"God never made an ugly landscape. All that sun shines on is beautiful, so long as it is wild."

-John Muir

John Muir was a Scottish environmentalist, and one of the founding members (and first president) of the Sierra Club (think hippies with beards trying to protect the outdoors from modern day development). It's a shame John Muir died shortly before the 211 mile trail was actually completed. Now, hundreds of people make the trek every year, usually between June and September. We are stepping foot onto this legendary path on August 4th. For 12 days we'll be drinking out of streams, dining on dehydrated food, and sleeping under the stars...yes, we DO consider that a vacation! :) 

The trail is 211 miles, stretching from Yosemite Valley to the summit of Mt. Whitney. But once you reach the Whitney summit, you still have to get down. By the end, most hikers will have walked 223 miles over the most scenic passes and through the most glorious Valleys of the Sierra Nevadas.

The logistics of planning a hike this long are somewhat of a nightmare right at the beginning. There is so much information all over the web, some true, some false, some mere opinions. Here are some basic things to consider: 

1. Decide When To Go.

The hiking season generally runs from late June (for those not afraid of crossing some snow packs), all the way through September (for those not afraid of early snow surprises and colder night temps). The snow usually melts off by July...but then come the mosquitoes (typically referred to as mozzies in backpacker language), which can be a total joykill. Unfortunately bugs go hand in hand with wildflower season, so if you want to see that, stock up on deet, be willing to wear a bug net over your head, or plan on not stopping by lakes or slow moving creeks (where they tend to be the worst). Usually by August the swarms of mozzies have died off, the creeks are more passable, and the temps are perfect. 

2. Decide How Long To Go For. 

In a perfect world, we all have summers off (just like kids). Unfortunately, most of us have those annoying job-things with those boss-things that wont accept "I was just frolicking in the woods for 5 weeks" as an acceptable excuse for missing work (if they did, I would be on the PCT right now, and not blogging). Your work schedule very well could be dictating the When and How Long of your JMT adventure. Because we only have 2 weeks off work, we are opting for a 12 day trail itinerary, with a few days beforehand to get acclimated, and a few days after to recover (Yes, this means an average of 20 miles a day. Yes, we are training NOW).

3. Get a permit. 

Got a date? Now it's time for a permit. Permits are always granted from the place where you start the hike. If going South Bound (SOBO), then Yosemite (with the desirable trailhead being Happy Isle/Sunrise Passthrough--Half Dome permit optional). If going North Bound (NOBO), then Inyo National Forest. We are going SOBO (most people do). Count backwards from your desired start date 24 weeks and thats the first day you can reserve it. Permits are relatively cheap, ($5/person + $5 transaction fee from Yosemite). Here's a handy calculated calendar to help, Here's the application, And Here's the instructions for applying. Can I just rant for a minute about the nightmarishly archaic permit system at Yosemite? Calling doesn't work--my phone stopped counting the number of outgoing calls at 200. I still didn't get through. So, we opted for the fax option. Basically, in the morning when a ranger gets there he "randomly" pulls an application out of the piles of faxes that poured in overnight and you hope he picks yours...and thats how the 6 open spots from Happy Isles are assigned. Kind of a crapshoot. And no, you can't fax in a bunch of applications to have a better chance, they'll probably get mad and toss them all and still charge you. We did it for several nights in a row before we got ours. We found it best to use an online fax system like FaxZero (and its free!). There's always the walk up option if you have flexibility in case you don't get one for a few days (this option makes other things difficult, like resupply, planning shuttle rides, etc). Good Luck...

Now we can start the fun part of planning: tentative trail itinerary, food resupply, and most importantly: GEAR SELECTING!

   
     Never been backpacking but want to get into it the right way? Been backpacking a couple times but hated it ‘cause your pack was so heavy and uncomfortable? Or maybe you’ve been backpacking a long time and have just come to accept the pain. Then on your last trip you saw someone deep in the back country with what you thought was a day-pack. Do you want to know how that was possible? Well, let me introduce you to benefits of ULTRALIGHT BACKPACKING!

      I don’t know all the rules of backpacking, but I’m pretty sure there aren’t any that prohibit being more comfortable, hiking faster, going farther, being safer, or having more fun. These are just five of the advantages Ultralight backpacking has over “Traditional” backpacking! 

     The first and most obvious reason for carrying less weight, is that it’s more comfortable. Traditional packs typically weigh between 30-45 pounds— sometimes much more! That typically represents base weights (carried gear without food, water, or fuel) in the 25-40 pound range, plus food, water and fuel for a particular trip. Ultralight hikers typically have base weights at, or bellow, 10 pounds.* With the proper food selection and water sourcing, you could be on the trail for several days carrying much less than 15 pounds for the majority of your trip! I’m not sure how else to convince you if this isn’t enough, but I’ll try…

     If your pack is smaller and more comfortable, you’ll be able to hike faster. Hiking faster means going farther, and therefore seeing more. Imagine covering so much more ground that you get to see as much in one trip, as you would in two or three previously. Sounding better?

     But, you might say, “It’s unsafe not to take all my gear.” I beg to differ! Your single greatest asset while backpacking is your mind. Being mentally flexible and prepared will go a long way towards having a safe Ultralight backpacking trip. That means a lot of different things, which I will unpack in later posts. For now, all I can say is that knowledge of basic first aid, and how the gear you do carry can be used to address emergency situations, will be adequate enough to address at least 75% of the emergency situations you might encounter. For the small percentage requiring more than that, well now you only have 10 pounds to carry or split up when you or someone in your group is dehydrated, injured, sick, or otherwise too impaired to exit the wilderness safely. 

     The last advantage follows directly from the others: being more comfortable, seeing more, and being safer all add up to having more fun! We all love the outdoors and want to spend time there because… well, it is fun…

...Getting there as an Ultralight backpacker is just more fun!

*There are other designations such as “Super Ultralight” that are used to designate even lower base weights but the general principle is the same. All that needs to be said is, always be aiming lower and call it whatever you want!


Convinced about the awesomeness that is Ultralight Backpacking?! Now you're ready to become LITEminded! If you've got the mindset down, then its time to thing SYSTEMatically. Or maybe you're ready for "The Big Three." (Coming soon!)