The Similarities Between Hiking Half Dome and Driving Across the Country

At first glance, you may not think the hike to the peak of Half Dome in Yosemite has much in common with driving across the country (specifically, New Mexico to New York and back) but I’m here to tell you that it does.

Don’t believe me? Let’s break it down.

1. It Takes as Long as It Takes

There is no fast route to the top of Half Dome. Any way you slice it, it’s at least 14 miles and usually as long as 17 – 18 miles. That’s one long day hike.

Going into the hike, there’s no use in thinking about the miles. It does no good to wonder how many miles or half miles have passed since the last time you checked your smartwatch. It’s gonna take a while and you cannot rush it. All you can do is place each foot down as mindfully as possible and distract yourself.

There is no fast way to drive across the country and back. Even when the speed limit is 70, 2,000 miles takes a long time to drive. It takes even longer when the weather is poor, trucks are clogging the highways, construction has traffic slowed to a single lane, or you get stuck in rush hour traffic passing through a city. It does no good to keep your eyes glued to the GPS, watching each mile tick away at a snail’s pace. All you can do is keep your eyes on the road and your ears listening to something good.

It takes as long as it MF takes.

In either situation, rushing is more likely to put you in danger than taking it slowly, which brings me to my next point.

2. The Danger is Real

In a recent interview, the American free solo climber Alex Honnold asked when the last time anyone faced real danger. The kind of danger that you know you can get through, but where your safety is actually at risk.

And certainly for me, that last time was climbing Half Dome. It’s doable – hundreds of people summit every year. The routes are established, marked, and fairly well-traveled. And yet the danger is real. One false step on the Sub Dome or Half Dome can take you to serious injury or death. The cables are a half-assed safety measure at best that are easily disrupted. The steep smooth granite seems to taunt climbers with nowhere to grip. It requires every ounce of your attention to get through back to solid ground.

Though we love to forget it, driving is a dangerous act too. The more you drive, the more chances there are of accidents happening around you or to you. On my drive home, my already-large vehicle will be close to double its length with an attached U-haul trailer. Towing is especially dangerous for inexperienced drivers (though one only needs to spend a few minutes on any given highway to see dozens of amateurs towing trailers larger than their trucks.)

3. You Have to Be a Little Crazy

When I told my friends and family I was climbing Half Dome, their reactions ranged from vicarious excitement to downright skepticism. Not one person I told wanted (even figuratively) to accompany me. I can’t blame them – it’s a long strenuous hike that I wasn’t 100% in on. But when I got the inevitable question of “why?” my only answer was “why not?”

People road trip all the time – it’s a quintessential American experience. But driving across the country and back, a total of 4,000 miles in 60 hours over 11 days, is intense. And to think you can do it, you have to be a little crazy.

But if my time in the van has proven anything to me, it’s that I am a little crazy in ways I never expected. Jumping into an unknown, unprepared but willing became my new normal, as much as it stressed me out (and oh it did) I also learned there are experiences and joys I can only access through the reckless act of jumping in blindly with both feet.

I used to wade into swimming pools and stick to paved paths – no more. Today I hike mountains at dizzying heights, throw myself into road trips, and find comfort in places previously unimaginable.