The first thing I realize in my preparation is that the starting point for my JMT hike is unconventional. The traditional starting point for the JMT is Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley. However, I’ll be starting at Tenaya Lake off Tioga Road. This cuts off the first 13 miles or so of the JMT, but I plan on doing a loop around Clouds Rest to make up most of those miles. No sweat right?
Well, there’s a little problem. It’s June 8th and Tioga Road is not open due to Winter closure. And there’s no information on when it will be open. That means I can’t make it to my starting trailhead at Tenaya Lake. I feel a little panicky but tell myself that things will work out. I create a ticket to a Yosemite Wilderness Ranger asking about this conundrum. The response I receive is I’m required to be at my starting trailhead as stated on my permit, regardless of road closure. I’m encouraged to re-enter myself into the lottery to change my entry trailhead. That sounds like a crapshoot and I wonder if my trip is ending before it started. And then later that night, I check the Internet to find that it was just announced that….. Tioga Road opens on June 15th! And my starting date is June 19th! Hallelujah!
Now I go to work on preparing my food. I had ordered 50 freeze-dried meals from Next Mile a couple of months ago for the PCT hike that never was. I have had experience eating Next Mile meals backpacking last Summer/Fall and there is a lot to like. They taste fantastic and are made with low sugar which is almost impossible to find in the backpacking world. The only holdup is the expense- one Next Mile Meal can run you $10-$14. I put my mind on a solution.
I got it! I divide each Next Mile Meal in half, taking the meal from 600 calories (yes they are big) to 300 calories. However, I know I’m going to want to make up those lost calories with how much I’ll be hiking. So I add chia seeds, freeze-dried beans, cheddar cheese powder, and a side packet of olive oil. With my additions, the meal comes in at about 700 calories and a reduced price. Although, I’ll say for hikers on a serious budget, these dinners are still not cheap.
The rest of my food is packaged out diligently. I figure on packing 4,000 calories of food a day, with breakfast, lunch, dinner, and 2-3 snacks. My breakfasts are Wildway Grain Free Cereal, which has more calories than Oatmeal. Lunches I figure on wraps, which I can add-in tuna, peanut butter, or salami. Dinners are the Next Mile Meals. I also pack a combination of instant coffee and chocolate protein powder in little baggies to have first thing in the morning. The combination of the coffee and protein somehow manages to both fascinate and traumatize me. I’m determined to love this drink but wonder how bearable it will be by Day 10.
My food is packed, resupplies are sent, and now it’s time to put some miles on my legs. I’m fortunate to live up in the remote area of Bear Valley, which is located in the Sierra at an altitude of 7,000 feet. I’m hoping, and planning, on having this help me acclimate to the high elevations of the John Muir Trail. About a week out from my JMT hike, I’m invited by Gary, the Dad of one of my best friend’s from college, to hike Sonora Peak. Sonora Peak comes in at an elevation of 11,460 feet and the hike involves 2,000 feet of elevation gain. Heck yes
I go back to the Sonora Peak area three times in the next week, twice to hike with Gary and his daughter Sam. Each time I bring my full pack with my first 6-day food carry in it. The hike isn’t easy but it’s manageable. Is this enough training for the JMT? I don’t know but I feel good that I’m putting in some hikes at elevation with a full pack. I suppose time shall tell.
