Hike the John Muir Trail

hiked much of it, need to finish

I’m taking on the AT first here on my home coast and then would like to take on the JMT

I hiked the entire JMT, from Yosemite Valley to Whitney Portal, taking 25 days, in August/September of 2007. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

I was 48 years old, and I hiked solo. The hike was both harder and more beautiful than I imagined. But soooo worth it.

Temperatures ranged from the 80s in the day to as cold as 27 degrees at night, although most of the time while hiking the temperatures were in the 60s and 70s: near perfect weather. There were a couple days of rain, although it would clear up by nightfall.

Two main points of advice: keep your pack as light as possible and take as many days as possible. Even at 25 days I felt I was being rushed. There are so many, many places of absolute perfect beauty, that it is always a shame that you can’t stay as long as you would like, but instead have to get back on the trail. No matter how good a hiker you think you are, if you plan to hike the whole trail, give yourself more days than you think you need.

If you are there to savor the beauty and awesomeness, and not just trying for some athletic feat of endurance and speed, anything less than 3 weeks and you will be short changing yourself big time. If you only have two weeks, just do a section.

Thru-hiking the JMT is without a doubt one of the greatest recreational opportunities in the world. The trail is a national treasure. Its worth cannot be over-estimated.

It’s an addicting place – once you go you’ll want to do it every year.

http://www.calipidder.com/blog/2007/08/john-muir-trail.html

I would like to hike this trail (or part of it) in the next couple of years.

I’m planning to tackle the JMT this summer (probably beginning first week in Sept) and I’m looking for a hiking companion.

It’s a bit like dating right? -finding that right person who matches your pace, who you can rely on and whom you just sort of enjoy being around -appreciating good conversation as much as you do quiet time. I know that the trail is going to be trying at times so I want to support the best experience possible for me, and whomever I’m traveling with.

A little about me. This is my first JMT hike. I’m 32 and figure I should do this now why I can and while I’m in good shape to handle it. I’m comfortable with long endurance runs/hikes and I would say that hike slightly faster than whatever the average hiker does. I’m pretty thin, so I’ve started lifting weights to help in building upper body strength for when the big one comes.

As for conversation, you might want to know that I live in San Francisco, my politics are not surprisingly liberal, I’m gay, open-minded and nice. I’m disarming, generally mellow, and thoughtful, sometimes impulsive and not much of a whiner. I do research at UCSF and make movies, own a dog, but I don’t own a car (which is something of bonus if you do, since that whole JMT drop-off/pick-up is still being worked out on my end).

things Im concerned about re the JMT: altitude sickness, dehydration (I tend to drink lots of water), being damn cold and being in a constant state of semi-hunger.

So I’m putting it out there to fellow Nor Calians. I would love to hear from any interested follks, chat, hear your plans, see if we seem compatible then go on a primer hike or two in the next 6 months leading to the biggie. if interested you can respond here or email me at travisdmathews@gmail.com

take care
Travis

You know, the one on California

and dont worry too much about having to carry 10 days worth of food…you can do it. i was nervous about it as well.

I have hiked two portions of the JMT but want to do another section this year. Can anyone tell me what the route is like from Thousand Island Lake to Bishop Pass is like and how long they think it would take me. Also, If I don’t want to hike that far is there another cutoff spot to leave the trail if I was heading south from Thousand Island Lake.

the plan is in june…should i train?