Half Dome Moonlight Ascent (2006.06.10)

A grip of us from Lapham Company summited Yosemite's Half Dome this weekend under the light of the full moon. Great temperature to hike in and made it to the top just in time for sunrise. So dam exhausted though from a few nights of 2-3 hour sleep that I just passed out and missed sunrise at the top. Below is a peek and peak. In the distance is the group getting gear together to head back down the mountain. Species list of things seen: Big cat (maybe a mountain lion), black tailed dear, pileated wood pecker (north america's largest woodpecker..if the ivory bill no longer exists), snow flowers (red saprophytic plants...they lack chlorophyll and feed off pine tree roots), red columbine, western azeala, and of course all the sierra nevada tree species. Water is rip-roaring right now at Yosemite, missed the moon-bow in Yosemite falls, but with the amount of snow that is still up there I would imagine there might even be a July moon-bow this year.