Although I had been to the Sierra's many times on camping trips with my father, I'd never been to Yosemite, so I was very excited. I remember the drive up the Central Valley and stopping in Delano where some of us met Bill Wheaton's parents and his grandmother--a sweety, as all grandmothers should be.

Getting around to the back of the peak was a long trip, but things seem to go quickly once we got to the ladder on the side of the dome. The ladder was long, and I remember having sore legs by the time I got back down.

Years before, I'd overcome my fear of heights by consistently forcing myself, first thing, to the edge of any mountain I'd climbed and looking over. I did it with Halfdome, but I didn't stay long. What an incredible drop! It magnified the smallest fear of heights into a need to put meters of distance between me and the edge before I could feel comfortable.

Among other special things I remember about the trip were the water falls. At Vernal Falls, the mist was quite dense, and with the sun coming from above and behind the falls, the rainbows were spectacular. You could see not only the second-order rainbow, but also the third. Several of us went into the stream below the falls where you could see the rainbow in a circle around the shadow of your head, and if you jumped, the circle would be complete--even if only for a second. At Lower Yosemite Falls, Pat Edwards came toward the edge of the viewing area next to the lip of the falls with his Super 8 movie camera rolling, and when he reached the edge, he pointed the camera down, and zoomed the lens to enlarge what was below. I never saw the movie, but in my imagination, it should have looked like quite a fall over the side.

Was there a moment on the trip that was not FUN? I don't think so. Even in the drive, I was in a car full of friends--a rolling party. Some of the trip is hazy, but then, again, it was a little hazy at the time.

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