The JMT/PCT Wonders

I love the Cascades, I love the Rockies. The High Eastern Sierra is something altogether even more special I think....wow. Can't get over being awed with every turn, pass, falls, and new peak in view. Big stuff, So many high routes to explore...I feel like I have just whetted my appetite with a sampler platter.
The Suffering of the thru-hiking is real, but is certainly mitigated, and one feels refreshed just being in these mountains.
Seeing a lot of JMT (John Muir Trail) travelers-what a great trail! It's a great thing to do...a manageable 211 miles, and you get all of the best stuff. I think I would still want to do it from South to North though--more dramatic approaches to the passes, although a lot of people (most?) seem to go N to S and end up with the Whitney climb. Resupply appears to be at one of two places--Muir Trail Ranch, or VVR (Vermillion Valley Ranch). I went to both to check them out. The VVR experience is definitely more of one, Though MTR had a better hiker box selection of goodies (food other hikers don't want, or have too much of). MTR was near the Blayney (sp?) Hot Springs which was a fun wide river crossing and a simple 200 meter walk to a meadow and then plop in the springs....with the best swimming lake ever---reminded me of little Cavanaugh or Winters lakes back home in WA growing up---warm on the top 3 feet, enough so, you could spend all day swimming around and jumping off the cliffs or log. Great day.

Selden Pass was intimate--lots of exploring to be done, lakes, lots of fish, and NOT the easiest---Muir Pass was in my opinion the easiest. Muir was the biggest, but not steep, and certainly less difficult than the climbing from the MTR area...steep steep steep!

Met a number of very cool people.


Other hikers and my self have had some real issues with the mule pack trains along the JMT through the National Forest/John Muir Wilderness sections--not so much in the National Parks, because I suppose they know "homey don't play that"---and the parks have actually allocated funding for trail maintenance. It's a health hazard, disgusting, and even without the growing body of scientific evidence pointing to stock as the primary fecal coliform contaminator of our streams and lakes, stock have gotten a free pass for far too long, and need to at minimum, rake their offal to the edges of the trail to give it a chance to "fix" to the soil bacteria and be less of an eye and nose sore....the issue of passing stock destroying upwards of 10,000 dollars of trail work in one day, is another one entirely....a difficult issue. I'm not anti-equine, just for equity-especially on the JMT/PCT. Long involved discussion.


With the photo posting, I am about computered out---a full day spent. So apologies for a lame posting. Check out the photos on my flickr site

Onward and upward to N. CA and beyond...hopefully the 100+mile fire closed section of the PCT in N cali is opened up to hiking by the time I mosey up there.