We packed up early and headed east to Yosemite National Park first thing Thursday morning. It was another picture perfect California day - highs in the 70's and not a cloud in the sky! We raced past the westbound traffic heading into the city (all those suckers with day jobs!) and eventually hit the rolling hills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. We got to the park just after noon and drove the valley loop to gasp at the enormous granite walls of El Capitan and Half Dome and the shear power of Bridal Vail and the 1400+ ft Yosemite falls. This early in the season, we were rewarded by seeing the falls in full effect, spilling millions of gallons of snow melt over the shear granite cliffs. All campsites in the park were full (you generally have to reserve months in advance or arrive very early in the morning to get a spot), so we headed back out of the park to the national forest area, took a right at the first dirt fire road and drove to the first flat spot we found. Camping in the national forests is free as long as you're a mile off the nearest paved road. It's what I like to call back country car camping - all the serenity and wilderness of backpacking into the back country but the convenience of car camping with all your gear right near by and without lugging it on your back! We setup camp, cooked up some yummy dinner on the camp stove, made some tea and watched the last rays of light disappear over the pine forest to the west. We crawled into the tent to escape the mosquitoes and play a quick game of cribbage before snuggling up in our sleeping bags to drift off to sleep. One issue with camping on a ridge deep into the forest is that without other people around or a road, running stream or seashore - its sooooo quite you can hear every faint sound and crackle in the woods. An occasional plane could be heard overhead on its way to San Francisco but otherwise it was eerily quite. We both heard a low grumbling noise off in the distance and convinced ourselves it was a bear! In the Park they make a big deal about putting all food in a secure bear box but out here we had no such amenities so were a bit worried about our 'buffet' in the car (bears in Yosemite are notorious about being able to break into cars - much to the expense of the owner). We uneasily made ourselves fall asleep and in the light of morning hear the sound again - ah, just another 747 flying overhead on its way to the bay area! Friday morning. We set our alarm at the unearthly hour of 5:20am! Today is the day we climb Half Dome! At least that's our plan... you see, in our effort to add luxury to our trip, we blew up our inflatable air mattress. When putting away the electric converter, a nice heavy, metal device, Aili dropped it square on her foot! We immediately put the foot up, packed ice on it and she gobbled two Advil in an effort to keep the swelling down. This morning it seemed to work but the foot was still very tender. The Half Dome hike is a 14 mile round trip with a 4500+ ft elevation gain and the 'book' says to allow yourself 12 hours to complete it (and that's with perfectly healthy feet!). Aili, the trooper she is, said she'd give it a go anyway. We drove the the trail head loaded up our Camelbacks with food and water and headed out (and up!). The trail starts sloping upwards immediately. The first stop, just a couple miles in, is the bottom of Vernal falls where a bridge crosses the rushing rapids. At this point Aili was seriously reconsidering the decision to make the trip. She said her foot only hurt when going uphill - well, that's only for another five hours! But again she bucked up and we headed up the Mist Trial to the top of the falls. I've done this part before but later in the season when the gentle spray is a nice refreshment. Now, in late spring, the 'mist' was blast of water soaking everything in its path and puddling up the granite steps on the steep cliff. At the top, we were wet and chilly but once again, we kept going. Now we entered a steeper section up to the top of Nevada falls but the climb warmed us and we dried out in the sun. At the top we had beautiful views of the valley floor below and canyon walls around us. We followed a now relatively flat trail for several more miles as it meandered around the monstrous dome (well, half dome) until finally switch-backing its way up to the ridge at the base of the rock. The next mile was straight up - almost literally - first a staircase cut into the rock with 28 switchbacks, then, up a precarious set of cables bolted (loosely I might add) to the side of the rock. Aili, finally had enough and with limited rest spots from here on, had to wait it out else risk not being able to walk the rest of the trip. While her foot recovered from the five hour uphill trek, I tackled the stairs and cables (watching many a person freak out and literally freeze in place until someone coaxed them onward) and made the summit. I enjoyed the views while resting and gaining courage for the more sketchy decent - and entertained myself by watching a little marmot begging for food from the dozens of trekkers on the summit dome (God knows how he made it up here). I met up with Aili at the base of the stairs and we hiked the five hours back to the car, totally exhausted but feeling good about our accomplishments. We promised each other - no hiking tomorrow! - and drove back to our secluded camp in the wilderness. The next day we slept in, made some coffee - then broke our promise not to hike by doing a little trek into the Tuolomne Grove of giant sequoia trees. These trees are the largest living organisms on Earth and some are over 2500 years old. After being awed by there towering size, we drove out of the park, stopping at a little waterfall along the roadside for a dip (a very COLD dip) to get the camping grim off and then headed to Gold Rush country!