In the company of giants: John Muir Trail summary

Muriel and I wanted to really, truly unplug from our lives and hence decided to do the John Muir Trail - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Muir_Trail (at least 165 miles of the 212 total) in the Eastern Sierra mountains. Our section started in Mammoth Lakes, Ca and went south until Mt Whitney, which is the highest mountain in the continental United States. The trail is almost entirely above 8,000 feet and traversed 5 passes that are just about 12,000 feet.

Considered by many to be the premier hiking trail in the continental United States, the JMT hugs the Sierra Crest and alternates between high-altitude forest and above-timberline terrain. Eleven of California's thirteen 14,000-foot peaks are located on or near the trail, which crosses or passes near the headwaters of a more than a dozen major Sierra Nevada rivers.

http://trails.sierraclub.org/trails/default.aspx?name=john_muir_trail

The trip was amazing, we did the 165 miles in 10 full days of hiking and this was the hardest sustained physical challenge of my life. We worked so hard to get in the miles needed for our plans and say some of the most beautiful high mountains. We were blown away by the raw power and beauty of this country and blessed to be able to move fast and nimbly throughout. I think we ascended about 35,000 feet of elevation and descended about the same.

We are going to do a couple of posts, this one summarizing the trip and another with the best of pictures. The below is based off notes Mu took along the road.

Day 1

We got on the trail in Mammoth, from the Mammoth Pass trailhead. Since we left a wedding that morning north of Reno, it was quite a haul to get down to the trailhead. As a result, we got on the trail around 4 and hiked for a few hours before pulling into our first campsite of the trail around 7. It felt great to finally be on the trail, with the multitude of planning becoming a reality. Honestly, the act of getting on the trial trumpet the beauty this afternoon.

Day 2

Deer Creek to Squaw Lake

The continuous physicality of the trail becomes a reality pretty quick, with the 50+ pound backpack and such. Today was highlighted with a really pretty sunset at squaw lake, looking out across a large river basin. Overall: we we're super pooped from the first full day on the trail.

Day 3

Squaw Lake to Bear Creek

We went over a large pass (silver pass) first thing in the morning and were pleased that to get that completed and under our belt. In fact, the real challenge of the day was a different assent, about 2k of switchbacks in the forest and high country. Night fall found us at a lovely campsite, right by the river with delicious water and perfect light.

Day 4

Bear Creek to San Joaquim (aka the mud springs)

Today was our re-supply from the muir trail ranch, meaning we have covered 50 miles of our trek. The ranch is way in the back country, and very thankfully offers a service to backpackers with re-supply. There is also a mud springs bath, which we really appreciated to rejuvenate the muscles, especially the legs. Of course, we thought it was a rest day and hiked about 12 miles. Some rest day.

Day 5

San Joaquim to Darwin Creek

Another amazing campsite brought the end of a day moving steadily up first tributary of the Kings river. We crossed into Kings canyon National park in the morning and started the traverses over the high mountain passes and descents down into the river valleys. The campsite was Mu's favorite, as we had stunning vistas of evolution valley and privacy. Overall, today felt more mellow because we our packs were heavy from the re-supply and wanted to built our energy reserves for the next several days. Our intention is to hike around 80 miles over the next 4 days, traversing 5 really tall passes and through some of the biggest and baddest mountains in the US.

Day 6

Darwin Creek to Deer Meadows (21.5 miles)

We went over our first big, big pass, named for John Muir. This country was spectacular, jagged and rugged with many miles above treeline. Thankfully, the rain held off until we had gotten back into the cover of trees and did not let up for hours. We kept hiking, finding it better to be hiking as opposed to setting up camp while it is raining and getting everything wet. By the end of the day, we had hiked for over 12 hours, and were exhausted. Camp was right by a Kings creek, and was made right as night fall came. I slept like a baby, but it took awhile to get to sleep as my mind was churning about the exertion of the day and the plans for the upcoming days. Part of me wanted to get up in the middle of the night and keep the movement going. 

Day 7

Deer Meadow to Sawmill Junction (21.5 miles)

Today we charged, going over two passes about 12k high with a little late start due to my jury rigging of new shoelaces when mine broke. The first pass, called Mather and named for the first supervisor of the national park system, was rugged. We were in the company of 6 or so mountains that top out over 14k. Our 2^nd pass, Pinchot, was completed after a drizzly day and topped by a superhuman push from Mu that covered over 2 miles and the last 1200 feet of the pass in an hour. I could not keep up, but sure tried. This pass was different from the rest, as the mountains are metamorphic rock as opposed to the glacial granite that has been our world for the last 100 miles.

Day 8

Sawmill Junction to Bubbs Creek (16.5 miles)

This pass, called Glen, seemed like it would be easier but ended up being the hardest. Wr moved a bit slower than would be ideal and hence had a storm beating down on us as we summited the pass. The lakes on the north of the pass, called Rae Lakes, were really pretty but my mind was focused on the weather to be sure and keep us safe.

Day 9

Bubb's Creek to High Sierra Junction (17.5 miles)

Today was dominated by passage over Forrester Pass, which tops out at 13,200 feet. The pass was actually sort of easy, despite the altitude, as the trail was pretty even all the way to the top. This highlights the overall quality of the trail, which is in amazing shape from north to south, surely the best maintained trail in America. It was a great pass, as the summit comes and an amazing vista across Sequoia national park, with a bunch of lakes and several jagged mountain ridges. The alpine country is really stunning, and this is after days upon days of stunning, rugged country.

Day 10

High sierra junction to Alpine lake

A rest day for us, with time to dry out our stuff and enjoy the high country. We didn't even break camp until after 1 and it felt glorious. The hiking part of the day took us up to the high alpine basin of Mt Whitney, with an amazing sunset across alpine lakes and big ridges.

Day 11

Alpine lake to Whitney Portal

Today was the last day of our trip, with a last 3k climb up to the top of america. Mt whitney is 14,500 feet and it actually felt surprisingly easy after all of our acclimatization. Mu led us to the top of the mountain, charging up the hill. We ended up on top of Whitney around 8:30 and had a blissful fifteen minutes of peace and solitude before others came up to the summit area. I felt so peaceful, strong and happy to be at the top of the mt, looking out to the north across the many passes and high country that we had traversed over the the last several days. The sense of purpose included simplicity of purpose and shared accomplishment with Mu. It was also a HUGE relief to have her (and both of us) make it through the hike safely, considering her nasty ski accident only 15 weeks ago. We had 10 miles to go to the trailhead, and then hitching it up to Mammoth but it all felt great, doable and with a deep sense of simple, straightforward purpose.

More pics to come