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Hiker Documents Terrifyingly Steep Half Dome Trail in Yosemite National Park

A woman documented her journey hiking up the steep granite dome along Yosemite National Park’s iconic Half Dome Trail on September 9.

This video, taken by Orange County resident Sarah Sham, shows her ascent up the trickiest section of what Yosemite says is its “most prestigious hike.” The trail is more than 17 miles long and climbs up 4,800 feet.

Speaking to Storyful, Sham said that she’s wanted to attempt this strenuous hike ever since she saw photos of it online a few years ago. Since then, it’s taken her about three years to get the permit to hike the Half Dome, which is determined by a lottery system through the National Park Service.

After beginning the hike around 2:30 am, Sham said it took her group about five and a half hours to arrive at the cables section of the trail. From there, it took her about 20 minutes to climb up the granite dome using the cables.

This section required a lot of upper body strength, even though Sham said she didn’t complete any training beforehand.

“There were a few people behind me and I felt the pressure to move faster and to not slip because I would ultimately fall on them and we would all fall,” Sham told Storyful. “So the fear of dying definitely trumps fear of heights,” she added.

Overall, the hike took Sham and her group 14 hours to complete. Credit: Sarah Sham via Storyful