, and great necro-bump on the thread!


I haven't been hiking as much as I'd like lately due to some health things, but in March my wife and I did take a trip to S Utah for Zion/Bryce/Arches NP's, and specifically to hike Angel's Landing in Zion.  Not a terribly physically difficult hike, but for sure the coolest hike I've ever done.  And just so, SO different from anything in New England, duh.

Wow awesome pictures!

It's about all we can do just getting out the door to church these days, so any hiking will have to wait until we're more efficient at getting Toddler + Baby out and about hahaha.

I never imagined how diverse Hawaii can be. It contains 8 of 13 different climate zones in the world, each with unique ecosystems. These ecosystems range from tropical dry forest to subalpine grasslands, from snowy alpine deserts to brackish anchialine pools, and from subterranean lava tube systems with eyeless creatures to windswept coastal dunes.


I'm currently 6 months into my 9 month stay. Despite the intense beauty, these islands can kill a person in 100 different ways. So far I've completed 60 hikes across 3 of the 8 islands.

No pics, no REAL hikes, but after decades I'm finally getting back into hiking due to my son's Cub Scouts hiking club.  Yesterday we did 2.7 miles at a local park.