Photos

Although on a sunny summer day it is not unusual to encounter 100 other hikers enjoying the view from the top of Half Dome, I am sure that much less photographers have seen this side of the dome than the other one facing Yosemite Village and the numerous roadside viewpoints. The ascent of Half Dome (2693 m) is a grueling 27.5 Km round-trip hike that offers beautiful views of granite domes, pine forests and impressive waterfalls, but follows a dry, hot and dusty trail that requires a large supply of drinking water. The trail presents no technical difficulties but its final part makes use of a ladder-type contraption known as "the cables" shown here on the left, which secures the otherwise perilously steep granite slope leading to the top. Half Dome is considered a classic "must do" route and a good part of the people arriving at the top do not have the physical condition, training or equipment to actually be there. This creates unpleasant bottlenecks at the cables and has lead to a fair number of deaths in recent history. The hike is best started very early in the morning, so that one can arrive on the top before the sun gets to hot and the large numbers of hikers reach the cables.
The smoke of the forest fires burning closer to the Pacific Coast was carried eastwards by the wind and created pretty dismal conditions for photography.
Wikipedia provides details about the onion-like, layered structure of the granite domes that is responsible for their impressive, scaly appearance.