Friday was Jane’s birthday, and we had a small celebration and an early dinner at the cabin in preparation for a drive back north to Glacier Point, where there were some ranger talks scheduled both before and after sundown. Sentinel Dome, a destination that had been on Chris’ radar since early in our trip planning, is serviced by a mile-long trail originating on the Glacier Point Road, so Chris hatched an idea that we could take one car early, hike up to the dome, then continue hiking to Glacier Point to meet the rest of the group there. The birthday girl decided to sit this one out, her feet still sore from the day before, but Pedro, Carter, Dani, and Cynthia were up for it – Chris H volunteered to drive us to the trailhead. And so we left the cabin about 5:30pm, making our way north up the Wawona Road for the fourth time in five days, this time turning off at Chinquapin to head east toward Glacier Point. After negotiating some typically hazardous traffic where about a dozen cars had stopped to observe a bear lounging in a roadside meadow, we arrived at the trailhead about 6:30, having just an hour to complete our hike before the first ranger presentation began. Off we went, heading east up a gentle grade that steepened a bit before reaching Sentinel Dome’s southern flank – the views west into the setting sun were beautiful. Circling around the dome to the east on an old dirt access road, we again climbed a short rise up to the ridgeline that runs northeast from the dome down to Glacier Point about a mile distant as the crow flies. Here, as we emerged from the shadows into golden sunlight again, we turned southwest, following occasional ducks up a moderate incline on easy slabs to the summit. The 360-degree views were quite spectacular – south across the broad plateau to heights above Wawona, west out the Valley’s entrance over Cathedral Rocks and El Capitan, and north over Yosemite Falls up to Mt. Hoffman at the park’s geographical center. The real show, however, was the eastern vista to the Cathedral and Clark ranges with their rugged peaks accented by snowfields and anchored by Half Dome at its center – although the view is no doubt gorgeous at any time of day, the early evening light seemed to clarify and add dramatic detail to the mountain faces. One unexpected find was a large, metal disc set in one of the summit slabs and inscribed with notable points along the horizon in all directions, aiding the visitor in orienting themselves to the various peaks and other formations. We tarried a bit too long on the summit, not leaving until well after 7:00pm with over a mile-and-a-half to go. We retraced our steps down the slabs, then picking up a well-signed series of connector trails/old roads that led us north and then west to a junction with the Pohono Trail, a route the runs along the entire south rim of Yosemite Valley. Turning east, we followed it downhill through shady, moderately-graded switchbacks and into the Glacier Point complex – Half Dome and other points east were framed nicely at several spots along the trail. Uncertain of where exactly the rest of the gang would be, we happened to follow an inviting path up and over a low ridge offering open views eastward and found ourselves descending directly into the Glacier Point amphitheater, where we joined the group for the remainder of the talk already in progress. Chris shot a few dozen photos from the amphitheater and then more from other viewpoints before the light failed – an experience heartily recommended. We walked 2.69 miles total with 385′ of gain and 827′ of loss, meaning 2+ miles more for Cynthia (although Chris forgot to take her picture at both milestones). Carter summed up this hike by stating it would be one that he’d do on every visit to Yosemite hereafter – definitely a highlight of the trip.