JMT August/Sept

[John Chong]

Here's my incomplete geargrams list for jmt

http://www.geargrams.com/list?id=3472

I decided to just stick with the flash 50 because it seems that most of the jmt gearlists on here has similar ones. I was planning on getting the blast 26, but decided to save the money and just stick with the flash 50.

Not in the list:
cooking kit – i'll be going with two others, and the one of them will have the kit
bear canister – deciding between the solo size or the larger size
insulating jacket – i'll be putting in an order for a montbell exlight jacket, and replacing the nano hoody i have in the list

for clothing, will an ibex indie hoodie suffice, along with driducks? or should i bring an extra polyester vented shirt? Just not sure about the high temps I'll be seeing during that time of the season.

And do you know if an 8×10 tarp will cover three people during rain? or what's a good tarp for 3 people?

Thanks.

[Bob Gross]

"bear canister – another will carry the bear canister itself, but we'll divide the food for hiking"

Apparently you don't intend to go very far along the JMT if you have only one bear canister for three people.

–B.G.–

[Ken Helwig]

How in the world are you going to fit food for 3 in 1 cannister. Am I missing something here??? Please post a picture of the ranger who will be hiking you guys off the trail please. Nice………………..

[John Chong]

I'm usually good at fitting all my meals into a solo bearvault for the week, I assumed that it could work. We are planning on doing this trip in 10-12 days, so we wouldn't need that much food. Plus resupply.

But since two of you guys suggested I bring extra, I will look into it.

Thanks.

[Robert Perkins]

John, Just for a reference: I did the JMT from Whitney Portal to Tuolumne Meadows last year in 8 nights with 1 re-supply at MTR and my Bearikade weekender was stuffed full at the start and almost full after re-supply, for just me. The Weekender is on the larger side for bear canisters. I think you may want to re-think the bear can arrangements.

An 8 x 10 tarp is pretty small for 3 as well.

Enjoy the JMT, when are you guys heading out. I will be out mid-August.

[Michael Moore]

Uh, John, you do know you will be escorted from the trail if you are caught carrying food without a canister for each person who is carrying food… right? You can't simply carry one canister, divide up the food among your group and tell the ranger that stops you that its ok, you have a canister.

[John Chong]

I thought it was for camps that you needed a canister. When I did whitney last year, I went with one other person, and we just took turns carrying that one canister. Didn't know it was different for JMT.

In that case, do you recommend the regular bearvault per person or solo bearvault per person?

[Ken Helwig]

John, I am not picking on you just to clarify each person in your party needs to carry a cannister. IF each person in your party does not have one, then you will be escorted off of the trail by a Ranger that is packing heat and then you will be ticketed and will pay a fine. A fed bear is a DEAD bear. For planning so close to your trip and not figuring this one out is a huge issue. Please reconsider your actions. In Yosemite they will be MORE than happy to make an example of you and your friends. I have had rangers tap my pack to make sure I have had a cannister. They will do the same to you as their are rangers roaming the trails too.

[Bob Gross]

Guys, we need to clarify this.

There is no regulation that says that everybody on the JMT must carry a bear canister. The regs to say that the food that is carried must be contained within a bear canister in certain areas. Plus, the food carried on Day One is generally consumed by the end of an evening meal on Day One, so it did not need to be within the bear canister during the middle of the day.

Now, let's suppose that there are three men in the group. When the ranger stops you along the trail, he will ask to see your wilderness permit. When he has that in his hands, he will ask you where you are coming from and where you are going to, and that better agree with the permit. Then he will ask if you are using bear canisters, and the answer better be positive. Then he goes back to where you were coming from, and where you are going to… in how many days?

So, let's say that between the start and a resupply point you tell him it is five days. Five days times three men is fifteen man-days of food. At this time, he asks to see your bear canisters. If you have one humongous bear canister that can hold fifteen man-days of food, and if he is convinced, then you are good. However, if you have some lesser solution or something that just does not compute, then you are in trouble.

Now, if you are a long-range thru-hiker, and if you have a permit showing this (covering more than 500 miles), I think you get an exemption, and thru-hikers are shown to the bear boxes, like at Rae Lakes. However, there may or may not be room in them, so that is not a foolproof solution.

For a ballpark figure, start with 100 cubic inches of bear canister volume for each man-day of food. For me, I require a little more, like about 120 cubic inches. If you have small appetites, maybe you can cram your food into less volume.

However, it is not me that you must convince. It is the trail ranger.

It is just a whole lot more practical solution for each person to carry his own bear canister and food, but there are alternatives.

–B.G.–

[John Chong]

I'm not butthurt by any of the posts made so far. It was my fault for not explaining what kind of jmt trip I was planning on taking.

Resupplying is something we still haven't fully decided on yet, and I was wanting to resupply twice, so we would probably only need 3-4 days worth a person.

But if we do one resupply, then it would have to be bigger.

So on the bear canister front, I don't want to take any chances and just have each person carry their own.

As for the rest of my gear list, what else should I nix? Rain pants? Any good substitutes?

Also, anybody recommend a set up for 3 people? What size tarp is good for 3?

[Bob Gross]

"So on the bear canister front, I don't want to take any chances and just have each person carry their own."

While that is not the only possible solution, it is the most practical solution for the vast majority of travelers in that area.

I can tell that resupply will become an interesting subject for you, since there are wildly different strategies.

–B.G.–

[Ken Helwig]

this shall be interesting……………………………..

Resupply options…exiting trails, or Tuolumne Meadows, Reds Meadows, VVR, Muir Trail Ranch????

Beyond that, this is all you have. IF you are exiting a trail on the east side of the Sierras, then expect a day of hiking and hitching to town to get food. If it is a west side trail, expect 1-2 days hiking and a full 5 hours of driving time for each way.

Nice.

[Bob Gross]

There are other options as well.

I met two older guys hanging around the JMT intersection near Kearsarge Lakes. When I inquired, they explained that they were waiting for their food resupply by horse packer.

Then there was a single hiker who was carrying in a 20-pound food bag from Florence Lake to the JMT, purely for a buddy on the trail.

Some backpackers just carry cash, and they expect to buy everything they need at each resupply stop. Others mail a food package to themselves at a resupply stop.

Some fast hikers just knock the whole thing out in ten days or less without any resupply.

Everybody has a different idea. You just don't want to be caught out there at Rae Lakes with several pounds of cheese hidden in your sleeping bag.

–B.G.–

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