As with most significant events in life (mine, at least), it was a chance happening. Last summer we were descending Rampart Ridge below Mt. Rainier – probably running from mosquitoes, particularly pesky at the time – and stopped to help a woman coming up the trail figure out how to use her new GPS. We got to talking as trail folk are wont to do and she mentioned she planned to complete section-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) - a 2,663 mile trail that stretches from the borders of Mexico to Canada - by her approaching 70th birthday. She’d been gradually completing the PCT in 200 – 500 mile sections and wanted to get them all done before she entered her next decade.
This conversation prompted me to ask myself “What have I accomplished in my life?” Sixty-one at the time, I wondered why not do something challenging before I enter my next decade. Christi and I both liked to hike, having completed the relatively luxurious 42 mile Queen Charlotte Track in New Zealand the previous year, so we began learning more about the PCT.
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| John Muir |
Sure it includes 9 major passes over 10,000 feet and a cumulative elevation gain of over 45,000 feet but it seemed we’d be able to do it over a several week period.The 2,663 mile PCT would require a time commitment of 5 – 6 months. Through-hiking the JMT seemed quite reasonable in comparison.
Planning, planning and more planning
So, about a year ago, we decided we’d do it, targeting August or September 2011. At that time we thought we’d see how the winter weather played out to avoid a lot of snow on the high passes before deciding upon a start date. We now know about all the snow the Cascades had late last winter and the following spring. Well, the Sierra’s had it too, but we didn’t see that coming when we began checking into wilderness permit reservations in February.
Some JMT wilderness permits are available on a walk-up basis but most are booked up to 6 months in advance. When we began checking on August dates last February we panicked, as people were gobbling up the permits well in advance. Having never done the trail before, we felt we needed to book something so we began madly faxing requests. Most were denied, but we did end up with 3 separate reservations for 3 separate dates in early August. Unfortunately, each involved either starting from an out-of-the-way Yosemite Valley trailhead or staying the first night at a campsite several miles off the JMT.
As we watched the snow fall throughout the spring, we began planning and planning and planning. Not only did we have to acquire equipment, most of which had changed (for the better) since I last backpacked with my kids in the 80’s, but we had to figure out logistics – where to start, where to leave a car, etc. – what food to take, how many drops to have and where to have them, and, oh yeah, get in condition! We eventually decided we’d use our August 6 reservation to start the trail at Happy Isles trailhead in Yosemite, spending our first night off trail at Illilouette Valley, if necessary.
Fortunately, there are some great resources available to help plan the hike. Among them is the John Muir Trail Yahoo Group whose members include very friendly and helpful folks who know the trail well, equipment and menu guides, maps and plans, including GPS data points, and a ton of other helpful planning information, and Elizabeth Wenk’s guidebook John Muir Trail. And, not to go too commercial on you, but if you aren’t ready to buy a bear canister (which you’ll need for food on the JMT), you can rent one of the lightest-weight available “Bearikades” from Wild Ideas at a very reasonable fee for through-hikers.
Planning, shmaning, let’s hit the trail!
Needless to say, we both tired of the months of analysis and planning, figuring how-to-maximize-calories while minimizing weight carried, packing and repacking. We wanted to hit the trail and start doing it (hiking, that is)! Our Bearikade Weekenders arrived a few days early in late July, we packed our bucket to ship to the Muir Trail Ranch, our last food drop for the last half of the trail, and were fortunate enough to leave Olympia, WA, to spend a preliminary week at our condo in Bend, OR, before driving down east of the Cascades and Sierras, mostly staying above 4,000 feet elevation to begin acclimatizing.
On the way down we stayed at Lake Tahoe a couple nights and began to see teasing scenes of that awesome water-flowing-over-granite scenery as we drove south from there. More scenery as we delivered our food drops to Tuolomne Meadows and Red Meadows – massive granite formations, deep valleys and huge, steep mountains!
The day before we caught the bus over to Yosemite Valley, we rented a car in Mammoth Lakes and then drove our car down to the Whitney Portal, west of Lone Pine, picking up a couple of hitchhikers, Adrianne and Darren, from Ashland, OR, who were commencing a 28-day High Sierra Trail adventure. We were stunned by the beautiful scenery with Mt. Whitney looming behind when we drove up to Whitney Portal.
Last minute anxiety
We took the shuttle from Mammoth Lakes to Reds Meadow store to leave our second food drop and, on the return, overheard a group of backpackers who had exited at Reds Meadow talking about how difficult Donohue Pass was – too much snow, one of them got altitude sickness, and they exited early. We worried some about altitude when Christi got a severe headache and nausea for a day or so (in retrospect, probably due to coffee withdrawal) and then worried some more waiting for the bus over to Yosemite from Mammoth Lakes when we met some other hikers returning to Tuolomne Meadows to retrieve their car following a very difficult hike (snow and altitude) from TM to Reds Meadow.
But these worries quickly evaporated when we began the bus ride over to Yosemite. We were like a couple of awestruck kids going to school for the first day, all excited about the adventure that awaited us and continually blown away by the views, deep blue skies and crystal clear weather.
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