Tag: John Muir Trail

JMT, Day 3: Up, Down, Up, Down and on to Guitar Lake

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Rock Creek Crossing to Guitar Lake, 11,500′, 11.8 miles

I slept in my sleeping bag liner last night. I stayed warm and managed to get some much-needed sleep. We are up and moving by 6:15 am and do well with packing up quickly, that is until the park ranger stationed nearby comes to chat with us. Of course, we can’t help ourselves and spend a good half-hour talking to her. It’s now 8:30 by the time we hit the trail. We pass several other camping spots on our way done to Rock Creek that would have been more private, but then we probably would not have seen the deer or met Susan and the nice guys from Team Alabama. (more…)

JMT, Day 2: Up and Over New Army Pass

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Lake Two>Rock Creek Crossing, 12.0 miles

It’s a little chilly overnight, and I do not get a solid night’s sleep. I have my watch alarm set for 6:00 am, but it doesn’t go off, or at least we don’t hear it. The sun rises and begins to warm up the tent, and, after finally falling into a deep sleep, I wake up because it is too hot. I am playing possum in my sleeping bag when I hear a distinct drip! drip! drip! sound inside the tent. We are camped close to water, and, with the warmth of the sun, all of the condensation on the tent fly is beading up, and it is actually raining inside the tent. Uh oh, time to get up! (more…)

JMT, Day 1: Setting Off with a Surprise!

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4-hour Drive from Lee Vining to Cottonwood Meadows
Cottonwood Meadows>Lake Two, 6 miles

Our shuttle driver, Lone Pine Kurt, arrives at the Lake View Lodge at 8:00 am. I arranged a ride with him via email back in March when I learned that the Eastern Sierra Transit Authority buses don’t run on weekends/holidays. Just our luck, right? (more…)

JMT, Day 0: Lots and Lots of Logistics

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It is July 3, and tomorrow we set off on our biggest backpacking trip ever, the John Muir Trail! We are both excited and nervous to get going. But, before we can step foot on the trail, we have so many last minute details we need to take care of. I know we shouldn’t complain—nobody ever said it would be easy to walk in the woods for 270 miles for over 3 weeks. If that’s the price of slipping away from real life for a while, it’s definitely worth the hassle. (more…)