Highlining At the Top of Yosemite Falls (photo diary)

I am posting this photo diary in honor of National Trails Day. I've been visiting Yosemite National Park regularly and hiking the Upper Yosemite Falls Trail during almost every visit for nearly 30 years. (Winter can be an issue on this trail) Due to the trail head's proximity to Camp 4 (AKA "Sunnyside Walk In") in Yosemite Valley this trail is poular with the climbing community. Early mornings you may often see climbers running up to the top and back down again with little more than a water bottle in hand. These people are in top physical condition. While visiting Yosemite National Park in late May this year I was lucky enough to witness a rare event at the Yosemite Falls overlook. Highlining is the act of walking a slackline at great height. Here is a bit of background from the History tab on slackline.com

From short hikes, to multi-pitch traditional routes, to multi-day epics on popular features such as Half Dome, El Capitan and countless others, climbers and adventurers make regular pilgrimages to Yosemite. It is said by some that camp 4, a popular campground in the park, became the center of rock climbing development in the middle of the 20th century. With some people staying there many months at a time, it became a regular community of thrill seekers pursuing the rapidly growing sport of climbing.
It was in this place that the sport of slacklining came into existence. After the long days of jugging, hammering, scoping, bolting, cleaning, smearing, crimping, jamming, bleeding, taping, sending and summiting, people would flock back to camp 4 for the evening. Just as new routes were being created on a daily basis, so were new ways to spend down-time. The inhabitants of camp 4 could be found walking parking lot chains, hand railings, and even ropes strung up between the trees. In the mid to late 70’s this type of hobby became increasingly popular, as local hotshots and visitors alike were seen balancing on the rope. It appeared to have positive effects in honing balance for climbing, and strengthening the legs and core.
While tightrope walking has been around for many centuries, this new pastime was different in many ways. The climbing rope being walked was loose and not nearly as taught as the steel cable walked by circus performers. In this way it was clearly more of a challenge. Soon, individuals started to walk on flat webbing, and this is slacklining as it is known today. Some of the most influential slackliners at present learned their skills in Yosemite.