Day 1

Today was a lesson in humility.

Sometimes you feel like you can conquer the world; sometimes it feels like the world is throwing back at you, everything she's got. Today was one of the latter.

The day before yesterday we did a lovely 11.5 mile hike in Tuolumne Meadows in about 4 1/2 hours. Today, I did a little under 10 miles in about 7 hours. This ain't no easy nature walk, folks. I think I got to experience a little of everything today--desert heat, snow-covered mountains, soggy bogs, deep streams, and woods.

The first two miles were relatively easy--though they were not shaded, and walking along high cliff edges, I was making good time. So I must have seemed cocky. I crest a summit (about 1000 ft higher than where I had started at) and there it is: the mountain I have been walking on is suddenly covered in snow, all the way down, and my path leads across it. Oftentimes, what you think you can do, and what you have to do are not always synonymous. I couldn't turn around, so I just had to keep pressing on. After about the 4th mountain snow pass, and too many posthole encounters, I felt like a pro. So I must have seemed cocky.  Because they just kept coming.

Near the last cliff pass like this (number 10?) a guy shouts from behind me--oh, it's just Homelessman (trail name) and he's passing me, and he started two hours after me! So I tell him to go ahead, so I can follow his tracks, because wouldn't you know it, everything is covered in snow and there is no trail to be seen. So I naively follow Homeless man down the side of the mountain, trying not to kill ourselves by sliding down or breaking an ankle in a post hole (when your foot unexpectedly falls through the snow; which was up to my knees) in the process. Well, he's so far ahead of me it's ridiculous, and suddenly I'm having trouble finding his tracks OR the trail.
I reach for my maps only to find, you guessed it, nothing. Somewhere along that ridiculous decent my map holder became unfastened and fell off somewhere. I curse and think about retracing my steps, but I honestly don't know if I could find them. Now I'm a little worried--I'm off trail with only my cell phone map to guide me. ON THE FIRST DAY!

I tell myself there is only one option: to continue forward. About an hour later I have found the trail (success!) and am working my way past the snow, into the forest!
I know what miles markers I need to get to, and hopefully there are no more snowy mountains to pass, so I can make my goal of 15 or 20 miles!

Now I'm lying in my tent, trying not to work myself up about the Mountain Lion tracks I saw the entire way ahead of me until the snow vanished. As I lick my wounds and hope for a better day tomorrow, I am still so glad I'm doing this.