Pictures Of Half Dome Hike

Talking to Kevin FitzGerald, Deputy Superintendent at Great Smoky Mountains ...

He remembers living in a single-wide trailer, leftover housing from a flood long ago. He collected fees, directed visitors to evening programs, and walked the trails.

At the time, his long-range goals weren't clear. He was leaning toward community recreation. After the summer, he changed his focus to natural resources.

"I became more science oriented. Now I knew what I wanted. I was a more serious, more focused student. I went back to work on the Parkway the next summer."

He was in a co-op position in the SCEP (Student Career Experience Program). It allowed him to get an interview for a permanent position. He interned and now he was supervising Parkway sites at Linville Falls and Crabtree Falls.

He met his future wife Cyn (Cynthia) Slaughter, at Linville Falls. She was camping with her girlfriends.

"I got a permanent job in the Smokies on the North Carolina side. To land a permanent job was not the norm. Normally it might have taken 7 to 10 years."

Mr. FitzGerald became a law enforcement ranger and was sent to FLETC (Federal Law Enforcement Training Center) for training. He considered himself a multi-skilled generalist. He joined the Cherokee Fire Department so he could learn how to deal with structural fires. He dealt with drunk drivers, poachers, and weapons infractions. He investigated arson, burglaries, and assaults. Now law enforcement problems are possibly even greater. There are more visitors and the gateway towns have increased in population.

But parks are extremely safe for visitors, one of the safest places you can go. You need to educate yourself. For example, if you're leaving your car at a trailhead, you don't leave a camera case on the front seat or blankets on the back, as if you're hiding something. Trails are very safe. Most of the problems are on the road.

"Cyn and I got married at the Smokemont Church in the Park and we left for the Everglades where I got promoted to district ranger. I took my wife who loved the mountains to the Everglades with all those bugs. We lived in Everglade City, a small town.

Preparing for Yosemite's Half Dome Hike | Hiking Boots Blog

There’s a big difference between aspiring to do something and actually doing it. Rick Deutsch is quite familiar with that difference. So much in fact, he doesn’t shy away from putting people on the spot with an in-your-face, seize-the-day attitude.

That sheer determination is what helped him hike the legendary Half Dome at Yosemite National Park not just once or twice. Oh no. People wait their entire lives to climb the granite rock formation. And Deutsch has made that taxing, treacherous journey up and down 28 times.

It was 1990 when Deutsch made his first hike up the Half Dome. Now almost two decades later, he recalls that hike as the initial push to motivate his future pursuits—and to help others achieve their lifetime goals. Part-time adventurer, full-time motivational speaker. Deutsch has written two books about his Half Dome experiences and gives more than 40 lectures a year on how to make it to the top.

Even early in the morning Deutsch radiates energy and passion.

How did you acquire the name Mr. Half Dome ?

Well, I claimed it because I just wanted it. I wrote the hiking guide to the Half Dome , and I’ve done the hike 28 times. I have a dedicate website for Half Dome . I’ve read all about the history, geology and people related to Half Dome — it’s my passion. So, I decided I needed a brand and that made a lot of sense. And Half Dome was NOT cut in half by glaciers.

One bit of advice is “someday” never comes. When I first did Half Dome, it was 1990. Prior to that, I said there is no way. If you’ve seen the pictures, it’s pretty scary. And it’s a very long hike. It just takes a lot to get up there. When I got on top, I thought: “Geez it was hard, but wow, this is really great. I’ve got to start doing things in my life.” I actually wrote out a bucket list then, before the movie came out, of course. And I carried that for 20 years while I was working in the computer industry in Silicon Valley.

When you write down your goals, you realize that there’s just not enough time to do them all. It’s easy to say: “Someday I want to do the pyramids,” or “Someday I want to see the Taj Mahal.” You need to write it down and look at it, and look at it … and say, OK, June of 2013. That’s when I’m going. A list in your head is useless. That someday will never come and then you are old and feeble. Life’s too short.

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