Day 1: Happy Isles to Sunrise Camp-18 Miles

"Introductions"
First day on the trail. I couldn't sleep, but my family woke up at 4:00am and were on the road by 4:30. We drove into Yosemite Valley and started hiking at 6:00am at Happy Isles Trailhead. Base weight my pack is 25 lbs, 35 lbs with food and water.

Nick and I at the Happy Isles Trailhead. Note that the last distance listed is 211 miles to Mt. Whitney. 

We reached the base of Half Dome by 9:00. The climb out of Yosemite Valley floor is fairly steep but the trail is wide and well maintained.The last climb up from the base of Half Dome is everything I had imagined it would be: straight up.

Standing at the base of Half Dome looking up.

I don't know why I was so worried about falling to my death. The climb up was actually fine, and the view from the top was amazing. You can see the entire Yosemite Valley and the back side of El Capitan. 

At the top, El Capitan in the background

We met two new hiking buddies who are also doing the JMT. First is Fred the Dutchman, a solo hiker from Holland. He is close to my fathers age and runs marathons and centuries (100 miles) for fun. He has huge calves and is a hiking machine.
Next we met Tom the Englishman. You guessed it, he's from England. He is also a solo hiker, and is in his mid twenties. He has a lightweight pack and also hikes fast.

They are both hiking the JMT and started today, so we hiked with them for the afternoon. The first day was hard on all of us, nobody is acclimated to the elevation yet and even worse our stomachs haven't shrank so we are starving. We got into Sunrise Camp around 5:30pm. I had Mountain House Lasagna with Meat sauce for dinner with Razz berry Crumble for dessert, all freeze dried of course. It wasn't that bad, maybe two weeks of this won't be so horrible. We had a nice campfire and compared first day blisters. First equipment failure: my digital watch smashed when I dropped my pack on it. Tragic. 

From left to right: Dad, Tom, Nick, Me, Fred.

I'm laying in my bed listening to this crowd of 50 year old women's bursts of  shrieking laughter. Sunrise Camp has a full ranger station, and for a fee the rangers will cook real food for you and even rent you a cabin to sleep in. This group of women have a cabin next to our campsite and hiked in today with a bunch of vodka and gossip, and are intent on sharing both with each other. Ear plugs were a good choice.