Welcome To The “Half Dome” At Yosemite National Park!

The incredible domed rock on the left frames the famous Yosemite National Park – nestled in California’s Sierra Nevada’s mountains. It’s know for its amazing hiking trails and of course “El Capitan.”

These majestic peaks draw avid climbers from a round the world – even though they are indeed deadly. I am sharing all of this because, recently someone shared this photo of the “Thank God Ledge:”

Would You Climb Up to It?

High up on half dome there is the infamous “thank god ledge”.

As someone posted:

“This is not your every day walk in the park. You can crawl along it or even better stand up lean with your back into the wall and start walking… 2000 feet of air below you will take care of pure excitement.“

“Thank God ledge” is a narrow ledge on the face of Half Dome. It was named by the first party to ascend the northwest face in 1957 because it allowed climbers to rest on the near vertical climb before attempt the overhang called “the Visor”.

That’s Alex at the edge of Taft Point…”the visor” is what you climb up from below to reach that spot…luckily you can hike around and come at it just from the top!

Here is what it’s like to walk to:

Back to “Thank God Ledge”. Legend has it that hikers used to say ‘oh thank god, there is a ledge’. This is because – ironically – it actually provides much needed rest-bite from the tough terrain.

This is climber Alex Honnold and what an incredible shot!

You can see more of how we navigated this area – no “thank god” for us – by clicking on my story here:

Again, Yosemite is home to so many natural wonders like “Half Dome” which I captured as the sun was beginning to set:

Its sheer face gives it the appearance of being a large rock that’s been cut in half – hence the name Half Dome. Spectacular to see in person, Half Dome rises 4,737 feet above the floor of Yosemite Valley at an elevation of 8,844 feet above sea level.

By the way, if you don’t want to make this grueling climb, just go to “Lower Yosemite Falls”:

Waterfalls are plentiful here, and several are quite easy to see up close – have a look:

The lower falls is an easy, fairly flat walk of less than half a mile, and there are hundreds who gather to get shots of the lower falls behind them- just as we did!

Of course, I wanted to get a shot of it with my unique “selfie” mode – so I did:

And now, a moment of solitude thanks to Alex:

It’s all worth the effort, obviously: gorgeous scenery, the breathtaking view of the waterfall…another of our great hiking adventures in the majesty of nature!

Let’s have one more moment watching the waterfall:

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