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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 café 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
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| 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!
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| 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.
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| 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
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| Coming off of Island Pass coming down to Thousand Island Lake |
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| Maire Lake trail to Selden Pass |
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| Muir Pass |
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| 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
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| 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
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