|
Post by Coolkat on Mar 15, 2017 12:34:52 GMT -8
I did my best to find another thread on the JMT to use but none of the ones I found seemed exactly right. Anyway...
The last couple of years I've had a friend who lives not far from the JMT suggest that he'd like to do it but wants me to come along. However, at my speed (slower) I know it'd probably take me at least 3 weeks and then add travel time on either side and you have almost 4 weeks. There is no way I can take 4 of my 6 weeks of vacation to hike the JMT without getting a divorce. However, I think I might be able to do 2 weeks.
So.... if you could only hike 100 +/- a few miles which would it be? This won't happen this year. It will either be 2018 or 2019. So there is lots of time to think and plan this. But I know there are several people here who have hiked this trail and I would like your input.
I'm also wondering if I'll need a bigger pack. Right now I can easily get away with 8 or 9 days without resupply in my REI Flash 65. However, I think bear canisters are required on the JMT and since I've never hiked with one I don't know how much space it'll take up in my pack. I can't imagine those things being space efficient.
Thanks!
|
|
zeke
Trail Wise!
Peekaboo slot 2023
Posts: 9,893
|
Post by zeke on Mar 15, 2017 13:24:00 GMT -8
Me? I'd go in from Bishop and walk to Whitney. You have choices to start. Piute Pass, Lamarck Col, or Bishop Pass. I'd not choose Piute Pass, as it leads you too far North before ending up in Evolution Valley, instead of on top near Evolution Lake. I also would not choose to go over Bishop Pass, as then You'd miss Muir Pass, and the Muir hut at that pass. Going up over Lamarck Col would plant you right at Evolution Lake, once you hit the JMT, and would be at mile 121. Whitney Portal is mile 223. Difficulty with crossing the Col is it is 13K and would most likely be day 2, with 1 night spent near Upper Lamarck Lake. Not much time to acclimate. Still, this route, IMO, takes you to the best stuff, and the fastest route to get there. Lamarck Col is accessed from Bishop, Ca and the North Lake parking lot.
I camped at Upper Lamarck Lake, then in Darwin Basin, before hitting Evolution Lake. Night 3 was at Wanda lake. Your mileage may be more than mine. I'm old.
This route also gives you the option to bail at Kearsarge, about mile 177. No bail routes access easy ways back to the car. Hitch hiking is your best bet. People are friendly towards hikers, for the most part.
I used a ULA Circuit, 65L, pack the last time. Had plenty of room for 1 BV500. I own 2, and would gladly loan you one. I'll ship it to you. You ship it back, along with a check to pay me for my postage. I know why I own 2, but I will never use 2 again. If you like it, maybe we could arrange a used BV sale.
link
|
|
|
Post by Coolkat on Mar 15, 2017 18:19:09 GMT -8
Hey zeke, I really appreciate this. Like I said I have time to plan and think about this and not knowing any of the area this is great help in getting me started. I've never been at what I call real elevation and that is my other worry so having a place to bail out is a good thing. Somewhere in my library of books I have a book that I purchased years ago about hiking the JMT that I'll dig out cross reference with the info that you've provided. When the time comes I'll probably take you up on your offer of the used BV500 and if you're thinking you still might wanna sell at the time that is fine with me. I'm glad to hear that I probably won't have to get a new pack. I've had this pack for probably 6 or 7 years and I really like it. However, after my last trip and seeing the big shoulder strap bust on my partner's pack I'm gonna go over it with a fine tooth comb as by then I'm sure it'll spend a few more miles on the trail. Now that this thread has been started I know I'll have a place to come back and reference this. I'm gonna send my friend your thoughts and where to start and get out.
|
|
toejam
Trail Wise!
Hiking to raise awareness
Posts: 1,795
|
Post by toejam on Mar 16, 2017 3:59:28 GMT -8
I think an ideal short version would be Red's Meadow to Kearsarge Pass with a night spent at Muir Trail Ranch - hits most of the good stuff without the insanity of Yosemite and Mt. Whitney.
I hiked the JMT with a Flash 65. I started at Whitney Portal and it weighed 47# on the scale there. I still had a bunch of food left at Muir Trail Ranch 10 days later. It was almost a week before all my food fit in my BV500. I'm sure you'll be smarter than that.
I started my Sierra hike last year going over Lamarck Col - that's not a friendly way to start a long hike with a heavy pack. It would be better to start on easy trail, and I'd hate for anybody to miss Evolution Valley.
|
|
|
Post by Coolkat on Mar 16, 2017 4:36:54 GMT -8
I think an ideal short version would be Red's Meadow to Kearsarge Pass with a night spent at Muir Trail Ranch Thanks toejam I will be looking at everyone's thoughts on this and make a decision from there. I'm glad to hear that you were able to do the trail with a Flash 65. Interesting that you make a comment about fitting all your food in. That is one of my worries. I would like to do this without resupply if I can. I'm sure I could do it without a bear canister but with??? Time will tell. I'm also hoping that since this would be only 1/2 of the JMT maybe getting permits will be easier.
|
|
zeke
Trail Wise!
Peekaboo slot 2023
Posts: 9,893
|
Post by zeke on Mar 16, 2017 6:03:09 GMT -8
Permits are issued based off the entry point. They have nothing to do with how much of the trail you hike. Exits are considered, so not exiting Whitney Portal or through Yosemite might help.
|
|
rebeccad
Trail Wise!
Writing like a maniac
Posts: 12,708
|
Post by rebeccad on Mar 16, 2017 8:28:15 GMT -8
I'm sure I could do it without a bear canister but with??? One advantage of doing the Lamarck Col entrance (which I admit is a gnarly climb, but manageable) is that the first couple of nights are outside the areas where bear cans are required. So if necessary, you can plan to hang at Upper Lamarck Lake (that's definitely doable), or use an Ursack for the overflow so you can stow it somewhere reasonable in Darwin Canyon. By the time you reach the areas with legal restrictions, you should be able to fit the food in the bear can. I'll be watching this thread. In 2018 or 2019 we will be looking at constructing a longish-trail hike, putting together the best parts of the JMT with as many alternative routes and off-trail routes as we can handle, to stay away from the crowds and enjoy the best scenery. So I'm also gleaning ideas
|
|
|
Post by hikerchick395 on Mar 16, 2017 8:47:48 GMT -8
If you got a permit for the JMT trail to do the entire trail, exit permits for Mount Whitney are not required (unless rules changed this year,) but for any other entrance point, an exit permit is needed. New this year, Donohue Pass (exit of Yosemite National Park) permits are required. And other regulations may come into effect by the time you go on your hike. Keep informed.
And permit acquisitions from other entry points than Yosemite, including Tuolumne, and Mount Whitney should be slightly easier to obtain.
|
|
zeke
Trail Wise!
Peekaboo slot 2023
Posts: 9,893
|
Post by zeke on Mar 16, 2017 8:49:47 GMT -8
BTW, with proper planning and food selection, I can get 7 days worth of food in my BV500. Food only, not all smellables. By the time you reach Muir Pass, all of your food should fit. One more reason to get the canister of choice a month or so early and practice cramming it full. It is 11 Liters, so if you can live on rice and tuna packets, maybe 14 days, if the rice is just poured into the canister with no ziplock.
|
|
|
Post by Coolkat on Mar 16, 2017 9:07:34 GMT -8
One more reason to get the canister of choice a month or so early and practice cramming it full. If my hike comes to fruition that is exactly what I plan on doing. I don't like surprises. By the time you reach the areas with legal restrictions, you should be able to fit the food in the bear can. This is beginning to sound like an issue that more than one person has had to work around.
|
|
zeke
Trail Wise!
Peekaboo slot 2023
Posts: 9,893
|
Post by zeke on Mar 16, 2017 11:31:23 GMT -8
This is beginning to sound like an issue that more than one person has had to work around. And why I own 2 canisters. I used to carry a 100L pack that would hold 2 at once, horizontally. Not all that fun.
|
|
|
Post by Coolkat on Mar 16, 2017 11:53:09 GMT -8
I have an old 85L pack but I have no interest in filling it up and carrying it around. If you another people can do it with a 65L that is my plan.
|
|
|
Post by vanderloo on Mar 25, 2017 6:12:53 GMT -8
|
|
|
Post by hikerchick395 on Mar 25, 2017 8:56:50 GMT -8
I made one, like the one vanderloo shows above, before our last JMT hike
|
|
|
Post by Coolkat on Mar 28, 2017 7:47:45 GMT -8
For what it's worth, there's always this to enable carrying a bear canister outside your pack and saving tons of room- I made one, like the one vanderloo shows above, before our last JMT hike The first time I read this suggestion I thought it was a great idea. But now that I've had some time to think about it. I'm not so sure. It seems to me that having 20lbs worth of food (10 days worth) hanging off the back of the backpack would be rather awkward and hard on the shoulders. No?? Maybe I'm wrong here. Just asking because normally I like to keep the heavy stuff high and close to my back.
|
|