That's
Brooke standing next to a lake that is reflecting the trees.
Brooke and I ventured out alone on the 7 mile trail to Clouds Rest from
the North. The three boys started in the valley and took the 10.5
mile trail from the South. We hoped to meet on the top of Clouds
Rest about noon or so. Once on our trail, Brooke and I realized that
this hike was going to be different from previous years. For one
thing, we were starting at a higher elevation, so it was cooler... there
was snow on the trail... and the mosquitos were brutal!! Since snow
was melting, there was lots of water flowing down the trail. But
there were also beautiful creeks and ponds like the one with this reflection.
Brooke and I were very careful to keep on the trail, but we encountered many obstacles along the way.
Many times we backtracked to make sure we hadn't wandered off the trail.
At one point we had to take off our hiking boots and socks and wade through
a creek to get to the trail on the other side. The water was so crystal
clear (and cold) that it was deceiving how deep it was. We got our
shoes back on quickly though because the mosquitos wouldn't let us sit
in one spot for even a few minutes without attacking. 
Then
of course there were the fallen trees that we had to climb over to keep
on the trail. And there were huge patches of deep snow on the trail
Yep, that's snow that Brooke slipped on there...! Trudging through
snow and beating off mosquitos at the same time.... just didn't seem normal!
But there was no turning back. It took us longer than expected to
get to our destination. Once we were within two miles or so, I could
hear Char talking on the walkie-talkie so we knew we were getting closer
to meeting up with them. 
The
final ascent seemed so close and yet so far. The final climb to the
top was a rather narrow climb on rocks. It was great to see Char's
silhouette on the top of the peak as we got closer. Once on top,
the panoramic view was quite breathtaking! On top of the world!
Behind (and lower than) us is Half Dome in this photo. We made it! 
At least the mosquitos weren't quite so bad up here, so we could finally
sit down and eat our lunch. Pj was still working his way up so we
were able to relax while we waited for him. 
Kyle chose to start heading back down and not make the final ascent to
the peak, so I didn't get a chance to get him in any photos on Friday.
Charley left us to go help show Pj the way, and then he was going to head
over to conquer Half Dome one more time (an extra 4 mile detour off the
10.5 mile hike down). We could hear Pj's voice as he was trying to
find his way up... and then he finally arrived! When he sat down I asked
him if he wanted something to eat, and he said "I want a helicopter!" 
At this point, we were the only ones on the peak of Clouds Rest, and we had to start thinking about the 10.5 mile hike down. It was nearly 3:30 and we figured we needed at least 4 hours to make the trip back to the Valley. So we headed down the rocky trail. Since Brooke and I had not climbed up this way, Pj led us down.
The
first goal was the 4.3 miles to the Half Dome 2-mile marker. Then
Nevada Falls... then do we go the switchbacks or the Mist Trail?
We chose to go down the Mist Trail... steeper but shorter... shorter sounded
better at this point. The sun was nearly down when we finally reached
the campsite, but we got home before it got dark. Beer and food never
tasted so good! Although he did 4 more miles than we did (and even
a few more than that since he got lost), Charley made it back to the campsite
just about a half hour after we did. Pretty pleased that he accomplished
his goal of both Clouds Rest and Half Dome in one day! I was happy
with what we accomplished, too. Char asked who was ready for hiking
to the top of Yosemite Falls on Saturday morning... and was met with an
emphatic "no" from almost everyone. So Charley and I decided to totally
abuse our bodies and do another 7 mile hike on Saturday... Yosemite
Falls... for more photos...