Day 1: Yosemite Valley to Sunrise

The day started off with a long bus ride into Yosemite National Park. About 3 hours of driving through the foothills of the mountains on the bus. The day was finally here! I was becoming more and more exciting as the bus got closer and closer to the park.

Little Town on the way into Yosemite

Once we entered the park I was in awe of my surroundings. My first view of El Capitan left me speechless.

Finally in Yosemite National Park

The bus dropped me off at the Wilderness Office, I had to wait in line for almost 30 minutes to get my permit! This was pretty ridiculous since I had to fax in my permit reservation 6 months earlier. I got my permit and headed over to a small deli and ordered a breakfast sandwich. I was still in awe of Yosemite Valley, it was so beautiful and BIG! I didn't really want to leave, but I didn't sign up to stay in Yosemite for 2 weeks so I got up and took a bus to the Happy Isles Trailhead. Many people on the bus were just tourists visiting the park. I got many comments on how large my backpack was and questions on where I was going, Many were shocked when I told them I was going to be hiking for the next two and half weeks across the Sierra.

The trailhead is actually paved when you first start at Happy Isles, which was a bit of a disappointment. But once I crossed over the Merced River it turned into a real "trail". I hiked up the Panorama Trail and began to feel very winded. I took constant breaks for water and to catch my breath. I didn't feel like I was going too fast, but I probably was due to the adrenaline.

Everyone says that the climb out of Yosemite Valley with a full pack is the worst part of the trail. And boy were they right! It didn't help that it was also about 90 degrees out.

Starting the JMT at Happy Isles!

Here I met another JMT hiker, Roy. Roy was feeling the same affects as well but seemed to be dealing with it a lot better than I was. He powered on up the trail while I sat to catch my breath.

Once at the top of the Panorama Trail the trail traverses over to Nevada Fall. I stopped here for a while to grab some water and take some photos. Just up from here was the Little Yosemite Valley Campground, where my permit would not allow me to camp, but looked so inviting. I was required to camp past the Cloud Rest Junction which was about another 2 miles along the trail and 1100 feet up. I was already pretty beat, but I trudged on along the trail, cursing every other step.

Panorama Trail looking at Liberty Cap, Mt. Broderick and the back of Half Dome

Liberty Cap and Nevada Fall along the Panorama Trail

Nevada Fall looking back into the Yosemite Valley

The climb was very uphill from the campground and I was very very tired. I met a lovely lady, Ann, who gave me suggestions on how to keep pace without tiring myself. Not going to lie, at this point I was starting to doubt myself a bit. I passed the Half Dome Junction and then the Clouds Rest Junction shortly after, at a very slow pace.

I stopped for water and shortly after I met a young Asian man coming down the trail. His pack looked like it weighed about 80 pounds. He talked about how the weather was terrible on the trail and that it took him 10 days to get from Mt. Whitney to Muir Trail Ranch (usually takes hikers about 7-8 days), He talked about how he ran out of food and had to fight hunger pains. His hike seemed horrible, I felt for him but he said the generosity of fellow hikers giving him food and water allowed him to stay on the trail. He continued on his way while I sat there exhausted thinking "What the F*** did I get myself into?"

At this point I was ready to stop for the day but I was going to be far behind where I planned to camp. I didn't get started on the trail until about 11am which really screwed me for time (Damn Wilderness Office!). I stopped, to get some more water and pressed on.

Shortly after is where I hit rock bottom for the day. I was so tired and exhausted that I could barely make it 3 minutes of hiking without stopping. I decided to take off my pack and stop for an hour and rest. This really helped me gain some energy and I felt fine the rest of the day. The video below shows my exhaustion pretty well.

I reached the top of Sunrise Pass (which is barely a pass) and decided to stop and set up camp. I strolled into camp around 7:30pm with barely any sunlight left, made dinner and crawled into my tent.

View from my campsite of a forest fire across the valley.

It was a long day, I was about 5 miles behind where I wanted to be and exhausted, this was not what I had imagined for my first day.

Day Summary:

Miles Hiked: 12.0 mi
Total Miles on JMT: 12.0 mi

Next :Day 2: Sunrise to Lyell Canyon