Waking up at my little sanctuary in the trees, all I could think of is "I'm so close to the end. So close to showers and real food and a soft mattress. So close to not being so darned cold in the morning. Could I finish today?" And so I got up and started walking. … Continue reading JMT 17 & 18: A Marathon Ending

Today was a good day. Long, hard, but everything seemed to be in my favor. My camp last night was at the base of Glen Pass, so with a 6:20am start, I was at the top by 7:40. Luckily I was warned by the Colorado folks that there was a plateau 1/2 way up that … Continue reading JMT Day 16: A Good Day

Yesterday I raced down Pinchot to escape the weather, which luckily kept to the heights until the night, when it showered all over my tent and clean socks.  My tent had rain drops that I was able to wipe away with the useless piece of material that was supposed to be my camp towel; the … Continue reading JMT Day 15: Weather-Wise

Mather was another tough one; chiseled out of the mountainside, it was steep and rough, and my highest yet at 12,100'. I ate lukewarm oatmeal at the top as a celebratory breakfast, then headed on down. Easy-peasy switchbacks on the far side, I felt like a character in a video game: go left, turn; go … Continue reading JMT Day 14: I’ll Take A Pass, Make That Two

This morning was very exciting! As I was awake at my usual 5am, I decided to have an early start to beat the sun as I was going to have a really tough climb in the afternoon. So by 6:30am I was motoring down the trail, lost in the peacefulness of the morning quiet when … Continue reading JMT Day 13: Stairway To ???

Me no love Passes so much no more. Can you see the trail? No, me neither. But I jump ahead of myself... I had a brilliant camp last night, spread out over a huge boulder flat with a nice sandy patch for my tent, water just far enough away the bugs couldn't find me and … Continue reading JMT Day 12: Muir Pass

Jo & Misty decided at Muir Trail Ranch that weren't going to finish the JMT; the only problem was how to get home. MTR is on the west side of the Sierras, and not close to anything, so it turned out the easiest (and most scenic) route for them was to do the 4-day hike … Continue reading JMT Day 11: And Then There Was One

A zero day! We will accomplish exactly zero miles on the JMT today and will be loving it! We slept in till 6:30am, had countless cups of fresh coffee and a large breakfast. Chatted with fellow resortees about their days' plans. Fussed with "Mabel", the old-fashioned washer and the wringer-thingy trying to get our laundry … Continue reading JMT Day 10: Day of Rest

Selden Pass, Pass #4!  Twas just a few hundred feet above Marie Lake and so most of our day was spent hiking down, down, then steeply down into Muir Trail Ranch.   2nd breakfast was spent at Heart Lake a quick breather at Sallie Keys Lake then lunch on the dusty trail overlooking the MTR … Continue reading JMT Day 9: Halfway!!!

It turns out that we were not alone in our aerie of a campsite. Another couple of JMT southbounders had camped just above us and had actually come down last night to share dessert with us (a Snickers bar) but we had already climbed into our tents to escape the dusk mosquitoes. Scott, of Scott … Continue reading JMT Day 8: Marie Lakes