Thru-Hiking the John Muir Trail (Part one)
Nice bears, lots of people, and our first resupply | Days 1-4
Day one - 8 miles
People always ask us if we are scared of bears in the backcountry. The short answer is no. The long answer is that many things are scarier than bears on trail, including people. Although we didn’t bring bear spray to start our hike in Yosemite (because it’s heavy LOL), we learned that bear spray is actually banned in the park. When we asked the ranger why, he explained, not sarcastically, that the bears in Yosemite are “nice” and people will use bear spray on them unnecessarily if they allow it. I’m not sure if we buy that story, but it was an interesting take, nonetheless. That being said, we actually never saw a bear on the JMT, which, as an ecologist, I was honestly kind of bummed about. We did, however, see and meet a lot of people on trail, which the rangers don’t warn you about. Thankfully, these worries were never justified during our journey.
This particular ranger worked at the Lyell Canyon permit station, which we reached by bus that morning. The bus system to begin the JMT is a little complicated and takes some pre-planning. We had to transfer busses twice, once in Bishop and once in Mammoth Lakes, to eventually end up in Tuolumne Meadows of Yosemite National Park. This place was a backpacker’s paradise. The bus dropped us off at the general store/post office, where 50+ thru-hikers from the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and JMT were hanging out. Everyone seemed to be in a great mood, probably because they just picked up their resupply packages from the post office and were able to take advantage of luxury food items from the general store, including ice cream and beer. It was hard to imagine that we would soon become one of them, excited by the smallest conveniences.
One thing you must understand for this story is that we didn’t technically start at the “true start” of the JMT, which is the Happy Isles terminus. We started from Lyell Canyon, which southbound (SOBO), is actually 20 miles into the JMT proper. Essentially, permits from Lyell Canyon are less competitive and easier to get than from Happy Isles, so we applied for both and ended up with Lyell Canyon. This is why we were seeing JMT hikers who had likely been on trail for 2-4 days now at our starting point, along with PCT hikers who have already been on trail for 3+ months. They started their trek in the desert on the Mexican border and were hiking all the way to Canada. For them, the JMT is the first part of their journey where they reach mountains, and the two trails overlap for almost the whole portion of the JMT. They are a whole different kind of crazy.
We were actually supposed to start our thru-hike the next day, but when we got to the permit station, the ranger said we could start today for ten extra dollars. This was kind of a relief because the backpacker camp we were planning to stay at before starting the trail the next morning was apparently still closed due to COVID. The ranger read us what felt like a book of rules, told us about the nice bears of Yosemite, and sent us on our way with Wag Bags, which we were supposed to use for a ~20-mile section approaching Mt. Whitney. Now, you are probably wondering what a Wag Bag is, and in simple terms, it is a bag you poop in so you can carry out your poop and dispose of it off-trail. Unfortunately, around Mt. Whitney, there is too much foot traffic and too many people not following the proper rules for burying their poop, so they have outlawed pooping on the trail for that portion of the thru-hike. Nick and I were both determined to not have to use that bag during our journey.
After much anticipation, it was finally time for us to begin. As we hiked toward the starting point, we saw all kinds of wildlife, including ducks with ducklings, deer, and our first marmot. Tuolumne Meadows is easily one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen, still to this day. The best way I can describe it is, serene. The meadow is a perfectly green valley with winding rivers that come from the glacial waters of the mountains surrounding you. There are endless waterfalls, wildflowers, and…mosquitos. The mosquitos were relentless. From day one, these bloodsuckers prevented us from enjoying our breaks during the day and immediately chased us into our tent in the evening. They would come at us in swarms, and I was so relieved that I decided to bring a bug face net with me. Nick ended up buying one for himself halfway through our trip.
Since we didn’t start until about 1PM, we only hiked 8 miles this first day. Our goal from then on out was to hike 12-14 miles per day. We found a good enough place to pitch our tent and ditched our bear cans full of our food and toiletries. I fell asleep almost immediately.
Day two - 11 miles
Today was a big day. We took on our first mountain pass, something we would have to accomplish nine more times during our journey. Essentially, a mountain pass is a part of the trail that is the best path to cross through a range or over a mountain ridge. Donahue Pass is the first one southbound JMT hikers have to complete at an elevation of 11,000 feet. As we were approaching the base of the pass, we came upon an eerie scene. The first thing we saw were two tents, still up in the middle of the afternoon, which were clearly abandoned. Zippers were left open, food was still in the pots, and all their gear was spread about. Then, 15 feet behind them, we saw another tent, with clear rustling going on inside. We approached it and asked if they were ok, and three heads popped out to greet us. There, we met Amy, Lauren, and Steve, who were also southbound JMT hikers. They informed us that 10 minutes before we arrived, there was a hailstorm, and they had to pitch their tent to hunker down and wait out the storm. Nick and I were very relieved that we just missed that. Unfortunately, they didn’t know anything about the abandoned tents next to them, so we made a mental note to inform the ranger at the top of Donahue Pass, who we heard checks permits there often.
Of their group, Amy was ready to take on the pass, so she joined Nick and me for the rest of the day. The three of us trekked up the relentless mountain that was Donahue Pass and suffered some light snowing in the process. The pass itself was still covered in snow on our ascending side, so we essentially had to carve our own path to the top. We learned that Amy is close to our age and is from LA, but is planning to move to Japan soon to teach English. We so much enjoyed the company of our new friend, as one of our goals for this journey was to make friends along the way. The top of the pass was surprisingly calm (and no ranger in sight), so we lunched there and descended with Amy down the other side. As we are doing this, many northbound PCT hikers were passing us from the opposite way. Honestly, way more than we expected to see. We started counting them and lost count around 70 in a single day. We split from Amy after finishing the descent and said our farewells, but we were fairly certain we would eventually see each other again.
We trekked on to Thousand Island Lake, which I believe is my favorite spot on the JMT. It didn’t take me long to realize how the lake got its name. Scattered throughout the middle of the water, there are countless tiny, rock islands that I’m sure you could take days and days exploring. And all of this is overlooked by the prominent Banner Peak, which sits at an elevation of 12,900ft. We had the opportunity to camp there for the night and watched the sunset over the mountains that we were to call home for the next 15 days.
We had finished our first pass, a feat that felt so good to accomplish. It was definitely hard with the snow, but not bad enough to require snow spikes or ice axes (which was good because we didn’t bring those). Looking back, Donahue is one of the easier passes SOBO on the trail by far. Though, I think the excitement makes it a little easier. At the beginning of the trail, you aren’t as calorie depleted yet, and the high of starting the JMT still hasn’t worn off either. I learned quickly that bad mentality is more powerful than poor physicality on trail, especially over the passes.
Day three - 12 miles
We woke up to an empty fuel tank in the morning, which was a real bummer for our breakfast. But, we knew we just had to make it to our next resupply at Red’s Meadow the next day. This day was hard, and I wanted to quit around mile ten. It was a brutal amount of downhill as we descended into the next valley. If you’re a seasoned hiker, you know very well that long downhills are way worse than uphills. Uphills are hard on your muscles and makes them burn, but downhill stresses your joints and tendons. It’s just painful, especially with a 30-pound pack. To make it worse, we were constantly hopping over downed trees during this section because a storm recently came through. And these weren’t just any trees, they were HUGE Redwood trees that we had to climb over with our packs.
Mile ten of this day was the first time I cried on trail, and certainly not the last. I think I cried at least once every day after that. The trail challenges every single one of your physical and mental abilities. I had been training, physically, for this hike for months, but mentally, I didn’t know what I was getting into. However, I truly believe that no amount of training could have prepared me for it. Every time I physically struggled, I would convince myself that I couldn’t do it. This is still my biggest flaw as a hiker and backpacker to this day, and it makes it hard for Nick as well. It doesn’t help when the scenery is “boring” too. And on this particular day, that played a huge factor. Not that Redwood forests aren’t pretty, because they are, but I wanted to see mountains. Isn’t that what the JMT is about? I realize now that I took those nice, shaded, pass-less days through the forests for granted.
As we were ending our day around twelve miles, we came upon the camp of the CCC maintenance crew who maintains the whole trail. And before I forget, I want to thank them so graciously for doing such a good job maintaining our trail. Without them, the JMT wouldn’t exist how it does today. If you ever see them working on trail, make sure to thank them as you pass by. We decided to camp near them because we figured it was a good spot, and it was. The JMT is very desolate, and we had not had cell service for the past three days. And honestly, I wasn’t craving being on my phone except for talking to my family. I was constantly paranoid that something would go wrong back home, and I wouldn’t know until the next time I had service, whenever that would be. What if someone was in the hospital? What if someone was in a car crash? Horrible, horrible thoughts… but ones that haunted me every single day on trail. I assume they had similar worries about me as well, which I feel bad about. These anxious thoughts are the reason I will carry a satellite phone on the next thru-hike I do. We had enough service here to actually call our families to tell them how we were doing and catch up. Of course, I told them about all the fun I was having and all the beautiful things we’d seen and people we’d met…but I failed to mention the mental struggles and anxieties I was having. I didn’t want them to worry.
Day four - 14 miles
This day started off really great. It was a resupply day, meaning we were going to pick up one of our packages that we left for ourselves, which was full of goodies. Our bear cans can hold ~7 days of food per person, and since we only had to carry 3 days worth until our first resupply, there was a lot of extra room for luxury food items, like candy and fruit, which was awesome for the beginning of our hike. However, this resupply we would be picking up a whole 7 days worth, so our food quality was about to go way down as we tried to fit the most calorie-dense, small-sized food into our bear canisters to make it all the way to Bishop.
When we arrived at Red’s Meadow, we were met with the same friendly lady at the front desk from the week before, and it was really nice to see a familiar face. We got our box, which was full of all kinds of goodies. We left ourselves snacks to eat right then and there, including gummy worms and beef jerky. Red’s Meadow also had showers, which we stupidly didn’t take because they are expensive, and we planned to shower at our next resupply in Bishop anyways, a decision we regretted later.
Our friend Amy from Donahue Pass showed up too, and we met three more guys that were hiking southbound together as well. Nick and I eventually decided to refer to them as “The Dads.” For lunch, Red’s Meadow serves all kinds of food, so Nick and I splurged on $15 burgers and fries and I opted for a Coke as well. The best part of the meal though, was the fresh fruit. On trail, your body starts to crave any and all kinds of nutrients, so fresh fruit is always a hot commodity. Along with food, we also bought more bug spray and sifted through the Hiker Box, which is a box full of free items left by previous hikers. Basically, anything that someone doesn’t want to carry further gets thrown into the hiker box and it’s free pickings for everyone else. There was of course plenty of food in there, but there was also a pair of snow spikes, a glass handle of bourbon, and full canisters of fuel for us to take for our stove.
We left Red’s Meadow on a high. With our bellies full, we felt invincible to take on the last eleven miles of the day. Alas, this bliss did not last long. You see, the thing about hiking down into valleys, is you also have to hike out of them. So, the last eleven miles were all uphill. And not just any uphill, fully exposed uphill. Last year, this area was affected badly by forest fires, so all of the tree cover was gone. It was a brutal, hot climb through the afternoon and it made our stomachs full of burgers and fries churn the whole way. We were humbled by the time we got to camp, but we couldn’t think about it for long because in the distance we saw a storm brewing, and we had to hunker down and just hope it didn’t hit us. And thankfully, it never did. This put us ~45 miles into our 225-mile journey. Our main focus now was to get to our next resupply at Parchers Resort over Bishop Pass within the next 7 days.
