Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Section Day-Hiking The JMT?

I've had this in the works for a number of years and have decided that this is going to be the summer I focus on it.

I know about the Valley up to Tuolumne Meadows and then TM to Reds Meadows at the beginning and Onion Valley to the Portal on the other end, but what about all those long middle sections?

Richard, here is the link to the Yahoo group, Alot of info about it. Good luck, have fun, be safe.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/johnmuirtrail/

Richard,

I know you were talking about this yesterday but you know...my hearing. I do much better when I see things in writing.

So - is your question about resupply? And, if so, why? I didn't mess with resupply on my trips down the JMT including the one extended out the HST. I carried what I needed and blessed each bowel movement as a decrease in total weight.

The last thing I would have wanted would have been to disrupt the meditation of being in the wilderness with side trips out to civilization to buy burritos.

Equipment is so much lighter these days than it was in the 60s, and you're so much stronger than I ever was, I just don't see why you are sweating resupply. Unless the challenge of the logistics is part of the game.

It was great walking with you yesterday. See you again sometime.

Burt

Edison lake - resupply assist

I think that Richard wants to do the entire JMT as a series of day hikes. If I understand correctly, he would not be carrying a tent, sleeping bag, bear cannister, etc. So, while I agree that Richard could contemplate a traditional thru-hike without resupply, that is not what is under discussion here.

You're looking at a few very long days in the Muir Pass/Mather Pass section

Alan, thanks for the clarification.

Or, in the immortal words of Rosanne Rosannadanna: "Never mind."

BW

Dang Alan, I was hoping you'd put the schedule up for me.

Thanks for info guys.

I did find this book for a few bucks: "Day & Section Hikes Along the John Muir Trail."

Thanks for the Monday-morning laugh! I haven't heard THAT in a long time!

Hi Rosie so the leaving weight didn't hit you funny ? Spending the day with Burt was a gift , he is very strong , has an easy gait and I think could do high miles any day he wanted to , but his one line quips are priceless. He had spotted a flower none of us knew the name of , but he said it had several common names and most missed the real name, after the hike he took the time to search out the flower in one of the books and share a photo and the name with us. I had found one of the scrubs in bloom and made referene to the white flower , Kevin did suggest yes it was a white flower but it was dead, maybe from last year , you learn alot when you get older! Doug

Cool Richard,
As we've discussed in the past, I'd like to "experience" the JMT in the same way.
Let's talk about some dates and logistics.
Here's my estimated sections and estimated miles.
Start TH (End TH) (Miles)
1 Whitney Portal (Onion Valley) (45)
2 Onion Valley (Taboose) (40)
3 Taboose (South Lake) (44)
4 South Lake (Florence Lake) (42)
5 Florence Lake (Lake Edison) (28)
6 Lake Edison (Red Meadow) (31)
7 Red Meadow (Tuolumne Meadow) (37)
8 Tuolumne Meadow (Happy Isles) (26)
Total (293)
Cheers,
Rick Graham

Richard,

If you're aiming to do it on weekends then Rick's list of sections is probably good (and brutal!) Most of the extra 70 miles (vs. the straight shot of 220) is uphill (both ways).

The other issue with those sections is the shuttle hassle. Getting to and from the west side section breaks is an awful lot of driving- Florence and Edison lakes are a LONG drive.

How much do you hate sleeping on the ground? To break those 45 mile sections into overnighters all you need (over a day-hike kit) for comfortable bivy is pad, sleeping bag, and some sort of shelter (bivy sack or tarp). That can all be had for well under 4 pounds.

I had done a lot of little sections in my youth, but just did the whole trail in 2008. The issue with section hiking is the transit from trailhead to JMT at each end, and the acclimation to altitude and sleeping outdoors.

If I were doing it again I'd repeat my 2008 N-S direction and resupply stops: Tuolumne, Red's, Muir Trail Ranch. The northern half has plenty of resupply options and lower elevation, letting you start with less pack weight and a slower pace. The southern half (from Muir Trail Ranch) makes sense as a straight shot.

But of course that won't work as weekends- I took 15 days and you would probably need what.. Like 5 days?

Rick,
Is the direction you hike an issue? I think the north to south is a better hike.

thing is, even if you section hike the trail, one major aspect of it is pretty much to be out there for an extended period of time. All the trips I didn't completely hike the trail fade in memory, while I recall the big complete runs very well.

the JMT isn't really a physical challenge compared to climbing Whitney. It's a state of mind and a big part of it is the fact that you are way out there. There's no feeling like camping next to the Muir Hut looking at the satellites careening across the sky and the planes zipping by headed for San Fran, filled with busy people on some redeye flight heading home. Meanwhile, you are about as far away from a paved road as you can get in that part of the country. It's recharge the batteries time for me up there. You don't get that when you turn the trip into 7 power day hikes.

That's cool Fishmonger
But I'm weird and get a kick out of re-charging my batteries in a slight different way

I count 8 day hikes...

And it looks as if i know what the worst of it feels like already.

Rick, I was thinking of doing one every three-day weekend I have this summer, but can work around your schedule. You should know by now that I don't really plan anything.

BTW, my definition of a day-hike/climb is one continuous push. It may take me 26 hours, or 42 hours, to get that day hike done. (see if we can't start this arguement again, too)

Can o' worms -- and it's Richard's fault for starting it.

I'll go for the previous can o' worms -- day hiking versus backpacking. My comment is that I don't care how someone wants to enjoy the great outdoors. Richard and Rick have undoubtedly been exposed to every argument for why it is better to take a multi-day trip, as opposed to a series of dayhikes. I think they're going to do it their way. A discussion of the logistics seems like good, clean fun.

One interesting challenge is how to handle the situation where one trailhead is on one side of the Sierra and the other trailhead is on the other side. Rick -- how dou plan to approach that issue?

Key swap.....now I just need to learn how to ride Richard's dirtbike

hmm - why go to the other side? if he is ready to hike 46 hours straight, he can easily keep his entry/exit on one side. 46 hours hiking is equal to the moving time we put in over 6 days last year, so 90+ miles are in the cards and that clearly is beyond what normal mortals would call a day hike ;-)

Heck, if he just pushes that hour limit to 101 hours 5 mins, he can just do the whole thing as a "day hike"

To be honest - if I was local and didn't have to add a lot of travel time to each Sierra visit, I'd probably be thinking up similar short term adventures.

Richard, hope to meet you on the MR in a few weeks. done the JMT nine times now, so if you have any questions, I might be able to help.

Bob