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| Ritter (left) and Banner (right) Peaks - Mammoth Lakes Area |
“I am losing precious days.
I am degenerating into a machine for making money.
I am learning nothing in this trivial world of men.
I must break away and get out into the mountains
to learn the news.” – John Muir
Hiking the John Muir Trail - 2016
Background
– The John Muir Trail
John Muir is widely considered the father of the National Parks System. His
early work to protect wild lands was fundamental to the creation of the public
green spaces we now know and love. No area was more impacted by his work than
the Sierra mountain range in California. It is through this “range of light”
that a trail has been established in his name. The 220 mile track extends from
Yosemite Valley to Mt. Whitney traveling through no less than five
jurisdictions. The JMT is America’s most popular hiking trail and has a place
on every long-distance hiker’s bucket list.
Genesis –
Opportunity Knocks
I had been hoping to attempt a solo hike on the JMT in 2017 so I had been
planning, prepping gear lists and reading about the trail all spring and summer
of 2016. I also knew my friend Michal K. had secured a permit for September 2016
and we traded emails about the hike regularly. I got an email from Michal about
3 weeks before his trip saying his hiking partner couldn’t make the trip and
could I swing the trip on such short notice. The conversation with my wife ended
with her saying “I don’t know how you can say no.” Thanks honey!
Everything
on Your Back – Gear and Food I Carried
The original plan called for no re-supply along the route, meaning we would be
carrying all of our food for our trip from the start. My gear list is at the end of the post for those that are interested. Pretty simple: about 16
pounds of base weight (that’s stuff you carry all the way like the tent,
clothes, hygiene stuff, stove, etc.) and 19 pounds of consumables (food and
fuel). Including water, my pack weighed around 35 pounds at its heaviest and
got about 2 lbs. lighter each day as I ate my way through the food bag. I often
describe hiking and any ultra-distance human-powered travel as “a roving eating
contest.”
Trip Log –
Thoughts and Recollections
Day 0 – Getting to the Trail Head
Michal and I decided that this was the hardest day of the trip. During the
hiking season, there are lots of mass transit options, but we were hiking in the
shoulder season (the time right before or after the peak season) so transit
options were limited. Ultimately our plan was this:
a. Fly into LAX in the
evening and drive TWO rental cars to Lone Pine, CA.
b.
Leave car 1 in Lone Pine and drive car 2 to Yosemite Valley about 4 hours.
c. Drop Michal off in
Yosemite Valley to secure our permit while I drove car 2 to Merced Airport.
d. Take the mass transit YARTS
bus from Merced back to Yosemite where Michal was camped.
The end result of this plan was
600 miles and 11 hours of driving in less than 24 hours. The good news is we were
driving through the beautiful landscape of the eastern Sierra.
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| Yosemite Valley From Tioga Road |
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| El Capitan from the Valley Floor |
Day 1 – Yosemite Valley to Tuolumne Meadows
– 33 miles; +14,500/-6,500 vertical feet
Once we were on the trail the stress of getting to the trail head
melted away. Michal had secured a permit to summit Half-Dome so Day 1 include a
few bonus miles. On the hike up Happy Isles we met a guy coming down and
inquired if he had summited Half-Dome. He replied that he had, in fact he had
spent 9 DAYS climbing the front face! After we parted ways, Michal and I joked
that he was probably a famous climber putting up a new route and we should have
had him sign something.
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| Half Dome Viewed From Happy Isles Trail |
At the turn off to Half-Dome we had to check-in with a NPS
ranger. She asked us a few questions and immediately informed us “that we were
100% in violation of our permit.” We, of course, knew that we were o.k. but she
wasn’t convinced. Apparently we had confused her. We described our itinerary
and told her we had cleared this with the ranger in Yosemite valley when we
secured the permit, to which she replied “That’s great, but I’M the ranger
now.” After a tense 15 minute conversation, she completely reverses her initial
ruling and decides we are, in fact, legal and within out permit limitations. She sends
us on our way with a shot of adrenaline coursing through our veins, but no worse off. The
crisis averted, we hiked up and discussed the incident. We decided that the
Yosemite rangers probably see every kind of unprepared hiker on a daily basis
so perhaps “guilty-until-proven-innocent” as a default policy may not be
unreasonable. The whole impasse stemmed for her disbelief that we could hike 30 miles in a day.
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| Half Dome the approach trail (the faint line up the middle are the cables) |
The last 1,000 feet of Half-Dome is legendary: cables are strung up the final approach and hikers pull themselves up hand-over-hand to the summit. I have to admit I felt quite intimidated standing at the foot of the last pitch. I arrived a minute before Michal and I looked back at him at the foot of the climb. He gave me a thumbs up which I took to mean, “go now before we talk about it and both loose our nerve” so up I went. The face of the rock has been polished smooth by the feet of all the hikers who’ve gone before us. I was quite surprised by how much upper body effort was required to make forward progress. By the time I got to the top my forearms where pumped and cramping.
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| Viewed from just below the cables |
Coming down the approach trail Michal and I bumped into the ranger who had hassled us at the trail head. She stopped us and asked if we were the hikers who's permit she had questioned. We replied that we were. She admitted that she had misjudged us and clearly we could hike the itinerary we proposed. The whole episode made for good laughs for the rest of the hike.
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| The valley viewed from Half Dome summit |
Day 2 – Tuolumne Meadows to Island Pass – 19 miles; +3,295/-1,691
vertical feet
We got a late start on our second day due to post office not opening until 10 a.m.
The good news is we got to have hot breakfast at the Tulolumne Meadows grill. The
first day took us up the Lyell Creek valley and over Donahue Pass. I was
surprised by how difficult Donahue proved to be. This was our first trip into
the alpine zone and at 11,000 feet I probably should have expected it. In the evening we crossed over Island pass and camped at a pair
of lakes just south of pass.
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| Alpenglow on mountains east of Island Pass - Mammoth Lakes area |
Day 3 – Island Pass to Deer Creek – 26 miles; +4,023/-5,143
vertical feet
Day 3 took us through the lake region near Mammoth. This area was crawling with
hikers and we shared trail with a lot of folks. This area is very accessible
from paved roads and with its stunning beauty its easy to see why its teaming
with people.
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| Thousand Island Lake with Banner peak in background |
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| Garnet Lake |
This is the day we met a hiker we dubbed “huge pack girl.”
She was carrying a 60+ pound pack and carrying enough food for a 30 day hike!
Due to her pack weight, she was limited to about 6 miles per day. But man did
she have a good spirit! And one heck of a strong spirit and a strong body despite her slight frame.
Very impressive!!!
It was about this time that I realized I had made a pretty
big error in my planning. Hikers and climbers have a saying: “you pack your
fears.” Meaning the stuff that goes in your pack reflects the risks you think
you may encounter. And the stuff you pack TOO much of reflects what you are
afraid of. I have to admit that during the prep period before the trip I was
most concerned about being hungry on the trail. This is the longest trip I’ve
ever been on without re-supply. We would carry all our food from the first day.
By the third day it was apparent I had packed TOO MUCH FOOD.
Day 4 – Deer Creek to Bear Creek Trail - 31 miles; +6,480/-6,496
vertical feet
On our fourth day we finally found our trail groove. We established a routine that we
would use the rest of hike: break camp early and be on the trail by 6:30 a.m, hike 6 miles before
breakfast, stop for lunch around 1 p.m., and then hike until around sunset. That morning at our breakfast stop we bumped into a trio
of hikers doing a section of the JMT NOBO (hiker speak for north bound). They
complimented our efficiency at whipping up breakfast. One person in their group
lamented that he had broken his Kindle on the first day and other two in the
group mentioned how grumpy he had been without reading material. We parted ways, but not before Michal traded the first half of book he was carrying for an
extra summer sausage the other group was carrying! I’m always amazed at the
generosity of the trail.
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| Marie Lake from Seldon Pass approach trail |
Day 5 – Bear Creek Trail to Evolution Lake - 28
miles; +4,910/-4,117 vertical feet
On Day 5 we passed into what I considered to be the most breathtaking section
of the trail. We descended into the San Juaquin River valley.
This brought us into Kings Canyon National Park. The trail following the river offered incredible views of aspen in fall yellow and tall stands of lodgepole pine. The walls of the
canyon towered overhead and I felt quite small and insignificant in their
shadow. Reaching Evolution creek, we continued up the Evolution valley. Yosemite
Valley gets all the attention in the Sierra but Kings Canyon is 100 times more
spectacular . It's only unknown because you can’t drive a car to this spot and, therefore 99% of the populous never sets eyes on it.
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| Heart Lake looking from Seldon Pass |
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| Sequoia on the slopes above San Juaquin River |
About a mile from where we intended to camp for the night we
met a trio of hikers who were spending a month hiking the JMT. We chatted with
them for a few minutes when I asked, “are you guys interested in come Kind bars?” I
had been building up a stock of uneaten food each day and I was desperate to
dump some of what I was carrying. They said they were and I spilled out about a
pound of bars on a rock. In about 30 seconds all of the bars were gone. The
trail had generously reduced my pack weight.
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| Sallie Keys Lake |
Day 6 – Evolution Lake to Palisade Lakes - 28 miles; +5,388/-4,853
vertical feet
If the hike up Evolution Valley was the most spectacular day of the trip, the hike
over Muir pass was a very close second. Day 6 dawned bright and we got an early
start taking in sunrise views of The Hermit and Evolution Lakes on our way up
to Muir Pass and the John Muir hut. The night before we had camped a thousand
feet below our originally planned stopping point because of threatening weather
we had seen from the valley below. Now on our approach to the pass, we meet a
couple of hikers coming down from the pass. They looked a bit beaten down and
worse for wear. They recounted their story from the afternoon before getting
pinned down in hail and snow storm and spending a night in the Muir hut. We departed feeling glad we didn't press on to the basin the night before.
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| Wanda Lake in Evolution Basin |
The Muir hut was exactly what I had visualized when I read
the descriptions: a homely little hut in a stark landscape. Built in 1931 by
the Sierra Club, the hut looks like something out of a Tolkien novel. We
snapped a few pictures and proceeded down the very technical decent into Kings
Canyon.
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| John Muir Hut on Muir Pass |
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| Helen Lake south of Muir Pass |
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| Michal on Helen Lake |
The afternoon of Day 6 was the first time we experienced
any bad weather. A cold steady rain started to fall as we climbed Palisade Creek Valley toward
the Golden Staircase which leads to Palisade Lakes. We stopped below the steps
to evaluate our options. We really wanted to get up the steps before camping to
cut a 3,000’ climb in half. We decided to cook dinner and wait and see. That night we pitched the tent in a strong wind and added some additional guy-lines
to prepare for an exposed and windy night. Just as we climbed into the
tent the wind picked up and sleet and freezing rain started in. The tent was
buffeted for hours and sleep came in fits and starts. It would be our longest
night on the trail.
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| Bundled up on Mather Pass |
Day 7 – Palisade Lake to Taboose Creek campground -
26 miles; +3,303/-9,991 vertical feet
Morning dawned bitterly cold with fast moving clouds giving way to bright
sunshine in the south, our direction of travel. We broke camp as fast as we
could and proceeded up the last 1,200 feet of the climb to Mather Pass. It was
cold. I wore all but one layer of clothing from my pack. With the clothing and the body
heat generated from climbing, my body was warm, though my hands were very cold.
I wore my dirty hiking socks on my hands to shield my skin from the bitterly
cold wind. As we neared Mather pass, I reached back for my water bottle and
noticed something odd. The combined cold temperatures and wind chill was enough
to partially freeze the water in bottle.
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| Looking toward Pinchot Pass |
We hiked in the shadow of the mountain and as we made the
pass we emerged into the sunshine. The cold wind was still gusting, but the warm sun
felt great. We dropped into the valley and stopped for breakfast and to gather more
water.
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| Trail to Taboose Pass looking north |
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| View from Taboose Pass looking west |
At breakfast, we discussed the progress of our trip thus
far. Looking at the map we had a fairly easy 10
mile hike to the parking lot from the Taboose pass trail and another few miles
on a dirt road would get us to a camp ground and access to a shuttle to our car
in Lone Pine. We were at a point where we had to decide how our trip would end.
Continuing on would take us a bit deeper into wilderness which would pressure
us greatly to get off trail in time to catch our flight home. We hadn’t had any
contact with our families since we stepped on the trail. Michal carried a SPOT
satellite locator and we had transmitted our position and status several times
each day. They knew we were o.k. and moving well. However, we didn’t know how we
would deal with the fallout of a missed flight. We agreed that we had experienced
what we came to do. We could have pushed on to try to make the terminus, but in the end
we wisely decided to take the exit trail and save the last 50 miles of the JMT for
another day. The trail will be waiting for us.
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| Trail from Taboose Pass to the desert floor descends 6000' in 7 miles |
We made it to the car-camp ground around sunset. We chatted
with some guys who were setting up camp and were planning to enter the John
Muir Wilderness the following day via the path we took out. We asked where we
paid for camping. They informed us that you pay $15 per car but since we didn’t
have a car we were welcome to share their spot. The trail is generous. The wind
picked up to a gale as we set up our tent blowing across the desert floor. We
felt like we were in a sand blaster. Seeking shelter to light our stove, we retreated
to the only available wind break: the latrine. We set up our stove in the
privy, with the door propped open to prevent an accidental methane ignition and
camped out on the leeward side of the building to eat. A few car campers gave
us the stink eye. One fella escorted his wife to use the facilities. He kept a
watchful eye on the two obvious deviants. We made a way to our car the next
morning and spent the day doing some touristy stuff in Lone Pine and the Death
Valley National Park. Death Valley is as different from the High Sierra as any
two climates could be. Breezy cool passes and luscious meadows give way to dry
hot windless desert. In 48 hours we see the extremes.
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| The Taboose Creek Campground Diner |
Conclusion
All in all this hike was the biggest and best adventure I have ever undertaken.
I’m extremely humbled and in awe by the incredible natural asset we hiked
through. I’m extremely grateful to my wife for her good spirit and support during
the run-up to this adventure. I appreciate the latitude in vacation
notification policy afforded by my employer and also their sincere support. Lastly,
I’m extraordinarily thankful to Michal for inviting me to share in his trip and
for sharing the trail with me. It was one heck of an adventure and I’m looking
forward to the next adventure we share.
We live in interesting times. It’s not hard to look around
and see a lot of ugliness. There is ugliness in the
way we treat one another. Ugliness in how we speak about others. Ugliness in the way we use and
abuse the great inheritance we steward in the natural world.
But for all the
ugliness, we ARE capable of choosing
beauty, both in nature and in ourselves, at an individual level. And we have
unprecedented access to share, spread and protect that beauty like no other
society in history. So I’ll move forward, a little different than I was before
this experience and I will try to choose beauty more often than I did before.
“Everybody needs beauty…places to play in and pray in where nature may
heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul alike.” –
John Muir
My 2016 JMT Hike Gear List:
| Sleeping/Shelter: | 20deg down bag |
| (5.6 lbs) | Half of Northface 2 person tent |
| | Big Agnes torso length inflatable mat + 1/4” yoga mat |
| | |
| Clothing (worn/carried): | 1 pair running shorts, 1 pair hiking pants, 1 pair compression shorts |
| (2 lbs/2 lbs) | 1 Long sleeve shirt, 1 Short sleeve shirt, 1 pair sun sleeves |
| | Fleece cap, balaclava, visor, bandana, gaiters, eyeglasses, sunglasses |
| | Dryducks rain jacket and rain pants, Altra Olympus trail runners |
| | |
| Packing: | ULA Olm 2.0 Backpack, 2 pack liner bags, 1 stuff sack, Garcia Bear Canister |
| (5 lbs) | |
| | |
| Cooking/Hydration: | Aluminum cookpot w/ lid and stuff sack, fuel canister |
| (1.2 lbs) | Cup & spoon, Reused MH envelope (food bowl), 1L bottle, 1L Platypus |
| | Sawyer Squeeze filter + Camelback hose and bite-valve |
| | |
| Essential Gear: | Hygiene kit, SA Vitrox knife, first-aid/foot-care/repair kit, compass, map set |
| (1.5 lbs) | Fenix L01 flashlight w/ 1 spare battery, IPhone 5, external battery |
| | |
| Food/Water: | Breakfast: Steel cut oats w/ dried cherries and powdered milk |
| (19 lbs/2 lbs) | Lunch: Tortillas, Almond butter or tuna on 2 day rotation, beef jerky |
| | Dinner: Couscous, powdered potatoes or cheesy grits on 3 day rotation |
| | Snacks: Kind bars and homemade trail mix eaten on the move |
| | Other: Sbucks Via instant coffee, cocoa powder, powdered milk, brown sugar |
