![\"JMT](\"http:\/\/skelmo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/JMT-Day-1-start-trailhead-sign.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe morning was pretty cold, which was a nice way to start, although I’m not sure Eddie would attest to the chill’s being a fair counterbalance to the insulting barrage of steep stone steps and 1,000 feet of climbing in the first mile.\u00a0 We took the Mist Trail to Vernal Falls, which usually means a good soaking on the way up the steps, so the guys stopped at the first bridge to put on their pack covers.\u00a0 This led to lots of rummaging around and poles flying, followed by a nearly complete unpacking of Eddie’s backpack and a discovery of items he did not know he was carrying, such as a giant syringe (part of a snake bite kit?), a bale of nylon twine (two different gauges), and some gaiters that were way too big for his skinny legs.\u00a0 (I now have these items in my possession in San Francisco, and have had a few offers for the syringe.)\u00a0 As it turned out, the pack covers were unnecessary since the falls were not falling very hard, but it was a worthwhile exercise since it relieved Eddie of some pack weight.<\/p>\n
We continued to climb—first to Vernal Falls,<\/p>\n
and then up and over the south slope of Mt. Broderick (~6,700\u2019) and Liberty Cap (~7,100) on the trail to Nevada Falls (~6,000′).<\/p>\n As you can see, it was a bit unrelenting on the way up, but it was really beautiful.<\/p>\n (These photos are from my iPhone and don’t quite do justice to the scenery, but Jim already has lots of great pictures on his camera, and he will post a link to them when he gets back, after which the man-of-leisure will commence to making what is sure to be a studio-quality video production.)<\/p>\n OK, so remember that sign on the valley floor at the start of the trail that said it was 211 miles to Mt. Whitney?\u00a0 Well, here is the sign at the top of Nevada Falls (yes, we were going the right way):<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n