Well, I am about as decompressed from my John Muir Route as I think I can get. Spoiler alert, I covered about half the mileage that I had identified as a potential itinerary, about 142 out of a possible 275, a total of 2 on the JMT, in the time I had allotted (3 weeks) but I would call it spectacularly successful as to this Part 1 of my Route. I have an early season snowstorm of new ideas in my head, and am more convinced than ever of the of the rich rewards waiting those who make the effort to plan and follow a John Muir Route. I learned a lot about the value of detachment from the metrics of any hike - mileage, elevation gain and losses, time, weight, calories, all of that - and immersion in the experience of the thing, what Thoreau called "the essential facts of life". I had - and spent - a lot of time debating with myself and my imagined companions - including some of you reading this - the various merits of the state of some of the side trails I took (fair to non-existent) distributing visits all around the wilderness vs, concentrating them all on a few main trails, "extraordinary opportunity for solitude" (5-6 days at a stretch), instantaneous satellite communications and much more. I'll be writing more about each of these over the next week or two.
Route was Glacier/Illilouette to Ottoway Lakes, Red Peak Pass to upper Merced drainages (3), Isberg Pass to Isberg Lakes and Granite Creek, Hemlock Crossing, Corral Meadow, Mammoth Trail to Grantie Stairway and DPP, back trails to Red's. Rainbow Falls/Middle San J to Fish Creek/Iva Bell, Minnow Creek to Lone INdian and Papoose, Goodale Pass to VVR, Bear Creek CUtoff to Bear Creek to JMT to Hilgard Branch, Lake Italy, Italy Pass and Pine Creek TH. 142 miles, 2 miles on the JMT. Part 2 Picks up at Pine Creek, PC Pass, French Canyon to Piute, Goddard Canyon and points south, to somehwere around Whitney.
Film at JMT FB page.
Last edited by saltydog; 08/25/17 08:19 PM.
