Since we had all of last Sunday to head home through Yosemite from Mono Lake, and since the weather was absolutely gorgeous, we figured, why not stop somewhere around Tuolumne Meadows for a hike? (Finally learned from a ranger that Tuolumne is pronounced to-ALL-uh-me, the “n” is silent.) Unfortunately Stephanie’s allergies were reaching category-5 stage, so we opted for a less strenuous (or so we thought) hike up Lembert Dome, an 800 foot high granite dome that rises right up out of the meadows.

The hike through the woods from the Dog Lake parking lot was entirely pleasant, and eventually we emerged on the eastern flank of the gradually sloped dome at the same time that a ranger was leading a group up. We orbited the group, taking pictures and appreciating the view of the surrounding mountains now that we were out of and above the trees.

As it turns out, getting to the top of the dome was not obvious. From the road it looks like child’s play, but when you’re on it, the top is like a mini dome on top of a dome. The bottom dome is just steep enough that every edge feels like a cliff, and getting from there onto the top meant scaling up an even steeper section. You can imagine our amazement when the ranger and his group of mostly older visitors just walked/scrambled up the steeper section, to the point where they were no longer visible.

Had we not seen them go up, we probably wouldn’t have thought it possible, but now watching them nonchalantly walk up and down the rock face made us even more nervous. Seeing Stephanie reach her limits made me nervous which in turn made her more nervous. We decided we’d gotten as far as we were willing to go. We rationalized that the views from the tippy top were no grander than the views that were giving us butterflies, so we carefully managed to work ourselves off of the steeper section we’d been perched on, which was probably the hardest part.

Once we were on flatter rock, we felt completely fine. Stephanie almost suggested that we try again (I think more wanting to appease me), but I assured her that it was just as scary for me. Maybe next time.