Yes, definitely a good friend to have!
He's loaning me his other SPOT for my southbound JMT, which I begin Aug. 19 or 20 (permit availability depending). I'm also going solo, but southbound.

What I want to know (changing subjects) is how did Carolyn come up with that nifty neck wrap-around to add to her hat? I need to do that, as I burn easily, and the high UV at altitude is unforgiving to anyone, let alone someone like me.

I hope Carolyn has a great hike. I think northbound is a bit more challenging at the beginning, since you have to start at altitude, rather than adjust to it gradually as you would coming from Yosemite. Starting from Horseshoe Meadows, however, is a stroke of genius.

CaT

If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them more than the miracle of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it.
- Lyndon Johnson, on signing the Wilderness Act into law (1964)