With a pack station at Kennedy Meadows and a huge parking area for horse trailers, the first few miles of the trail are heavily traveled by our equine friends and their riders.
We've reached Relief Reservoir. No sign of deep volcanic caves yet! Relief Reservoir is a good sized lake. At the far end you can see the mountains we'll need to climb over to reach Lower Relief Valley.
To reach Lower Relief Valley we must cross the river. Andra was a bit concerned about going across with a heavy pack, so I made two trips across to shuttle her pack to the other side.