Cheyanne's
Side:
It was my first time in Yosemite and I had been told it was
beautiful, but words can’t describe how amazing it really
is. On our second day in the park we made the strenuous hike
up to Half Dome. We started the trip a little later than we
had planned, but made it to the top in about 5 hours. Stopping
along the way to rest our legs and document our voyage. When
we reached the top we took lots of pictures and had a good rest
before starting the 8 miles back to the valley. There were quite
a few people heading down at the same time and if you’ve
done the Half Dome hike before you know its pretty steep. Andy
decided we should sit and wait for a few more people to go down
before us so that it wouldn’t be as crowded when we went.
We were sitting on a nearby rock when he turns to me and says,
“So I have this thing in my pocket”. He pulls out
the box and asks me to marry him. Pretty darn perfect, if I
do say so myself. I was totally surprised and couldn’t
have imagined a better proposal.
 |
Andy's Side:
I was thinking I could propose to Cheyanne
on top of Half Dome for a few weeks before we left, but was
being really lazy in getting the ring. We were leaving on Thursday
morning, so I picked out a ring on Monday after work, a little
stressed that I wouldn't get it in time. My mom gave me a family
diamond that I could use as the center stone, so I just need
to pick a band and have it set. It ended up working out, and
a I picked up the ring Wednesday night. I was lucky because
Cheyanne was working late to finish all her work for the week,
and didn't notice I went missing after work for a few hours
on Monday and Wednesday. I stuffed the ring in my shorts pocket,
and crammed my shorts into the bottom of our duffle bag. I suggested
we share luggage, to hopefully throw her off the trail of my
plans. She saw everything I packed, and didn't see a ring, although
I was still pretty sure she was on to me.
We got to Yosemite around noon on Thursday, and did some easy
hikes. Trips Bridalveil falls, Lower Yosemite Falls, and Mirror
Lake closed out Thursday. I tore a huge hole in my other
pair of shorts as we were climbing the rocks around Bridalveil,
and knew I was in a bit of trouble because I didn't want to
put on the "diamond" shorts until the day we hiked
Half Dome. So I walked around Yosemite with shorts that looked
like they had been eaten by a lawn mower. Fortunately Cheyanne
suggested that we hike Half Dome Friday, so I didn't have to
wear the mangled shorts for too long.
We started our hike late Friday morning, and from what we heard,
it takes all day to get to make the trip. I was pushing pretty
hard the whole way to make it to the top in time. I had just
played a tournament the weekend before, so my legs were feeling
strong, but I could tell Cheyanne was feeling the elevation,
and the mileage that we were hammering out. We went past Vernal
Falls, then Nevada Falls, and on to Half Dome. It was a tough
hike, but we ended up making it in killer time, along the way,
passing people who had left 2 hours before us. We got to the
top of mini-Half Dome, and were tired. It was windy, and some
guy we passed on the way up gave us a nice piece of advice.
"Keep an eye on those clouds." Thanks dude, you just
totally psyched us out. People aren't supposed to climb the
peak of Half Dome when there's a chance of lightning or rain,
and it was looking like there could possibly be some. The last
400 feet of the hike is a cable guided climb up to the top of
Half Dome. It looked scary, and long story short, we decided
that the view from where we were was pretty sweet, and we were
happy to make it to where we were. It turns out a hiker died
there the following week, falling outside of the cables.
It threw me off a little bit, because I was planning on asking
her on the top of Half Dome, so after we decided that we were
not going up to the top, I was trying to pick the spot where
I would ask the question. The rocks we were sitting on at the
base of mini-Dome was certainly not the place. Ten feet away
from us were two farting rednecks who were making squirrels
beg for peanuts from their lunches. Not exactly what I had in
mind. We sat up there for a bit, then decided to head back down.
I wanted to ask her up there, so I told her to wait and let
a few people pass us, (and let us get a second alone). We sat
down on some rocks, and pulled the ring out of my pocket. I
didn't know what to do, so I made it up on the fly. I got on
my knee and asked her. She said yes. Not that I was worried,
but it was a relief. I was actually more nervous about falling
off the rocks than her saying "No," so after enjoying
the moment and taking some photos, we scrambled down the rocks,
and made it back home. |
