Ever since I told Kevin about the JMT he's been my silent-then-vocal supporter of the trail. He went on-line a few days ago and bought 30 packs of Mountain Side backpacking meals, the kind we used to take along the AT. I didn't even ask him to do that.
"I'm looking forward to this as much as you are" he told me today, and is helping me plan this trip and go over all my gear. I got all the stuff from the AT days in the garage, but this time I'm going ultralight. I have to get all new stuff since my back isn't as strong as it once was. And as soon as school's out for summer I have to go through the garage, clean the damn thing, and get all the backpacking gear organized now that Kevin's back into our old hobby again.
It would be so cool if he could do this trip with me! He'd love the scenery.
He wants to do a mini-trip over Memorial Dayweekend in the White Mountains along the Blue River wilderness. That's a five-hour drive to the high ridge. It's also known for its bear and elk residents. But that's OK as I already bought a NPS-approved bear canister, which are required in Yosemite.
I went on-line and bought a Big Agnes Seedhouse SL one-man tent for $229 via Campmor.com. The tent weighs in at 2.14 pounds and offers a whopping 22 square feet of space. Most one-man tents offer 14-19 square feet at about the same weight.
Campmor.com out of Paramus, NJ is still my favorite "adult toy store for outfitters" as you can't beat their variety and prices, although I also discovered basegear.com out of Portland, OR that offers great stuff, too at very affordable prices.
Ironically the day before my JMT invite I ordered two dayhiking boots via sierratradingpost.com: the Columbia Coremic Ridge for a mere $39
($59 via Amazon.com!) and the Vasque Ranger Bungee Cord/Stormy sea boot for $59 ($99 at Amazon.com) Both arrived two days ago and I've worn both pair. Both are very breathable and comfortable, but I think I'm actually favoring the Columbias because they have a reinforced rubber toe. With the way I trip and fall those reinforced toes are a must for me. I'm tired of bruised and black toe nails!
I also bought a sleeping bag rated down to 32F: Mountain Hardwear UltraLamina 32 Sleeping Bag for $189 and 1.14 pounds. My Thermarest pad cost $124 but weighs a mere .9 ounces.
Darlene keeps sending me Facebook messages for great advice, most which I already follow. "Go on-line and join the JMT yahoo group, that place offers great advice!" she wrote me. So I did just that and read the posts on ultralight gear. Most people hike this alpine trail in trail runners. I need ankle support since I am a klutz.
Darlene sleeps in a bivy but I prefer a tent just for privacy. I'll be up with my headlamp writing in my travel journal. I also will take my Canon XS camera for those breathtaking landscape shots. This will mean added weight but it's one thing I'm unwilling to sacrifice. Who would want to hike the JMT and not have a decent camera with them!! Of course, the pics alone would keep me busy for weeks after the hike just editing and enhancing them for the web. That's a lot of work.
She also eats powder shakes for breakfast, straight out of a plastic bag. It's low weight but I doubt I could stand eating shakes for 3 meals a day.
"Keep your pack weight down to under 30 pounds" she says. I'd like to try 20 pounds, with the rest going for camera equipment. I've got some experimenting to do!
We are meeting in Yosemite on 13 July (our wedding anniversary!) and taking off at ohdarkthirty the next day with hiking permits in hand. I can't wait. Oooh. The only concern I have now is the rising cost of gasoline. It's already a $1 more than last year at this time. This weekend prices in town ranged from $1.78 to $1.83.
I'll start a separate blog for that hike. The trailhead is 900 miles from here, a long day drive if I were ambitious, but why drive through the eastern Sierra Nevadas at breakneck speed? I plan on stopping for four nights and taking my times. It's going to be an excuse to see Mono Lake finally. That place at sunset is a photographer's dream.
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