It's here. It's finally here. After months of planning, training, packing, gear purchasing, paring down, and stuffing more food than is reasonable into a bear can, the time has arrived. Tomorrow morning we'll depart LA for the Eastern Sierra Interagency Center in Lone Pine, where we will pick up the permit that we reserved for …
Category: Thru-Hike
Heavy(ish) pack = ultralight dreams
Above: My gear for the JMT in 2017, including the "maybe item" Petzl Glacier ice axe - 350g (will wait until the day before to decide based on trail reports). My Osprey Ariel 65 is off to the side at top right. My Kelty Cosmic Down 20-degree sleeping bag will go in a dry compression …
JMT training: a short saga (with pictures!)
I've been training like crazy for the JMT. This is mainly because I see this trail as having so many inherent hazards this year (e.g., snow on high passes, swollen creek crossings, mosquitoes by the bushel, to name a few), and I do not want my fitness (or lack thereof) to be added into this …
Continue reading JMT training: a short saga (with pictures!)
hiker derp writes a blog about the JMT!
I've never been able to stick with blogs before. Whether they are too specific to sustain my interest, or too broad to share pertinent thoughts, I haven't had much success in the past. But alas. I am trying again. Because this year, I am attempting to hike the John Muir Trail northbound, in July, in …
3 reasons why I am hiking the John Muir Trail (or, why type 2 fun is the best kind of fun)
Reason #1: "Fun" I ran cross country all four years of high school. In the summer, as soon as the conference rules allowed us to practice, we met five times a week at 7 in the morning for runs that ranged from short-distance speed training to long, grueling, sweaty Kentucky 12-milers. When I started I …