Monday, September 1, 2014

Solo hiking the John Muir Trail

No right way is easy in this rough world.  We must risk our lives to save them.  -John Muir



JMT = the hardest most amazing thing I have done

Approximately 223/230 miles in 14.5 days solo hiking

Exactly a year ago I set off to hike the JMT, it has taken me a year to figure out how to put this trip into words that would express how amazing the experience was.  I decided I just had to commit to writing about it and hope that it comes close.  The experience of solo hiking heightened my senses, my vivid memory of the landscape stay with me long after the adventure ended.  Often at night when I can’t sleep or am stressed I mentally relive the hike remembering the landscape, the passes, the light, the trail and my campsites. 

My Experience of the JMT:
The first day – getting an extra day start but leaving in the afternoon on a Saturday, the crowds were extreme – like a busy NYC sidewalk, very overwhelming.  The landscape was stunning but I was in a hurry to move on away from the crowds.  It didn’t take much distance to achieve that – after Nevada Falls it became a different trail.  I had extra excited energy and a coveted permit to Half Dome, which added about 7.5 miles to the day.

Day two – early start, establishing a routine to my days.  Pack the tent up, eat breakfast, load the pack up and head off on the trail.  I only cooked at night.  I decided to go caffeine free, I brought a few cafĂ© vias in case I regretted my decision but did not break into them.  The hike to Tuolumne Meadows was all up.  At Cathedral Lake I stopped, soaked my tired feet, thought about spending the night but true to my nature wasn’t sure what I would do for the rest of the day and pressed on.  Along with giving up caffeine I also decided to not use a watch to establish my own rhythm of the day.  I did have my phone – and my treat became checking to see if I had cell coverage at night just before I went to bed and texting a special someone. 

Day three – I tried to get rid of anything in my pack that was not essential.  Realizing right away that my pack was too heavy; 41 pounds with food and water.  From my journal
            WOW! Beautiful! Hard – challenging, amazing – ouch! Sore feet.  Moments of despair, moments of gratitude, moments of greatness

Donahue Pass - first pass
Day four – Beautiful morning just below Donahue Pass, I woke to frost on my tent.  Early morning hiking is my favorite the light is stunning, everything feels peaceful and still plus there are very few people up.  Very sore feet, working on blister management.  My feet find 10 miles fine but 16 gets them fired up and angry, soaking them at lunch in the ice-cold rivers helps immensely.  I camped with a guy who had terminal brain cancer and was doing chemotherapy on the trail – WOW! 

Reds Meadow rest stop
Day five – I didn’t know it at the time but I took a wrong turn at Reds Meadow and was on what is know as the “Alternate JMT”.  It runs parallel at a lower elevation and then joins up again.  I suspected as much but was not sure - which created a bit of stress especially hiking alone and not seeing anyone for a while.  Lots of self talk and doubts to work through.


Day six – Totally turned this day around.  Started early, anxious to get confirmation about where I was.  Stumbled across a hot spring, fell off a log headfirst and was inches away from stabbing my face with the branches of the log – good reminder to be careful and not let the anxious feelings take over.  I finally ran into a hiker who confirmed that I was not on the JMT and that this trail would meet up with the JMT at Silver pass; huge relief.  I stopped and went swimming at a beautiful waterfall to celebrate.  The cold water, beautiful landscape completely wiped my anxious feeling away and restored me.  Pressed on, I met a guy who was running the trail and logging about 35 miles a day self supported with a 25 lb pack.  Silver Pass I broke down and pocketed a few small beautiful rocks – I knew I had to be careful and limit my rock collecting, a habit I have had my whole life.  It would be very easy for me to finish the hike with 10 + pounds of rocks tucked away in my pack.  Hiking in this landscape feels like I am in beautiful landscape sculpture garden, it draws me out and inspires me in so many ways.

Day seven – Today was the day that would set the tone for my rest day at JMT Ranch, I needed to put in a big day and I did. I was tired but pushed on to Sallie Keyes Lakes. I have not seen a solo female hiker yet and have had many people tell me they admired me, one guy even high fived me.

Day eight – JMT Ranch, a magical place after 7 days on the trail.  The ranch far exceeded my expectations; the hot springs, the tent cabin, doing laundry, the delicious food.  Mail pick up; letters from my family, one with photos of Thanksgiving that were fun to look at the remaining trip.  That afternoon more mail came in for me.  So sweet!  At that moment it meant a lot to me to know that I am loved and cared about, I was and am grateful.

Camp site at Evolution Lake
Day nine – From journal; FUCK! 9 days solo camping - this is getting old.  The landscape continues to inspire me but the solo dinners do not. Tonight I have a beautiful windy campsite overlooking Evolution Lake.

Day ten – Labor Day.  Muir pass today, magical, like being in a moonscape.  Logged 138.2 miles total, 78.4 miles to go.  All mileage is approximate from my maps, which don’t always seem accurate.

Day eleven – Long climb up the golden staircase to the Palisades.  I felt like I was in a Japanese watercolor painting.  First lightening rainstorm as a went over Mather Pass.

Day twelve – Rallied my tired legs over Pinchot Pass 12,130 feet, then down, down, down to the lowest point in the trail.  Up, up, up to Rae’s lakes.  Tomorrow is a new day, press on!

resting tired feet at Guitar Lake
Day thirteen – It seems that I feel strong every other day, still put in the miles but just feel better.  Today was a strong day, two passes; Glenn and Forester.  Feeling very grubby, dusty, my clothes are so stretched out they barely stay on.  I am developing interesting sores on my back and hips from my pack, all part of the adventure.

Day fourteen – Guitar Lake!  I can see Mt Whitney from my amazing campsite on the rocks next to the lake.  This area is really crowded with clean hikers; guess they are on a weekend trip.  My last tent night, feels strange and a little sad to be at the end of this journey.

Summit of Mt Whitney
Day fifteen – I count my first day as .5 because it was an unexpected late start and low miles.  14.5 days on the trail, looking forward to a shower and some crunchy vegetables.  Early morning hike up to Whitney in the dark.  This is the official end of the JMT.  The hike to Whitney Portal where my car was parked was probably the hardest miles of the entire trip – mentally I was done.  All down hill, switchbacks in the heat, so happy to see my car, change my clothes.

I met many interesting people on the hike, spent a lot of time alone plodding along.  Would I do it again?  Definitely – but with a lighter pack.


Preparation:
The preparation to hike the JMT or any long distance hike cannot be over looked.  This hike took months of planning; food, food drop, weight of gear, what gear to bring, shuttles for point to point hiking, permits, maps and again weight of gear.  Once that was figured out the hiking plan – I had limited time to hike the JMT, I came up with a very ambitious hiking schedule with one rest day a Muir ranch about ½ way through the hike.

Like all well laid plans they promptly change.  I arrived at Yosemite Valley the day before to pick up my permit for an early start the next day.  Because of the fires there were a lot of cancelations and I was able to start that day.  Everyday I had three plans; most aspirational, miles I needed to log in and the absolute minimum.  It is important to be flexible and not get upset by the little things that don't go like you thought they would.

Hiking:
Day 1 – Happy Isles to Little Yosemite Valley + Half Dome = 4.5 + 8
Day 2 – Little Yosemite Valley to Tuolumne Meadows = 19.5
Day 3 – Tuolumne Meadows to just past Donohue Pass = 13.4
Day 4 – Donohue Pass to Trinity Lake = 16
Day 5 – Trinity Lakes to alternate JMT route = 17.7
Day 6 – Alternate route to Motts Junction = 18.9
Day 7 – Motts Junction to Sallie Keys Island = 17.8
Day 8 – Sallie Keys Island to JMT Ranch = 3.9 rest day!
Day 9 – JMT Ranch Evolution Lake = 16.1
Day 10 – Evolution Lake to Middle Fork Junction = 16.9
Day 11 – 1 mile past Middle Fork Junction to J Bench Junction = 16.7
Day 12 – J Bench Junction to Rae Lakes = 16.5
Day 13 – South Rae Lakes to Forester Pass = 16.5
Day 14 – 2nd lake south of Forester Pass to Guitar Lake = 16.4
Day 15 – Guitar Lake to Mt Whitney! And then to Whitney Portal = 14.2

JMT
211 miles
46,700 feet total elevation gain
7 mountain passes
14,505 feet highest point – Mt Whitney

Coming off of Island Pass coming down to Thousand Island Lake
Maire Lake trail to Selden Pass
Muir Pass
Raes Lake Camp site
Resources: there is a lot of information out there on the JMT below is a limited selection that helped me prepare.  

Almost Somewhere by Suzanne Roberts

Blogs:

Permit info:

I used the Tom Harrison Maps - John Muir Trail Map-pack.  13 waterproof and tear resistant pages. 

Equipment list:
Bear barrel
Mountain hardware supermega UL2 tent
Mountain hardware phantom 32 sleeping bag
Therma-rest – I had a super deluxe heavy one because I thought it would help me sleep better, I was wrong.  I will use a much lighter pad next trip
Gregory Deva 60 pack

Clothes:
Lightweight pants that converted to shorts
2 long sleeve shirts, one wool and one tech fabric (I hike with long sleeves for sun protection)
1 short-sleeved shirt
wool zip hoodie
down sweater
rain jacket – never used
rain pants – never used
down jacket – used to sleep in if it was cold at night or as my pillow.  Ended up wearing it almost every night at camp
2 pair socks
1 bra
3 underwear
bandana
2 hats; warm + sun hat
gloves
Montrail mountain masochists II Outdry – great shoes once my feet got use to the high mileage with weight.

Food: I never felt hungry but I think I would need more calories if the trip were longer, I lost 10 lbs.
Freeze dried meals every night for dinner
Granola with water for breakfast
mid morning snack = larabar
lunch = 3 slices of salami, almonds, dried fruit
afternoon snack = mojo bar
hot chocolate

View From Mt Whitney
Here ends my forever memorable first High Sierra excursion.  I have crossed the Range of Light, surely the brightest and best of all the Lord has built; and rejoicing in its glory, I gladly, gratefully, hopefully pray I may see it again. / John Muir