Who’s hiking the JMT this year?

[George Phoenix]

I've seen so many people announcing their JMT hikes throughout the forums here. It would be nice to have one thread where everyone can post the dates they'll be on the trail so maybe we know who and when we may cross paths with.

I'll be starting out on 8/13 with my 17YO nephew out of Happy Isles. My intention is to arrive the previous afternoon to get our permit and bear canister taken care of. That way we can get an early start the next day, set up camp just past the Half Dome Trail, do Half Dome, and then Clouds Rest the next morning to start the day.

Anywho, who else is doing the trail this year?

[Ed Engel]

My permit is for an August 5th start date. I would prefer a late August date but I have a wedding to go to on August 1st. I fly in on July 30th, wedding, visit family then bus-train-bus to Yosemite on the 4th.
Aloha

[Roleigh Martin]

Six of us are doing the entire JMT, leaving on July 19, and probably arriving at Whitney Portal either late 8-10 or late 8-11. Of the 6, 3 of us are BPL members. We are ages 55-62 except for one, age 40. Three men, three women. For the first 7 days, there are 9 of us. 3 depart at Reds Meadow.

[Jonathan Ryan]

My wife and I will be starting Aug 15th and plan to finish in 10-11 days. We are flying into San Fran 2 days prior and then taking the train/bus right to the visitor center. On the other end we are hitching down to Lone Pine and then catching a bus to the Avis in InyoKern and then driving to Vegas :)

[Ken Helwig]

there is no place called San Fran. I think you mean San Francisco or S.F……Just sayin. It's just like others calling it Frisco….NO!!!!

[Bob Bankhead]

I'm scheduled to start northbound from Horseshoe Meadows on August 1. I'll be stopping at Red's Meadow, since I've done the rest already.

Assuming I don't "wander" off a cliff or down the wrong trail, I may encounter Roleigh et al somewhere between Forrester Pass and the Charlotte Lake/Kearsarge Pass trail junction. I'm due to reach Lake South America on the 5th, and Bubbs Creek on the 6th. A meeting of the aged, with me at 66 being El Supremo. Bowing will not be required.

Wandering Bob

[Jonathan Ryan]

My deepest apologies to all of those I offended with my ignorant "San Fran" term. Anyways back to the topic.

[Amy Reid]

I'm starting August 1. . . and will be hiking the anti-thesis of a fast-pack, with a Whitney summit date of August 28. See you out there!!!

[Timothy Sexton]

I am a southbound solo hiker who is departing on July 29 and finishing on Aug 15.

[Chris Morgan]

Timothy, a bunch of us BPL'ers will be starting 7/29 as well. We will be staying at the backpackers campground the night of 7/28, and you're welcome to join us!

Anyone that is in the area, I think it would be cool to have a BPL kickoff of sorts for those in the area, the night of 7/28, somewhere in the valley. Maybe someone wants to bring a grill? Do a little hiking? I know there are lots of Bay Area BPL'ers out there.

CM

[M G]

JMT

Starting last week of Sept. Southbound.10- 12 days. 1 Ressuply. Looking for partners.

[James Ennis]

I'm starting SOBO from Happy Isles on August 17th. My permit restricts me to Little Yosemite Valley the first day, so I'm getting off to a slow start, but, hey, at least it's a start.
I should finish on or about Sept. 1st. at Whitney Portal.
My wife was planning on going with me, but her knees have gotten the best of her, so if she goes at all, it will probably be from HI to Toulumne Meadows.
Here's a link to my journal, for those who may be interested:
http://www.trailjournals.com/JimEnnis

[Timothy Sexton]

I will also be spending the night of July 28 in the backpacker’s camp in Yosemite Valley. However seeing as how I am a tree-huger I will be taking the bus to Yosemite Valley so there is no chance I could bring a grill.
Just about anyone can take the bus to Yosemite so skip the hassle of driving yourself and ride greyhound.

[sheila o]

Hey there,

We have 4 or 5 women from Chico, CA starting in TM on July 21st over 3 weeks. It would be a blast to run into some of you!

Bye the way, how hard is it for two to catch a ride back to Yosemite from Whitney Portal??

[Peter Burke]

My kids did most of the JMT last summer at age 10, this year we wanted to do the whole thing, but that alone apparently wasn't interesting enough for them, so they asked why we aren't doing a yo-yo? After checking with my boss how he felt if I supported my kids during record attempt ( and left work for up to 7 weeks…) the plan quickly took shape…

30-Jun Happy Isles – Sunrise Camp
1-Jul Sunrise Camp – Tuolumne
2-Jul Mono pass trailhead – Alger Lake
3-Jul Alger Lake – Reds Meadows
4-Jul Rest Day Reds / spare weather day
5-Jul Fish Valley up to Grassy Lake area
6-Jul Grassy Lake – Goddale Pass, Graveyard Meadow
7-Jul Vermillion resupply, Bear Ridge, Marie Lakes
8-Jul Hang at lake half a day, Salley Keyes Lakes
9-Jul MTR supply, Goodard Canyon
10-Jul up to Muir Pass region
11-Jul Muir Pass region – Golded Staircase area
12-Jul Golden Staircase – Lake Marjorie
13-Jul Lake Marjorie – Rae Lakes
14-Jul Rae Lakes – Bighorn Plateau
15-Jul extra day / weather day for MTR-Whitney leg
16-Jul Bighorn Plateau – Mt Whitney
17-Jul Mt. Whitney – Portal
18-Jul Portal – Mt Whitney Summit
19-Jul Whitney Summit – Junction Pass north Side
20-Jul Junction Pass – Woods Creek
21-Jul extra day / weather day for southern leg
22-Jul Woods Creek, Pinchot – Upper Basin
23-Jul Mather Pass, Dusy Basin via Cirque Potluck Knapsack
24-Jul Helen Lake
25-Jul Helen Lake – Blaney Meadows-MTR for respupply
26-Jul Blaney Meadows – Selden Pass, Marie Lakes (half day)
27-Jul Marie Lakes, Bear Ridge, Silver Lake
28-Jul Silver Pass – Duck Creek
29-Jul Duck Creek – Reds Meadows
30-Jul Reds – JMT to 1000 Island Lake area
31-Jul 1000 Island – Tuolumne Meadows on JMT
1-Aug extra day / weather day
2-Aug Tuolumne – Clouds Rest summit night
3-Aug Clouds Rest – Yos. Valley

Breaking speed records isn't our thing – just being the first 11-year-olds to do the full yo-yo is a big enough challenge. Plus we're not anal about staying on the JMT, as there's a lot more to be seen. We figure if you walk from Happy Isles to Whitney Portal and back, mostly on the JMT, with no real shortcuts (like a bus ride from Agnew Meadows to Reads Meadow), and at least once touch each inch of the JMT proper, it should count. We're actually adding a few extra miles and altitude due to our alternates.

I'll have to set up a web page for this hike – with link to Spotcast and other details about the trip. Shooting HD video of it, so there'll be some fun footage at the end of the hike.

[Amy Reid]

Excellent! Good luck with your trip! I'll look for you in TM. I'll be there July 31, hiking toward YV on August 1. How many will be in your party?

[Peter Burke]

just me and these two, probably chewing on some gummi bears or Cliff bars like here on Silver Pass last summer

[Peter Burke]

"Bye the way, how hard is it for two to catch a ride back to Yosemite from Whitney Portal??"

hitching a ride from the Portal to Lone Pine is pretty easy, otherwise you can get a ride with Bob Ennis (http://www.mountwhitneyshuttle.com/) for something like $30 – he runs a fully licenses shuttle service. He can drive you to Yosemite, too, but that's pretty big dollars.

We did that last year, only because there was no bus connection without overnight stay in Mammoth. That is now not the case any longer. CREST now operates a line from Lone Pint to Reno:

http://easternsierratransitauthority.com/wb/pages/bus-routes/crest-north-lone-pine-reno.php

At Lee Vining you can get on a bus back into Yosemite, same day I think, since the CREST bus leaves Lone Pine early enough to catch it there.

[Paul Spencer]

I have a separate thread looking for people to hike the Tahoe Yosemite Trail with me. If I don't get any takers I will hike the JMT again southbound. Looks like I'd have to start at Tuolomne Meadows due to permitting or take my chances getting one the morning before in Yosemite Valley. I'm guessing there is also the option of day hiking from Happy Isles to Tuolomne to pick up my pack.

[Peter Burke]

I never reserved a permit for now 8 JMT hikes. Never had a problem getting a walk-in the day I started.

The thing people don't realize is that you can get a walk-in permit the day BEFORE your hike.

http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/wildpermits.htm

states:

"First-Come, First-Served Permits
Permits are also available at any permit issuing station starting one day prior to the beginning of your hike. "

My plan this year is to set up camp in Tuolumn Meadows, head to the Ranger Station up there the morning before the planned hike and be the first at the door. Get the Happy Isles permit with pass-through to Sunrise HSC for the coming day. Once I get the permit, we will head to the valley and park the car at the trailhead (with permit sticker), and spend the night in the backpacker campground, so we can get a decent early start.

If for some reason we don't get the permit on our first try, we will spend another day at Tuolumne Meadows, acclimating, fishing, hiking, and try again the next day. No rush – one day we'll get the permit and head on out.

[Robert Perkins]

I will be hiking the JMT from Tuolumne Meadows SOBO, starting on Aug. 11th. I have permit space for 5 and have a couple people dropping off at Reds Meadow. There are two of us planning on going the rest of the way. I have planned on 11 nights, and would like to push ourselves to maybe 10 nights. We will be looking at anywhere from 14 – 20 miles a day, depending on camp locations. There are a few spots that I really like camping at for swimming or for the view, that it is worth it to either push for more miles or have a slow day. We will be staying in Mammoth Lakes Aug. 10th and taking YARTS to TM on Tue. Aug. 11th. The first couple of days will be kind of a 'warm-up', so -to-speak, as there will be a couple of extra people until Reds. After Reds the tempo will pick up.

[Ernie Sanchez]

My brother and I will be at the Yosemite Wilderness permit building on July 28th looking to get one walk on permit for the whole JMT, for me and my brother will be leaving at Lake Thomas Edison. I plan to be on the JMT for about 20 days. Is there overnight camp sites for backpackers near the Visitor center?

Thanks

[Matthew Parker]

Ernie,
my wife and I are starting the same day and are planning on 19 days on the trail, I suspect that we will bump into you several times along the way.

[Aaron Sorensen]

I'll be up there for a few days from Aug 3rd to Aug 6th helping and pacing Michael Popov as he goes for the supported record.

Last year was a bad year for him but this year will be an absolute assault.

It has to be this way since Kilian Jornet, (probably the best runner in the world right now) is going for the record in Sept.

I am going to help out in every location I can that I have not been on so I'll finally have (almost, so close) done a complete JMT.

[Douglas Prosser]

I'll be one of a group of 4 hiking south bound from Yosemite. We're all "graduates" of a BPL Wilderness Trekking One-Dessert Southwest course last year. We're planning on hiking 14 days.

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