Saturday, August 10
Start: Sunrise Creek (8555′)
End: Lyell Fork Bridge (9655′)
Miles: 23.6 (+1.0 for Tuolumne errands and briefly getting lost)
Elevation gain: 4091′
After a fairly cool night where I slept like a rock, I got up and headed out by 7am. It was a bit cool in the morning until the sun warmed things up. I made it up and over Cathedral Pass (9705′) and arrived at Tuolumne Meadows (8600′) by around 1pm, where I charged my devices, resupplied, and had lunch.
From there, I had a mild panic when I tried to take a side trail to meet up with the JMT but didn’t take quite the right path. I did manage to find my way back to the trail, and continued on my way. While flat-ish, the Lyell Canyon section was endless; I was very tired and the final climb up to the Lyell Fork Bridge (9655′) nearly did me in. I made it to the campsite area by 6:30pm and was dinnered and bedded down by around 7:30, where I promptly fell asleep.