We arrived in Tuolumne Meadows around 2pm and went straight to the wilderness center to rent a larger bear canister for Angelica. From there we set up our tent at the backpackers campground, and on the way up I made a new friend, Kat, who had just gotten off the bus after flying into Fresno from Seattle. She pitched her tent near us. Then we went to the grill/store to get an early dinner since the grill closes at 5pm. I started to get a headache and feel nauseous with a little bit of chills as we were waiting for our food so went to wait in the car while Angelica got the food.
While we were waiting we were found by a hiker lady that I had messaged with in a Facebook group about starting out the hike with us so she could be around other people her first morning out. (The other ladies in her party canceled on her the other day but she decided to go for it on her own – first time going alone.) She’s probably 10 years older than us and new to backpacking – it’s very inspirational. Then another lady joined our campsite, Anu, who is just finishing up the same loop Angelica and I did with the ladies in 2019. I took the chicken salad back to camp with us but was feeling so bad at that point I could only choke down a few bites as I was getting worried I had either a migraine from driving or altitude sickness (which has never been an issue for me). I felt so bad I actually “got sick” and soon took a migraine pill and put myself to bed, sadly missing the social hour with the ladies.
The ranger came by to check out permit and I asked if chills were a symptom of altitude sickness, to which she suggested electrolytes. Alas, I was dehydrated.