My China backpacking - Documentary film

Methinks the guy who claimed he killed 1,500 Japanese with his knife was pulling your leg.

Some very nice scenery.

Oh thanks a lot Tigger, i do appreciate that!

- Lame beaver... he might have pulled my leg on that one. Considering we had some pretty brutal language barriers some minor facts might have been lost in translation.

Hard to believe how much has changed since my husband and I went to school in Beijing and rode the trains everywhere we could, but even though it feels recent to me, next year will be thirty years since I left there

Very well done documentary. You have a lot of talent.

The John Muir Trail is a very pleasant walk for those who are fit and experienced in spending many nights outside in what ever Mom Nature serves up. It is a wilderness experience even if there are many others along with you hoping for the same.

To get to be fully immersed take a month to take side trips and places away from the main path. There are many intersecting trails that take you to other beautiful places. Enjoy the beauty since you have spent an inordinate amount of energy and quite a few days of your life planning and implementing it.

A theme to your documentary could be the people who are on the trail. I prefer the south to north direction even if it starts with the most brutal part of the trail when you are least acclimated, have the heaviest pack of the trip and at about 14,500' followed by a few days at near 11,000' and the highest pass along the length of the trip - Forester Pass at 13,200'. Best to do this at middle of August. Coming from the north, you would have all the advantages of being probably near the peak of your fitness and well acclimated for the final few miles up Mt Whitney. You will meet the relatively few who are within a few miles of you on the trip. Coming from the south, you would see all who are on the trail.

The JMT is probably, and deservedly, the most documented and photographed 211 miles in the US - if not the world.

Another trail in the same area is the High Sierra Trail from Sequoia NP's Crescent Valley to the top of Mt Whitney - in around 6-10 days. So many places to go in the Sierra and Rocky Mountains - so little time.

For shorter sierra trip, try the section from Mammoth Lakes to Tuolumne Meadows.  Rather than just hike the trail, take a few days extra food and explore around for a bit.