JMT Second half resupply

If you have an assistant, they can meet you at South Lake down from Bishop Pass.
You can hike up from Cedar Grove and stash in a bear box (not allowed, mind you).
You can bury (in a cannister of course) on the east side of Taboose Pass. (Best IMO)
Go hungry – gets your butt up in the morning….

To be clear, sounds like you're going SOBO (south).
I think there's nothing like what you're hoping for, short of throwing a lot of money at the problem or having some very good and/or gullible local friends.

IMO, Bishop is too close to MTR to be worth messing with. If doing the 111 or so miles to finish at Whitney Portal is more than you're inclined to do without resupply, best bet is to go about 73 miles or so and accept that you have to do some off-trail hiking to go out and hitchhike into the town of Independence via Kearsarge Pass.

Hiking it with my wife this September (also SOBO), our plan is to bring enough food to hopefully get us straight through there (MTR to Whitney Portal), but to keep Kearsarge Pass as an option should we find ourselves slower and/or burning through food faster than hoped.

Hi Michael,

we met last summer on the JMT at Palisade Creek. This summer my wife and I will take again two of our kids (9 & 10 at that time). So this will be our third JMT in a row. In 2010 we planned 10 mile days for a three week trip. So the stretch from MTR to Whitney portal was 10 days. Our 15 year old twin sons carried each their own Bearikade Expedition and we didn't need a resupply after MTR. Last year with our two daughters (9 & 13) we carried their food and could only go 5 days between resupplies (10 person days of food in each Bearicade Expedition carried by my wife and me). Our sons were already 16 and could drive, so they drove to Onion Valley and resupplied us via Kearsage Pass. This year we will again carry the food for our daugthers, but plan to go without a resupply. Last year we had to slow down the girls to make the meeting point at the pre-arranged date. Once they grew their trail legs they backpacked more than 10 miles (they did several 16 miles days) and we spent extra time with swimming, fishing, exploring areas like Darwin's Bench, etc.). So this year we plan on doing the stretch from MTR in 8 days and hang the first couple of days extra food, since there is no bear canister requirement between MTR and Pinchot Pass (52 miles).

How many days do you plan for the second half this year? Which bear canister are you using?

Manfred

Thanks for the suggestions all, checking them out as we speak

Manfred! I definitely remember you. You had some slick hiking poles and kindly offered me a fish that I would have loved but had no way to cook (I suppose I could have boil in a bagged it?). I was glad to hear you found your knife =).

"since there is no bear canister requirement between MTR and Pinchot Pass (52 miles)." I was wondering where you found this info. If you're sure of this then that would alleviate my problem (which is just one of space) by carrying bear can food, then food for the 52 miles out of a can.

I'm using a BV500 because I can't see myself spending more money than I already have in this year's prep to buy/rent a bearikade.

I'm still new on my planning, trying to find which side-trips to take and which to skip. Last year I did muir trail ranch to my car in about six days, this year I'm looking for a bit less of a breakneck speed though and was hoping to put in 12-15 mile days, long lunches, leisurely lake baths, and side trips. We'll see if my legs urge me faster, but I like having the option of slowing down this year.

Cool man I hope we run into each other out there again.

Hello Michael,

Cutting a trout into pieces, throwing it into the pot of water with some spices and boiling the water makes also for some great fish with a nice broth.

Here is a link from the National Park website that shows for Sequouia and Kings Canyon (SEKI) where you need bear canisters. http://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=155464

As you can see the bear canister requirement for the Rae Lakes area begins at Pinchot Pass. You touch briefly the Dusy Basin area at the Le Conte Ranger station, but don't need a bear canister on the JMT itself. So there is no bear canister requirement from MTR to Pinchot Pass.

This year we will start a week later than last year and will hike the first weeks of August.

Have fun out there!

Manfred

P.S.: Here is another map that shows all areas along the JMT. As you can see the whole stretch from Tully Hole to Pinchot Pass doesn't require a bear canister. http://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/upload/Food%20Storage%20Map%20March%202008.pdf

Hey all,

So as I've posted before on similar threads, I'm doing the JMT (SOBO) this summer and after much deliberation, I purchased the BV500. It is very big! Suffice to say, I think it may be more than I need even for a ten day time period, ie. MTR to Whitney. I tend to carry vey compact food.

So given that I don't actually need a cannister for the entire last half of the trail, could I get by with a BV 450 and some Loksaks instead of the BV500?

Susan

Hi Susan,

We calculate 90 cubic inch of volume per day of food per person. So we would get almost 5 days of food into the 440 cu inch of the BV 450 and could go on a six day trip (carrying the food we eat on the first day outside of the canister). So if you plan 6 days or less for the 55 miles from Pinchot Pass to Whitney Portal you should be fine with the BV 450.

Enjoy your JMT hike,

Manfred

Manfred,

that is such awesome news. Every other post I've seen here for the JMT has said a bear can was required for the entire trail, no exceptions, which is why I thought I needed a bear can sized to accomodate a 10 day stretch (MTR to Whitney) without resupply.

The BV500 is going back!