We climbed Half Dome
Updated: Aug 13
How one 48-year-old finally conquered Yosemite's most legendary trail and discovered his limits were never where he thought they were.
BY Kay Esposito, June 16, 2026
HALF DOME
There are hikes… and then there’s Half Dome. You know the one. That insane granite beast in Yosemite that looks like it was carved by gods who were bored and mildly unhinged. Yeah. That one.
For Johnathan Rockwood, it wasn’t just "on the bucket list." It had been sitting in the back of his mind for years, quietly waiting like a challenge he wasn’t quite ready to accept.
“As I’ve become a more experienced hiker, Half Dome has always loomed large as one of the most iconic hikes in the United States, but I think I doubted my ability to conquer such an intimidating hike,” he says.
Until one random Sunday. He’s scrolling, probably half awake, half dreaming, reading about the mileage, the elevation gain, the cables that look more like something you'd find on a construction site than inside a national park. Then he does something simple that changes everything. He texts his older brother.
I want to hike Half Dome.
And just like that, the idea stops being an idea.
The Guy Who Already Knew Suffering… Just Not This Version of It
Johnathan isn’t new to hard things. A former Navy pilot, he spent several years stationed on Oahu, where hiking every weekend quickly became part of life. Since then, he’s completed the Rim-to-Rim hike, climbed multiple mountain summits and spent years chasing increasingly difficult trails. But Half Dome? That’s the hike people talk about like, "Yeah... I survived that."
“This would be a new personal record in terms of elevation gain in one day. Half Dome is a 14–16 mile round-trip hike with nearly 5,000 feet of elevation gain.”
When the permit system finally comes through, it feels like winning the lottery. August 23 is officially locked in. Johnathan heads to Yosemite with his brother Nate, who has completed Half Dome before, his sister-in-law Tara and their friends Christian and Janine.
“Hiking in a group added so much to the experience,” Johnathan says. “There were moments where we were all in pain, but keeping a constant conversation going kept our minds off of any discomforts we were feeling.”
3:45 A.M. Energy
The alarm goes off long before sunrise. Breakfast burritos. Headlamps. Sleep deprivation. Peak excitement energy. They begin climbing in the dark. The Mist Trail arrives first with its endless granite stairs that somehow feel personally offended by your existence. Then comes Vernal Fall. Then Nevada Fall. By now, everyone’s legs know exactly what they signed up for.
Sub Dome Said: Not Today
As they make their way toward Sub Dome, rumors start floating down the trail.
“As we were making our way to Sub Dome, several hikers on their way down told us that the cables were closed due to weather. I refused to believe them, and we kept hiking.”
Then reality shows up wearing a ranger uniform. Closed. The group waits. They rest. They snack. They stare at the sky. Eventually, the weather shifts.
“We pushed forward. I remember really feeling my leg muscles during the climb up Sub Dome. Some hikers believe this is the hardest part of the trail. Once we reached the base of Half Dome, we saw that it was deserted, no one was on the cables. Once we reached the cable portion, there were several people at the base, keeping an eye on the weather, trying to decide what to do.”
The Cables: Where It Stops Being Hiking
This is the part everyone talks about. The cables. About 400 vertical feet of pure upper-body regret.
“The cables are by far the most physically demanding portion,” Johnathan says. “I remember gripping the cables and immediately feeling my triceps start to burn. My heart rate was elevated, and I couldn’t catch my breath.”
You pull. Step. Pull. Step. There’s no shortcut. No easy way down. Just granite, steel and one decision after another. Mentally, everything else disappears. No phone. No conversation. No distractions. Just you and the mountain. One pull. One step. One more. Until suddenly... You’re there.
Summit Energy
Johnathan reaches the summit ahead of the rest of his group, accompanied by two fellow hikers. For a brief moment, they have the top of Half Dome entirely to themselves. He later admits the experience stirred emotions he wasn’t expecting. Because how do you even process standing on top of something that felt impossible only a few hours earlier?
“I took it all in and just felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. Standing on top of Half Dome, 8,839 feet above sea level, you feel like you’re on top of the world.”
Yosemite Had One More Surprise
Because Yosemite weather doesn’t really care about your personal achievement arc, thunderclouds roll in fast. Lightning begins flashing in the distance. The celebration ends. They head down. Quickly. The descent turns into soaked clothes, aching knees, heavy legs and that very real "Okay... I am officially done now" feeling. Fourteen hours after leaving the trailhead, they finally return.
“This was the first time I started really feeling emotionally and physically exhausted. I wanted to be done. We stopped several times on the way down to hydrate.”
The Part That Stayed With Him
It wasn’t just the summit. It wasn’t even just the cables. It was everything stacked together. The uncertainty. The changing weather. The group. The conversations. The decisions. The moments where quitting seemed easier than continuing. Somewhere along that climb, something shifted.
“This hike changed how I see my limits. At 48, I proved to myself that I’m capable of more than I thought. This is a tremendous physical accomplishment for me, however, it also greatly increased my appreciation for Yosemite and the beauty of nature.”
And the view from the top?
“Worth every single step I questioned on the way up.”
Follow Johnathan Rockwood: @johnathan_explores
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