Wow, that was an impressive first day. By my calculations, 14.3 miles, 6511 gain, 4961 loss, net 1550 gain.
That's a serious hike.
Funny thing about that section of trail. The written guides (including Secor) all put that distance around 16+ mi, but the signposts along the way do add up to about 14 and change.
On the other hand, it does not seem like there is nearly the amount of up and down you calculate: I'd be interested to know how you calculate that. There are really only a couple of significant downhills in that direction, approaching Buck, Lone Pine and Hamilton Creeks, and I would be surprised if they add up to 1000. But it is a serious hike, in more ways than one
