On the JMT to Devils Postpile

August 20, 2011

So far my experience with bears in the last few days has proven to me the Bearikade was a great idea. It fits great sideways in my Osprey Aura 65 and has proven itself to withstand the efforts of two sets of bears.  It also made a great seat while cooking.  I was more thrilled with the can than my pack.  By this point I have discovered the limitations of this light backpack’s shoulder straps and was cursing their stiffness.  Lucky for me I found a pair of brand new thick synthetic backpacking socks in my camp left there by the previous camper.  After short consideration I chose to cut the bottoms off and use the tubes to pad my shoulder straps.  It paid off, my comfort was greatly increased.  Other than that the pack had so far proven itself to be easy to organize and fit my gear perfectly.  I have also discovered I love the Honeyville powdered eggs. 

Due to the mystery illness I have been suffering from for the last two years, I was determined never to get stuck hiking in the heat. If I could avoid this, I could complete the trip without numb feet and dizziness. After a breakfast at 4:30 am of powdered eggs, grits and coffee I hit the trail about 5:15. I already discovered if you want to have some alone time on the trail the best time to hike was early in the AM, most didn’t seem to leave their camps until about 9 or 10. Sometimes adversity turns into a blessing, it forces you to do things differently.

It was on to Devils Postpile to meet up with Irene who was resupplying me and actually going to hike the next leg to Eddison Lake VVR with me as her first backpacking trip.

A Question of Sanity

My husband thinks I’m nuts and maybe I am. I am demyelinating so I have a great excuse, although I have never heard of demyelination causing mental illness. I want to hike the John Muir Trail this summer, all 220 miles of it (Yosemite to Mt. Whitney). I’ve done many extended backpack trips including a 2 week 14er trip in the Rockies and many 3-5 day trips, so what’s the big deal? I’ve got several months of vacation time saved up its time to start using it. I’ve thought this out and if I don’t do it now it won’t happen later. I have reached the point in my life where I recognize putting things off just means they usually don’t happen.
We did a 3 days section of this trip last summer and I’ve done two other sections over the last few years when climbing half dome and Mt. Whitney. The section we did last summer was an eye opener. It was a section not done by those who want to get to a destination like half dome or Whitney. Because of this, most of the people on this section of trail were through hikers doing the JMT . The people we met and stories could fill a book. It was awesome…. Almost as awesome as the views. The hike itself is a lure and the people who choose to do it are equally interesting.