I was hiking around Half Dome last Sunday and was wondering if it was possible to still climb the darn thing via the cables without a permit. Now I'm pretty sure I could have gone up in the wee hours of the morning before the rangers get out of bed, but I wasn't really there to climb Half Dome. Instead I was heading to Clouds Rest to catch sunrise. Others were doing similarly at the top of Half Dome:
After leaving Clouds Rest I wandered down to Quarter Domes and followed the long ridgeline towards Half Dome. I wondered if I could simply ask a returning hiker from Half Dome for his permit since they wouldn't need it anymore. Seemed like an obvious way to bypass the system since the rules state only that you can't hike past the shoulder without a permit. As it turns out that plan was too simplistic as I found the nice ranger checking permits at the base of Half Dome's shoulder on a Sunday morning:
Note that she's checking names off a list she has on a clipboard with her. Pretty neat, huh? They don't go to such lengths even on the Whitney Trail. I walked on by towards The Slabs on the NW side of Half Dome and I don't think she even noticed me. I had heard that a huge rockfall had wiped out portion of the climber's route on The Slabs and that it had been deemed unsafe for months. I was happy to find that it appeared to be much as it always has and the the trail has been reestablished once again. The highlight of the day was a visit to Ahwiyah Point, a smallpeaklet off the lower reaches of Half Dome, overlooking Tenaya Canyon. A good deal of bushwhacking was required to make it out there, but the views looking both up canyon and down canyon where superb: