This was my first hike up Half Dome, which was an incredible experience. I've done it many times since then and it remains my favorite of all hikes. This first time I went with Karen Dickson (now Twietmeyer) and Eric Twietmeyer, friends from MIT.
Preparing for the hike.
Karen and Eric in front of Vernal Falls. Not much water this late in the summer.
The south face of Half Dome from the trail. I didn't realize it at the time but in the notch to the right you can see hikers making their way up the cables to the summit (not in this picture, though).
The summit, taken from what I call the "picnic area" since it's a great place to stop and have lunch.
Scenery past the picnic area.
The ant line up the cables. I absolutely loved going up and down the cables and this was one factor which pushed me to finally start rock climbing.
With Karen at the base of the cables. Friends told me later when they saw this picture they thought I'd gotten fat. But it's just the wind blowing my shirt out. You'd think they would have figured that out from the pictures below.
People on the Visor at the summit, usually mistakenly called the Diving Board.
On the summit.
Some of the incredible scenery.
With Eric on the summit.
Our first look at a marmot.
Panorama of more scenery. I forget just where this was taken from.