run 5:53:00 [3] 24.68 mi (14:18 / mi) +1248m 12:22 / mi
So last year sometime Carol got this idea to run the JMT one way from Toulumne Meadows down the middle of high Yosemite into the valley. Seems like a cool idea, and if you work the logistics right you just run all day and end up at your campsite at the bottom. Fast forward to today and everybody else bailed (for actual legit reasons) so I started it alone.
Up to Cathedral pass was good, then a few nice miles through some high meadows to Sunrise. I was feeling pretty good here so I turned off the JMT and took the parallel trail that went over the top of Clouds Rest, because I'd never been there before and it was only 2:30pm and I felt the need to channel my inner iansmith time management plan. Lots of up to Clouds Rest, and it got steep and a little chilly towards the top, I ended up speedy-hiking the last mile or so. Then a long brutal descent to pick up the JMT again and go past the back side of half dome, then down the waterfall trails into the valley just before dark.
Took 3.5 liters of water in the camelback, which was a lot to run with before I drank it down a bunch, but it was all climb for the first five miles so it wasn't bouncing around too much. And I drank all of it. One of those mini filters or UV sterilizers might be a better plan though, as there were enough creeks and lakes to be fine only carrying a liter or so.
The elevation profile looks pretty wimpy and boring, but that's mostly because of scale. Coming over the top of Clouds Rest you have this great view of all the big cliffs in the valley, you're looking down on the top of half dome, and you can see the campsite you're heading to that's only 10 miles away, all downhill and it looks fun and easy. Then you do some math and figure out that the campsite is actually 6000+ feet below you, in 10 miles downhill. Then your legs cry. The whole run only had 4000' of climb but 10000' of descent. My downhill everything sortof hurts now.
But it was fun and Carol and Zan seem pretty psyched to do it (maybe without the bonus Clouds Rest summit) next year.