John Muir Trail Day 1 – Happy Isles to Little Yosemite Valley. 4.8 mile kickoff hike.

In June 2014, four friends and I embarked on a 3 day backpacking trip through Yosemite along a section of the John Muir Trail that started in Tuolomne Meadows and ended in Yosemite Valley. In mid July 2016, I started a similar trip with the same group of friends, but this trip was different in two significant ways.

First, although we hiked the same route through Yosemite, we hiked it in reverse this time from the valley to Tuolomne Meadows. Second, and more importantly, for my friend Don and I this stretch of the trip was just the tip of the iceberg.

From Tuolomne Meadows, Don and I will continue on for another 10 days and some 200 miles. We will be hiking the entire length of the John Muir Trail from Yosemite Valley to the summit of Mount Whitney.

We started our trip in typical lazy fashion, leaving the Yosemite Valley backpacker’s camp around 9:00 am. We were all excited to start the adventure with a hike up to Nevada Falls from the Happy Isles Trailhead.

The skies were clear and the weather hot. The trail was crowded with slow moving hikers struggling to make their way up to the falls in the heat. We stopped at the falls for an hour or so to enjoy lunch under some shade trees by the creek.

From the falls we continued on our hike, finishing up mid-afternoon at Little Yosemite Valley Campgrounds. Over the next few hours, we swam in the Merced River, washed our clothes, and played several games of bridge before calling it a day.

My meal plan for the day included Oatmeal with milk and blueberries for breakfast, and Thai Peanut Noodles and tea for dinner.

Photos:

• About
• Latest Posts

Robb Keele

Robb is a native San Diegan and avid hiker, backpacker, picture taker and 52 Hike Challenger. He created Getgo Outdoors with the goal of giving back to the outdoor community and inspiring others to get outdoors.

Latest posts by Robb Keele (see all)

• John Muir Trail Day 5 – Past Donahue Pass to Red’s Meadow. 19.5 mile lake tour hike. - March 7, 2017
• John Muir Trail Day 4 – Tuolomne Meadows over Donahue Pass. 16.4 mile shakedown hike. - March 2, 2017
• John Muir Trail Day 3 – Sunrise Lakes to Tuolomne Meadows. 10.1 mile hike for hunger. - December 28, 2016