JMT // Day 2

Little Yosemite Valley → Half Dome → Sunrise Meadow 

12.5 miles  

Oh what a day, a rollercoaster of emotions. I got up around 5:30am and had some time to myself to have breakfast, coffee, hang out by the creek that was our water source for the night, and to pack up my things before starting the day.

Around 6:45am we started our hike to Half Dome. At the junction, we dropped our packs, separated our bear boxes, as directed on the ranger signs (otherwise you could face a fine) and started up the 2.1 mile side trail.

It was a steep climb, and when we got to the top, just before the cables on the dome, Marc bailed out of his fear of heights. I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to climb the Dome, even though the wires did look intimidating.

I slipped on my garden gloves that I brought just for this and made my way up. It was harder than I expected and made my hands and biceps very sore. Surprisingly I had no fear climbing up those cables, the climb up was exhilarating, exciting and empowering.

I was so proud of myself upon reaching the top, it was a great way to start the trail. I walked around the top of the Dome for a bit and saw a group of young boys dangerously playing on the diving board, hopping down onto unsteady rocks and it was making me nervous. I wasn’t about to watch a young man die so I made my way back down the cables.

We continued along on our hike. We considered taking the Clouds Rest route to Sunrise Meadow, but we didn’t want to overdo it on our first real day on the trail, so we just followed the JMT.

I’m gad we did because we got to see a really beautiful forest fire scar that was lush with wildflowers. The climb was steep and very challenging coming out of the valley.

Around noon, I started feeling weak and ill: a headache appeared, my stomach didn’t feel right, I was nauseous and had no appetite. Later, I realized these are signs of altitude sickness. We stopped for a break and I broke down. I couldn’t understand what was happening to me, why I was feeling this way, and questioned whether I could continue on the trail. My spirits were down and I wanted nothing more than to be comfortable. All my food tasted like plastic and I hadn’t been eating enough for the amount of exertion I was putting into the hike. I was so disappointed in myself and upset with how weak I felt. I knew I would regret coming off the trail especially on day 2, I set a goal to just make it to the end of the day.  We continued our uphill journey, and let me tell you, it’s a CLIMB getting out of Yosemite.

I cried several times out of pity for myself, hoping that things would get easier as we got further on the trail. The amazing views drove me forward; snowy mountain tops, immense rock faces, a peaceful meadow, a burn section, and the beautiful wildflowers. I wish I could feel as good as the views were and I just kept getting in my head and in my own way hoping something external could take me off the trail because I was too ashamed to have to make that decision for myself. I know myself, and when I am not feeling physically well, I start a spiral of negative thoughts.

We finally made it to camp for the night at Sunrise Meadow. We were swarmed by mosquitoes so I laid in my tent and pitied myself. Marc came to my rescue and pointed out that I just need to eat a big meal with lots of calories. I force fed myself some backpacker’s Pad Thai that was very unappetizing. I chewed each bite for what felt like 1 full minute because my body didn’t want to accept food. Eventually as I finished dinner I started feeling better. The lower altitude and getting some nourishment in me helped (I literally ate 2,000 calories in one meal).

We also played some music, did some stretching and dancing (mostly to keep the mosquitoes off us) and watched the sunset which helped boost morale.