Grandeur and Grit on the JMT (Pt.4)

“The mountains are calling and I must go.” 
        —John Muir

After sixteen days on the trail, we landed at the Mammoth Mountain Inn with sincere need of a rest day. We hadn’t planned on taking any Zero Days—we were going to hike twenty-one days straight through—but it was clear that we could use one now. So we extended our stay to two nights, giving us 24 hours to relax and nurse sore feet and knees. But during that layover reprieve, we had to make a decision: We could either jump back on the trail… or call it quits. Three-quarters of the journey had now been achieved and both of us were headstrong to see it through to the end. But 55 miles remained to Yosemite Valley—and our feet had to get us there. In this way, everything hinged on what we could recoup from a Zero Day.

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This iconic landmark, named Woolly, greeted us in the morning. It’s a short stroll from the Mammoth Mountain Inn, across the road from the main ski lodge. Today was deemed a rest day, mandatory sandals-only dress code.          

We took the bus downtown, where we stopped at a drug store to replenish a few first aid items. Even more important, we swung by an outdoor sports shop to grab some things that would, very hopefully, resolve my foot problems.  

This is the way to start lunch at Gomez's Tequileria. Ole! We finalized our game strategy here. Yes, we are going for it; jumping back on the trail tomorrow—but with a modified plan.     

AUGUST 2nd—
Enjoyed a relaxing day. We slept in until 7:00, and then had breakfast with a view of Mammoth Mountain out the window. No rushing about. Later we took the bus into town for some shopping. I picked up a pair of lightweight hiking socks at Kittredge Sports, which I’m hoping will solve my “hot feet” troubles. Also, Trail Boss recommended I purchase this stuff called BodyGlide; she says triathlon competitors use it to prevent skin chafing and blisters. At this point, I’ll try anything that might help. We'll be back on the trail tomorrow, resolved to continuing on, but with an altered plan. In their current state, my toes would not survive the humongous descent (over 5,000 feet!) into Yosemite Valley on the final day of the trip—add to that, Trail Boss is concerned about her knee. Therefore, to assure that our three-week trek doesn’t disintegrate into a death march, we’ve decided to stop short at Tuolumne Meadows. This reduces the distance to 32 miles, which seems very doable in the four days remaining. 

There’s a flurry of activity tonight in our room, stripping down our food supply in the bear cans from five days to four. The lighter, the better. And speaking of lighter: I have lost two inches around the waistline and my pants keep falling down. I figure I’m down at least 12 pounds, probably more. Trail Boss has lost some too. This is it: The last segment of the adventure will soon begin.

Day 18: Terry wears her bug headgear to fend off mosquitoes along the Shadow Creek Trail.
We had caught the 7:30 shuttle down to Agnew Meadows and were hiking soon after. This
trail will take us five miles up to rejoin the JMT. 

Shadow Lake beckons as the perfect lunch spot, with sunny rocks sloping down to the water’s edge. I have stopped here many times over the years. It never ceases to enchant.

Garnet Lake sparkles in the late-afternoon sun. The backdrop was dazzling and we
immediately started looking for a campsite—which is slim pickin’s here. Soaring above the
lake is the impressive Banner Peak (12,950 ft), and beyond Banner at left is the equally
impressive Mount Ritter (13,100 ft). I’ve climbed both of these peaks (Banner twice): High
Sierra mountaineering at its finest. And as for boldness, the first ascent of Ritter was done
solo by none other than John Muir... in 1872. Dude.    

We eventually found a spot to pitch the tent, a small bench high above the lake. Ter had warned that it didn’t look very level. But I was tired of looking: The few sites on this side of the lake were already taken, and I had no energy or patience for traipsing all the way around to the other side of the lake. As it turned out… my wife was right. Our site was beyond awful. I got stuck with the downhill side of the tent, and all night long, she kept rolling down and sleeping half on top of me. It was one of those miserable nights where you wake up in the morning with little sleep and ask your spouse how they slept, and they reply “Oh, not bad.”     

Sundown on Garnet Lake. Okay, our tent site sucked. But the view of the lake was sublime.

AUGUST 3rd—
We put in 10 miles today and—according to Trail Bossypants—I'm grumpy. We’re camped at Garnet Lake, which is absolutely gorgeous. Both of us went for a dip. Though my body feels a little weary, the feet did well today. Maybe that BodyGlide stuff is doing the trick? The lighter socks seem to be helping as well. Keeping my fingers crossed.

We got a late start on the morning of Day 19, heading out around eight o’clock. Today’s objective was to cross over Island Pass.  

“Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.”  
        —John Muir

Alpine shooting stars adorn the shore of Thousand Island Lake. We stopped here to pump water and gobble up some badly-needed carbs.

Ter traverses the rolling terrain at Island Pass (10,200 ft). Of all the passes we have crossed,
this one is the lowest and, by far, the most non-descript. We’re not even sure exactly where
we crossed it. Nor do I know how it got the name. Even so, it still made for a picturesque
afternoon hike.  

AUGUST 4th—
Trail Boss is a genius. She really is. The BodyGlide is working better than I ever imagined it could. If I would’ve had this stuff from the start, I could've avoided all these blisters. We logged about seven miles today, crossing Island Pass in the afternoon. Easy day. Lots of cloud build-up, but no thundershowers. Our camp tonight is near Rush Creek at around 10,000 feet. Donohue Pass—the final pass—is two miles further up the valley, which we will tackle in the morning. 

I wonder where Walt & Taylor are tonight? It’s been seven days since we saw them last. And Catherine? Haven’t seen her in eight days. It was sort of cool bumping into them from time to time, sharing the adventure. But since we haven’t run into them for many days now, I doubt we will again.  

Small alpine tarns lace the approach to Donohue Pass on the morning of Day 20. It was an
easy, thousand-foot climb and we blitzed it—demonstrating, once again, that we are strong 
on the ascents. 

Hamming it up on Donohue Pass (11,100 ft) at the boundary marker of Yosemite National Park. The pass was named in 1895 by Lieutenant N.F. McClure of the Army’s 9th Cavalry Regiment. McClure had been tasked with patrolling the new Yosemite NP (the Park Service had yet to be formed), to where he also charted and named prominent features. He named Donohue Pass after a sergeant in his detachment. Also of note: The 9th Regiment was one of the Buffalo Soldier units formed after the Civil War—which means that Sergeant Donohue was most certainly African-American. This would be our twelfth and final pass of the journey. From here it was all downhill to Tuolumne Meadows.

From Donohue Pass, Ter looks down into Lyell Canyon, which is our direction of travel. According to my map, it’s fourteen miles from the pass to the Tuolumne Meadows Grill. To some of these gnarly ultra-light hikers we’ve come across, this would be a piece of cake. But not for us. Our plan is to get fairly close to T-Meadows and find a nice spot to camp. 

The Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River ambles through the lush meadows of Lyell Canyon. 

The hike along here was exquisite and scenic.  

“I have crossed the Range of Light, surely the brightest and best of all the Lord has built.”      —John Muir

We pitch camp in a secluded spot among boulders, where we set up the kitchen nearby overlooking a vast meadow. It was starting to sink in that this would be our last night in the wilderness. 

Deer graze in the meadow while we eat dinner.  

Last camp on the Lyell Fork.  

AUGUST 5th—
This is the last night on the trail. NPS regulations restrict backpackers from camping any closer than 4 miles from T-Meadows, and that’s about where we are. We’ll be up at zero-dark-thirty in the morning, huffing it to the finish line. As for tonight, we polished off the whiskey. Fun times. Trail Boss even got a tad frisky. But then the sun went down in a hurry and the temperature dropped like a rock and that was the end of that, boy. It’s a New Moon tonight. The Milky Way is amazing; billions of stars; the face of God; the soft murmur of the river flowing by; the croak of a frog. John Muir once explained: "When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe." Yes, everything is connected; you can really sense it out here in the wilderness. But I ramble. Has it really been three weeks since we started this journey? It seems so long ago, yet in a way, just like yesterday. Or the day before. Is it Tuesday? Time holds no measurement here. Without a doubt, this has been an incredible adventure, and I know Trail Boss feels the same way. But tomorrow, when the trek is officially over, my feet will be very happy.  

Day 21: The alarm sounded at four-thirty and we were pounding down the trail by six o’clock. The temperature was well below freezing; frost cloaked the meadow grass; fingers went numb. But we were moving fast and kept warm in that fashion. Our objective was to be at the Tuolumne Meadows Grill when they opened for breakfast at eight o’clock. 

The early-morning sun glints off the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River. We must be getting
close to civilization, because we can smell bacon and sausage frying on a griddle 
somewhere. The T-Meadows campground is just up ahead.   

EUREKA! We arrive at the Tuolumne Meadows Grill at 7:45. It’s time for a big honkin’ breakfast. 

So this is it. The end of the line. We felt no regrets for cutting off the final 23 miles into Yosemite Valley—not sure my toes would’ve survived that big descent. After breakfast, we lounged at the tables in front of the store and chatted with other backpackers who were waiting for the YART bus. It arrived promptly at ten o’clock to take us down to the Valley where our car was parked. And just like that, our epic adventure was over.  

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Interview with a Backpacker
Here’s a rundown of the most Frequently Asked Questions that friends have inquired about since our return. If I’ve missed any, please let me know.  


#1 - How many miles did you hike?
We covered 196 miles in twenty hiking days, for a total elevation gain of 35,800 feet and a loss of 37,300 feet. The toughest section was Day 4 through Day 8 (51 miles), where we crossed over five big passes in five days. Though it was only one-quarter the total distance of the hike, it had a full third of all the elevation gains and losses.

#2 - What was the biggest challenge?
The first big challenge was getting all our ducks in a row before the trip: Securing a wilderness permit six months in advance; planning out the trek’s day-to-day itinerary; coordinating food resupply drops, dates, etc. There’s a lot of moving parts on the front end. The second challenge came during the first half of the trip when we had to make up lost miles over the JMT’s most difficult section (see FAQ #1), otherwise we’d forfeit our reservation at Muir Trail Camp. The thought of losing out on that rustic cabin, fine food and hot shower was too much to bear. We hiked our butts off. 

#3 - Which pass was the most difficult?
For us, I feel the toughest pass was Mather. We started up the last set of steep switchbacks around noon; it was hot; we had already hiked six miles. It was also our fifth big pass in as many days, which probably added to the difficulty factor. From other hikers’ blogs, Glen and Forester are singled out as the monster passes that kick butts. We had no issues climbing either of them—though both had lonnng descents on the other side.

#4 - Any significant problems?
Terry’s right knee was feeling the strain on the big descents in the first half of the trip, especially on Day 8 after tackling the five passes in five days. I battled overheating feet and blisters the first half of the trip, which led to some bruised toes for the second half. My worst day was Day 16, a painful hike into Red’s Meadow. I’ve never had such dreadful foot problems—then again, I’ve never backpacked twenty days in a stretch before. Ter and I had the same boot (Vasque Breeze III), yet by Day 11, I had nine blisters and she had only one. And though my feet were beginning to heal on the second half of the hike—especially after picking up the BodyGlide in Mammoth—three bruised toes would torment me on the steep descents to the very end. Beyond that, we were strong on the climbs to the passes; equipment functioned well; the resupply logistics went down without a hitch. It was all good.

#5 - How much did your pack weigh?
The base weight of my pack was 26 pounds; Terry’s was 19 pounds. Add six days of food and two liters of water apiece, our packs weighed 43 and 32 pounds respectively. Our loads would fluctuate between these numbers, depending on where we were in the resupply cycle and how much water we were carrying at the time.

#6 - Did you bring something that you wouldn’t bring next time?
Terry brought a backpacking shower bag. I think she used it once, but I never did. There was never much leisure time to fill it with water and set it on a sunny rock for a few hours until it was hot.

#7 - What didn’t you bring that you wish you would've brought?

For me, BodyGlide and lightweight hiking socks. If I would've had those things from the start, I would not have had all those blister problems. For Terry, it would be hand cream and lightweight trekking gloves. After a week or more at high altitude, she was plagued with extremely dry hands and cracked fingertips.     

#8 - What was the best thing in your pack?

Whiskey. I brought 750ml of Jameson’s Black Barrel Select Reserve, which weighed two pounds but worth every ounce. It worked out to about 1½ shots per person each evening, making for a nice treat. It lasted nine days. However, our resupply bucket at Muir Trail Ranch included another 750ml for the second half of the trip. Don’t hit the trail without it, we say.

#9 - What did you eat?

Breakfast meals consisted of oatmeal; granola cereal with powered milk; protein bars. We also brought a few freeze-dried eggs & sausage meals, which we wrapped in tortillas and added Del Taco hot sauce packets. Lunches and snacks consisted of various nuts and dried fruit; energy bars; Snickers and M&M Peanuts; peanut butter & jelly on bagels; Tuna and Chicken pouches, to which we added packets of mayonnaise and hot sauce and ate with crackers or tortillas. Dinners were a variety of Mountain House freeze-dried meals. It all worked out to 3.2 pounds of food per day, which was for both of us, or around 6,000 calories per day. This may sound like a lot of calories, but I alone was burning 5,000+ per day on the trail. Except for our gorging at Muir Trail Ranch and Zero Day in Mammoth, we were in a calorie deficit for the entire journey, burning way more fuel than we consumed each day. I lost sixteen pounds by the end of the trip. Terry lost eight. 

#10 - Did you get cold?
Not really. The nighttime temperatures reached freezing maybe three times, and during the day it ranged from pleasant to hot. We didn’t bring a lot of clothing (about four pounds each), so after dinner, if it got too cold, we crawled into our sleeping bags. And we only had one stormy afternoon where we had to don rain gear.

#11 - Did you run into other people?
Ha! The JMT is one of the most coveted trails to hike these days, and due to the high demand and quota restrictions, there’s only a 10-15 percent chance of snagging the preferred southbound permit for July-August—which is why we hiked it northbound, because, for some reason, most people decline to do it in this direction. We probably saw thirty people throughout each day, give or take, the majority traveling southbound. Nevertheless most nights, we could usually find a campsite that was fairly private or outright secluded. There’s a lot of country up there. 

#12 - Is the trail easy to follow without getting lost? 
Umm. If in doubt, ask for directions from one of the many hikers you pass. Or look at your topo map and orientate yourself. We had one incident on the ascent to Muir Pass, where a lady hiking along with us was convinced we were on the wrong trail. I assured her we were on track. Even the fact that I’d hiked this stretch many years ago held no merit with her. She was ready to turn back at Helen Lake when we chanced upon some hikers coming down the trail, who verified that the pass was up around the corner, not far away. I’ve also read blogs that complain of not enough signage at trail forks, and that sometimes people go the wrong way. Again, look at your topo map and orientate yourself once in a while. We felt that the trail signs were there when you needed them. More would be overkill, not to mention take away from the adventure.

#13 - What did you bring in case of an emergency?
Whiskey and a first aid kit. There’s a plethora of emergency communication devices and services out there to choose from, depending on how much $$$ you wish to invest, but we went the old-fashioned route. 

#14 - Did you see any rangers?

Yep. There are backcountry ranger stations along the JMT in Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon Nat’l Parks, located roughly ten miles apart. A ranger is assigned to each one all season and has satellite radio contact with the outside world in an emergency. We bumped into Ranger Laura Pilewski on Day 1, and her husband, Rob, on Day 2. Wonderful people. Laura was at Rock Creek Ranger Station and Rob was stationed nine miles north at Crabtree Meadows. I asked Rob how they managed to maneuver assignments so close together. He smiled and said “Twenty years of seniority has its perks.” In the winter, they man the Tuolumne Meadows Ranger Station together. One disappointment of the trip was not being able to meet Dario Malengo, who was stationed at McClure Meadows. The guy is a legend: 71 years old and still on patrol. Backcountry rangers have been called “the backbone of the NPS,” and for good reason. They’re the boots on the ground. For a good read, check out The Last Season by Eric Blehm.   

#15 - Did you have problems with bears?
No bear problems, but a near miss. I almost hit one on the drive into Yosemite Valley to drop the car off before starting the hike. It jumped right out in front of us, did not look both ways before crossing the road. There are warning signs at certain places that read “Speed Kills Bears”. At first I thought maybe there was a crystal meth epidemic raging in the bear community. But then a ranger told us that, this year alone, nine of them (as of July) had been killed by cars, and that the signs are located where they cross the road and get hit. So watch your speed, people. As for bears in the backcountry, we saw not one. Nada. Oh, they’re around—we talked to one thru-hiker who saw two—but they seem to be keeping a low profile. Now that the use of bear canisters is required (and strictly enforced), the wily Ursus Americanus has learned that it’s futile to raid backpacker camps for food. 

#16 - What was your favorite section along the trail?
The entire journey was incredibly beautiful. But if I had to choose a favorite part, I would say the Bighorn Plateau and Forester Pass area. I adore the alpine zone for its stark beauty. Terry really liked the Bullfrog/Kearsarge Lakes area, which was very scenic as well. Also stunning were the Rae Lakes; Evolution Basin; the lakes around Banner Peak and Mt. Ritter; the meadows in Lyell Canyon. It’s all very gorgeous. 

#17 - What was the most enjoyable part of the trip?

Skinny-dipping with Trail Boss. And drinking whiskey. Preferably at the same time. :-)

#18 - Knowing what you know now, what would you do differently?
I would plan a Zero Day at Muir Trail Ranch. It’s the halfway point on the JMT and we could’ve used it. I would also consider hiking in the low-top trail runners that half the thru-hikers were using.