Day 1: Start big or go the other direction..

Was the first up at the hikers’ campsite at Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley and enjoyed the lonesome walk by headlamp to Happy Isles, starting promptly at 6.

Vernal Falls as I ascend from Yosemite Valley to Tuolumne Meadows

I think this may be the biggest elevation day out of the whole trip and I talked to several people who are taking several days to cover the distance. Especially with some dry water sources, it wasn’t easy!

I made it to Tuolumne Meadows in time for the store to stay open and feed me extensively and the nice guy at the Post office was still keeping it open, too!

Could’ve used more water today–I maybe even could have gone farther today–but decided to start out relatively slowly and take in the beauty.