ok i have only been to yosemite once before and under less than enjoyable circumstances.

i just have to say that it was so incredibly beautiful. though i wouldn’t necessarily put it first on the list of gorgeous places i’ve been, it’s definitely breathtaking.

what struck me before even getting in to the park was an overwhelming sense of humility. i just felt so tiny there on the valley floor marveling at the grandness of the world. i thought how arrogant man is that we have treated our relationship with nature so poorly. i also thought how unfortunate it is that we’ve abandoned the belief in the sanctity of nature and created a technological, mechanical world in which we make it effortless for us to be destructive to the world and tedious to make a positive impact.

anyway, it was almost overwhelmingly beautiful and humbling. particularly because i am really really really really scared of heights. honestly, i wanted to go to half dome because i have seen peoples pictures and thought they were amazing. i didn’t really think through the fact that a climb to 8500 feet may not be the ideal activity for someone who is afraid of heights. this climb made me very aware of our vulnerability not only to nature and the greater world but to our own mind/fears.

basically, i got to the cables, freaked out because it was scary high and there were no gloves, and chickened out. it was cold, icy, and watching the way people came down the cables scared the shit out of me. i know, i know… i went all the way there, but i certainly didn’t go all the way there to fall off and die.

so i hiked the damn 11 hours and went all the way to that last 400 feet or so (then assed my way down) so i don’t know if it counts and if i get to cross it off the list or not.