obstacles

The Meadow Fire & the JMT

Published by Ray Rippel on February 22, 2016 8 Permalink

In September of 2014 nearly 5,000 acres were burned during what became known as the Meadow Fire. The park service believes it was started by a lightning strike.

The fire burned an extensive area north and south of the John Muir Trail, east and northeast of Little Yosemite Valley.

The map, below, is a compilation of data from a number of sources. The green, orange, and red areas represent increased levels of burn. The blue line shows the trail. Hikers who intend to begin their John Muir Trial hike from Happy Isles (far fewer this year due to changes in the way permits are issued) will likely encounter this stretch during day one or day two. Depending on your level of fitness and hiking speed, the location of the burned areas could present a challenge. Hikers who get a Happy Isles “Pass-Through” permit are prohibited from camping in Little Yosemite Valley. Instead, they will either have to camp just short of the affected area, where a reliable water source is unlikely to be found, camp within the burned area, which is likely to be unpleasant, or walk all the way through, which means more than ten miles the first day.

Fire is a natural part of the ecosystem, and much of the area that burned was full of dry, dense underbrush. The scar on the terrain from this fire will last well beyond the lifetime of anyone reading this post, but it could have been very much worse. For JMT hikers, this will be the first of two significant burned areas to walk through. The next will occur on the first day out of Red’s Meadow.

Good hiking, Ray

Filed under: Blog and Tagged: campsites, fire, obstacles

The Impact of the Meadow Fire

Published by Ray Rippel on March 31, 2015 6 Permalink

In September of last year nearly 5,000 acres were burned during what became known as the Meadow Fire. The park service believes it was started by a lightning strike.

The fire burned an extensive area north and south of the John Muir Trail, east and northeast of Little Yosemite Valley.

Filed under: Blog and Tagged: campsites, fire, obstacles

John Muir Trail Attitude Check

Published by Ray Rippel on October 14, 2014 11 Permalink

Morale is a fragile thing on the trail, particularly if the pack is a bit heavier than you expected, there are a few more ascents than you had really planned for, or you are carrying ten or eleven days of food on your back as you climb out of Muir Trail Ranch. It’s worth any effort to keep your mind right; don’t let a little discomfort mess with your head.

Here’s a self-test I like to use when I’m on the trail. I look up, find an airliner (there ALWAYS seems to be an airliner above you, somewhere, especially at night), and imagine someone sitting in first class with a stiff drink in his or her hand. Now, ask yourself this: would you trade places?

Happily, I can report that nine times out of ten my answer is, “No way!”

If you aren’t so sure, try to reconnect with what drove you to take on the trail in the first place, and recommit to finishing. If you do, and you succeed, you will have an experience far more memorable than any first class flight.

Good hiking, Ray

Filed under: Blog and Tagged: obstacles, psychology

The John Muir Trail – More than Just a Long Walk

Published by Ray Rippel on February 18, 2014 3 Permalink

There is no more significant turning point in a young person’s life than when they discover they can do something they were absolutely sure they could not do. A perfect example: thru-hiking the John Muir Trail. For that reason, I’d like to turn over the blog this week to Daniel Fogel of JMTAdventures.com, an outfit which provides a unique summer camp for teens.

The 211 miles of the John Muir Trail provide some of the most stunning scenery the United States has to offer. But ask anyone who has thru hiked the JMT, and they’ll tell you that they gained a lot more from their experience than a few pretty pictures of Half Dome and Mt. Whitney.

Thru hikes are as much a mental journey as they are a physical one. Living outdoors for two to three weeks is eye opening; it is the antithesis of the fast pace of modern day city life. Thru hiking is total freedom. There is no schedule, no calendar reminders, no appointments. You hike when you want to hike, you eat when you’re hungry, and you break whenever a particular scene strikes your fancy. It is the ultimate embrace of the present: time is no factor, and all that matters is the current moment.

Writers such as Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and John Muir himself waxed poetic about the solace that nature provides.

“I never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude,” wrote Thoreau.

The Yosemite section of the JMT is a zoo of tourists, but soon enough, you will discover the great companion Thoreau describes. The solitude of the trail offers an opportunity for self-reflection and discovery. And yet, somehow, JMT thru hikers also form a friendly and supportive social community. Through facing and overcoming adversity together, the trail builds friendships formed in days that can last a lifetime.

Hiking 211 miles builds character as well as friendships, and completing the JMT requires incredible resilience. By the time you summit Mt. Whitney, you will have the mindset that through perseverance and hard work, you can and will overcome any obstacle.

The adventure doesn’t end at Whitney Portal—the JMT fosters a love for the outdoors that will last well beyond the trail. And once you believe that you can overcome any challenge in your literal and metaphorical path, the whole world is at your fingertip

Daniel Fogel

Filed under: Blog and Tagged: John Muir Trail, kids, obstacles, people, psychology

Is It Time to Re-Think the Best Month to Hike the John Muir Trail?

Published by Ray Rippel on February 4, 2014 19 Permalink

The Rim Fire roils to the north. This photo was taken from near Nevada Fall, when the smoke was blowing northeast.

I have long been a proponent of late summer or early fall for a thru-hike of the John Muir Trial. After my last two successful hikes, I am close to changing that recommendation.

Starting in late August or early September has a lot to recommend it. Most kids are back in school by the latter part of August, and by Labor Day just about all of them are. The deep snow is long gone from the passes. With little snow at the highest elevations there is less water in the rivers and creeks, which makes the stream crossings far less problematic.

I happen to really enjoy two nights—with a rest day between—at Muir Trail Ranch. One- or two-night stays for a single or a small group are far easier to arrange later in the season.

Lastly, I hate mosquitoes. It’s unlikely that you’ll complete a JMT hike in September without seeing ANY of those little bloodsuckers, but you’ll see darned few.

That’s an awful lot of good reasons to hike late in the season. Here’s the one disadvantage: wildfires. During my last two thru-hikes I encountered the smoke from forest fires that came close to ending my trip.

The first occurred in 2009. Two days before I started making my way up to Nevada Fall, a “controlled” burn, near Foresta, became anything but. The forest service was supposed to burn ninety-one acres; by the time the fire was out it had burned roughly eighty times as much (nearly 7,500 acres). Continue reading →

Filed under: Blog and Tagged: fire, John Muir Trail, obstacles, safety

Will 2014 be the Year?

Published by Ray Rippel on December 31, 2013 19 Permalink

Welcome to the last day of the year. So, how did 2013 go?

What did you do in 2013 that you will remember twenty years later, in 2033?

Would you like to do something, next year, you’ll remember in 2034?

You know where this is going, right? Continue reading →

Filed under: Blog and Tagged: John Muir Trail, obstacles, psychology

Hiking the John Muir Trail in 2014? Here’s what you should be doing now.

Published by Ray Rippel on December 17, 2013 12 Permalink

If you’re planning to hike the John Muir Trail this year, you still have over six months before you begin (unless you intend to deal with lots of snow). Six months is not too early to start your planning. Here are ten things you can do, now.

1. Read about the trail. My recommendations would be, at a minimum, my planning guide and Elizabeth Wenk’s trail guide.

2. Settle on footwear. Are you going to wear boots, trail runners, or something else? Whatever you decide, you need to train in what you are going to wear on the hike.

3. Develop your training plan. This doesn’t need to complicated, but it needs to involve walking over uneven terrain (including as much uphill as possible) with a backpack.

4. Join the Yahoo John Muir Trail Group. There is no better source of current information on the trail. Continue reading →

Filed under: Blog and Tagged: books, John Muir Trail, obstacles, psychology

Success, and Lots of Lessons Learned

Published by Ray Rippel on October 2, 2013 25 Permalink

At about 7:20 a.m., on Thursday, September 12th, 2013, I walked the last few feet of the John Muir Trail and reached the summit of Mount Whitney. It was the end of a trip that began at Happy Isles.

It was cold & cloudy the morning I arrived at the summit of Mount Whitney, completing my thru-hike of the John Muir Trail.

Reaching the summit was a different experience than the first time. On that day, in September of 2009, it was sunny, clear and crowded. This year it was cloudy, cold (there was snow and ice on the trail), and at no time (while I was there) were there more than four people loitering about.

But it wasn’t just the last day that was different; the entire hike was. Over the next few months, interspersed with our normal John Muir Trail news and information, I’ll try to describe the lessons learned this time around.

It’s not hard to decide where to begin. This second thru-hike was tough—very tough—and I attribute my difficulty almost solely to one factor: pack weight.

Prior to this hike I was more than a little skeptical of the significance of pack weight. My skepticism had several sources.

First was my personal experience that the backpack, no matter how heavy it is, tends to “disappear” after a few days. It’s still heavy to lift, but modern backpacks are terrific at distributing the weight as you walk, whether they weigh twenty pounds, or forty.

Second, I was influenced by a number of other hikers who downplayed the value of low pack weight. I found many of their arguments persuasive.

I also did a poor job of planning and preparing for this hike. In the eight weeks before I began the hike a number of unscheduled and unforeseen distractions popped up, including a to-good-to-pass opportunity to buy a home near the Sierra Nevada, and an unexpected, week-long, business trip. I wasn’t as thorough and thoughtful as I should have been and I ended up paying the price.

The best evidence of that? The FIRST time I weighed my pack was when I exited the wilderness at Whitney Portal. I had no water in the pack, and for reasons I’ll explain later, I had no food, either. The pack weight: forty-three pounds, not including my boots and the clothes I wore.

So, how did an extra eighteen pounds make this hike different? Two ways.

First, I was slow—really slow, particularly uphill. I’m already a slow hiker, but with more than fifty pounds on my back (with food and water) my pace was glacial. The last stretch up my old nemesis, Glen Pass, was excruciating. Not only was my cadence like that of a funeral march, my stride was so short that my heel barely cleared the toe of my opposing foot.

It was occasionally even worse going downhill, especially where there were steps or rocks that made watching one’s step a must.

The other big difference was the effect on my legs. Two-and-a-half weeks after I’ve left the trail I can still feel the fatigue, wear, and tear during my morning walks. On the trail it meant less energy at campsites to explore.

So, what are the lessons I’ve learned? Next week I’ll discuss some of my poorer gear choices and offer some better alternatives.

Good hiking, Ray

Filed under: Blog and Tagged: gear, John Muir Trail, obstacles, psychology

Three Brutal Stretches on the John Muir Trail (Not Really)

Published by Ray Rippel on September 10, 2013 2 Permalink

Note: Because I am currently on the trail, the 
next two blog posts will be a bit shorter than 
usual. Also, none will reference current events; 
all will be written in early August. I’ll be back 
in mid-September with more stories from the trail!

There are three portions of the John Muir Trail any first-time thru-hiker will inevitably be warned about, often in hushed tones of foreboding. All three are steep sections, and I found that all three were far less difficult than I expected.

The hike into the backcountry from Happy Isles. Many folks complain about this first day of the hike, but I always find it to be no big deal. The trail is wide, well-marked, and passes Vernal and Nevada Falls—the largest two waterfalls you’ll see along the trail. If you are stopping at Little Yosemite Valley for the night, it also makes for a short day. Even if you are going past LYV and the trail to Cloud’s Rest, you are still walking fewer than ten miles. True, there are more than 4,500 feet of elevation you’ll need to climb that day, but you do it with fresh legs and a well-fed body. Don’t let this first day scare you and, when it’s over, don’t make the mistake of thinking that every day will be like this. You will be in much better shape before you are required to do this much climbing again.

The fifty-plus switchbacks up Bear Ridge. I’ll admit it; I was plenty intimidated by the reputation of this stretch, at least until I hiked it the first time. The key here is to head up early, when the trail is in the shade. Plus, we’re only talking 2,000 feet of elevation gain. When you reach the top, by the way, you’ll find the exertion was well worth it; the next few miles to Rosemarie Meadow are among the best of the whole trail.

The climb I found most challenging on the trail was this one, to the top of Mount Whitney.

The Golden Staircase. The Golden Staircase itself, while rugged, and certainly an impressive engineering feat, is nothing a fit hiker can’t handle. More significantly, it is only the last part of a 4,000 foot climb from Palisade Creek to Mather Pass, spread across eleven miles. This is going to be a tough day, but by then you’ll be far fitter than you were on day one. Slow and steady will get you to the top every time.

Interestingly enough, the one climb on the trail I almost never hear anyone mention, and that I found the most challenging, was the hike to the top of Mount Whitney! If you start your climb from Guitar Lake you will ascend nearly 3,000 feet in about four miles, all of it in thin air. The difference here, however, is that you have that shower, cheeseburger, and ice cream sundae pulling you towards Lone Pine. After two or three weeks on the trail, that’s a powerful incentive!

Good hiking, Ray

Filed under: Blog and Tagged: John Muir Trail, obstacles, passes, psychology

Is the John Muir Trail Too Crowded?

Published by Ray Rippel on August 27, 2013 3 Permalink

Note: I am currently on the trail. The next several blog posts will be a bit 
shorter than usual. Also, none of the next four posts will reference current 
events. All were written in early August. I’ll be back in mid-September with 
more stories from the trail!

You’ll spend many, many hours walking the John Muir Trail, and during almost all of those hours it will be as uncrowded as this.

Is the John Muir Trail too crowded? I think that’s a great question; here’s my answer.

I’ve spent most of my adult life being in charge of stuff, with admittedly mixed results. I know how hard it is to balance competing priorities, opposing interests, and conflicting policy. That’s why, even when I am tremendously frustrated with the way wilderness permits are issued or what is or is not permitted on the trail, I can’t help but have a HUGE dose of sympathy for those managers who must try to follow the law, while keeping as many of their customers as happy as possible.

I often find myself concluding that they are doing both a horrible job, and the best job possible, a conclusion as contradictory as the rules they are forced to follow.

One of the complaints I often hear is that the John Muir Trail is a “highway”; that it is so crowded that it ruins the wilderness experience. My experience has been far better. I think the various government agencies have it just about right.

One thing to remember is that “when” and “where” have a lot to do with how many people you are going to encounter. If you are walking between Happy Isles and Nevada Fall, over the Fourth of July weekend, you are unlikely to find solitude on the trail (even at midnight). That same hike on a Tuesday in October (if the trail is still open) will have a fraction of the hikers.

The same is true at the other end. The two miles between the intersection of the Whitney trail and the John Muir Trail, and the summit, are probably going to be congested. (As will the summit, unless you get up there early.)

What’s the rest of the trail like?

My experience, hiking in July, August and September, is that on a normal day you will pass about a dozen-to-a-dozen-and-a-half hikers, most coming the opposite direction. Some days will have more; some days will have fewer. The most I ever encountered was a large group (they identified themselves as Sierra Club members) in the Rush Creek drainage; they had about twenty. The fewest occurred during a long day going over Mather Pass. I saw ONE hiker coming the opposite direction, and ONE hiker about two miles ahead (I saw him from the top of the pass).

If you want to walk a couple of hundred miles and see almost no one, I recommend the Sierra High Route. If you want to meet a few marvelous people doing something they love, stick to the John Muir Trail. I think you’ll find that your fellow hikers will add, not detract, from the experience.

Good hiking, Ray

Filed under: Blog and Tagged: John Muir Trail, obstacles, passes, people, psychology

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