St. Patty's Day!

March 18, 2011

Well, I didn’t really want to start writing about alcohol on the trail so early in my blog, but… with St. Patty’s Day having been just yesterday, I thought I would.

There are many hikers and backpackers who don’t think alcohol is necessary in the backcountry and that all it does is add to your base weight, and… you’re right. However, if you enjoy the occasional drink with your dinner, then you might be willing to add a bit to your base weight. Also, I have found that usually the first night on the trail I don’t always sleep well and sometimes having a drink with dinner helps. Personally, when I first started carrying alcohol on backpack trips, I would bring wine in a wine platy (most often red, because it didn’t need to be chilled). 

However, after camp had been set up and dinner made, I felt so tired that I would have only 1, maybe 2 glasses. Ultimately, I found a lot of the wine I packed in was not consumed and just became this extra weight that I carried around… what a drag (literally and figuratively).

Recently, if I decide to backpack with alcohol, I have ditched the wine (which was sad, because I really do like wine), and have replaced it with rum (scotch for Aaron). Small plastic flasks are available at most liquor stores and are fairly light weight. To pair with the rum, I pack in a few powdered juice packets, and violà! Cocktail hour! This has worked out much better for me, mainly because it is lighter weight and does not go bad.

For the JMT, we have been debating whether to pack alcohol or not. For the first half of the trip we will be able to re-supply about every 2-3 days, which will keep our weight down, so packing alcohol is a possibility. However, for the second half of the trail (106 miles), we will be unable to re-supply, so I’m not so sure about adding the extra weight of alcohol, considering that we will be carrying about 6-7 days of food (about 12-14 lbs.). Decisions, decisions…

Red Tape

March 15, 2011

I love San Diego. I’m hanging outside in the sunshine trying to get a little tan on my pasty white legs and enjoying a small breeze. On days like this I feel very fortunate to live where I do considering that back in Ohio the winters can be so brutal. AND to top it all off, today due to daylight savings, the sun doesn’t set until about 7 pm – can life get any better? All I need now is a beer…

 Anyway, I wanted to write a little bit about permits and the JMT, as this is one of the very first things you need to think about when planning to do this long hike. There is only one permit that you need to obtain in order to hike the entire trail (even though you are going through multiple parks). 60% of the permits are reserve-able starting 24 weeks (148 days) before the planned first day of your trip (the other 40% are available as walk-up permits). I’m sure that some people would be fine showing up early the day before their hike to obtain a walk-up permit, but I didn’t want to leave anything to chance, so I set about getting a reservation for a wilderness permit. The reservation for a wilderness permit can be faxed with your top three choices for start dates and starting and ending points. I did this twice stating 3 different starting trailheads, each time with the start date of either August 23, 2011 or August 24, 2011, and was rejected twice! What?!

*Don’t panic…*

Aaron also faxed in a reservation for a wilderness permit, and what do you know, he was awarded our top choice in terms of starting trailheads. So, officially we will be starting at the Happy Isles trailhead (the traditional starting point) on August 24 and exiting at Whitney Portal on September 11. We are planning to take 19 days to hike the entire JMT (about 17, 13 mile days with 2 zero days - kind of slow, we know, but we want to enjoy ourselves).

The other permit to keep in mind is the permit to hike up Half Dome in Yosemite. 

  People climbing the cables to the top of Half Dome.

Currently, you need a permit (that costs about $1.50/person) seven days a week to hike up Half Dome, whereas I heard a little while ago you only needed a permit if you planned to hike up on weekends. This permit can be obtained a few months in advance, so the first day that I can try to reserve this will be April 1^st, so I will cross that bridge when I come to it.

Also, we will need to look into where we can stay in both Lone Pine and Yosemite before and after the trip.  Our current plan is to drive to Lone Pine and stay overnight at the Lone Pine Comfort Inn on August 22^nd. This place is pretty nice, and we have stayed here before when we did some backpacking in the high Sierras in Inyo National Forest. I even called them to see if we could leave a car there while we hike the JMT, and they said yes as long as we stay at least one night. Hello hot showers! Not a problem. The next day we will take public transportation to Yosemite (which I still have to figure out – bus routes, times, tickets, etc.), and then collect our now reserved permits in Yosemite’s wilderness office (which will be available for pickup until 10am the first day of the hike). At Yosemite we will camp overnight in “tent city.” This is a campground available for backpackers the day before and after your hike – and no need to worry about reservations here – as long as you’re hiking out the next day, not a problem. Then on the 24^th, we begin our hike! I’m so excited!

Here are some links I found useful when getting the reservation for wilderness permit stuff all set up:

complete guide to the JMT 

wilderness permits

trailhead availability (in Yosemite)

trailhead information (in Yosemite)

faxabe reservation for wilderness permit form

Now, I have to go see about that beer…

Newbie

March 14, 2011
I have been encouraged  (mainly by my boyfriend, Aaron) to write a blog for quite some time, so I have finally taken the leap and started one. This blog will be mainly about an upcoming adventure that Aaron and I are planning: hiking the John Muir Trail (JMT). The JMT - for those who don't already know - is a 211 mile (or 215, or 218, or 220 mile trail), depending on the map being used.

If hiking southbound, one starts at the Happy Isles trailhead in Yosemite National Park, walks through the Ansel Adams Wilderness, the John Muir Wilderness, Kings Canyon National Park, and finally Sequoia National Park before ending at the top of Mt. Whitney (the highest point in the lower 48). I have heard that this is considered one of the finest long hiking trails in the US, and is the jewel of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), a trail which runs about 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada.

I was introduced to the PCT (and the JMT) by Aaron, who has long had a fascination with this trail and would really love to thru-hike it at some point in his life. I also love backpacking and adventures, and would consider myself lucky to go with him on such a long trail journey. The plan is to see if we can hack a 211 mile thru-hike, and then tentatively plan to thru-hike the PCT sometime in the future. I will try to write about planning and preparing for our JMT hike, and will try to enlist Aaron's help concerning specific gear and trail food, as he is more knowledgeable in these areas.

Also, I'd like to write about some of the fun opportunities and day trips I enjoy that usually end up making the rest of my week. The gem that I would like to leave you with is a recommendation for the Stone Brewery and Bistro in Escondido, California. Aaron and I have been twice, and both times were wonderful. They offer a superb beer (and wine) list, free brewery tours (with free beer at the end), and some of the most delicious food you'll probably ever have in San Diego County, period. Oh yeah, also they have an outdoor patio area with two fire pits, and one acre of beautifully landscaped garden complete with walking paths, picnic tables and chairs where you can hang out and easily pass an entire afternoon.
Check it out! Stone Brewery and Bistro