In 2011, my husband and I decided to hike the 220 mile John Muir Trail (JMT) from Yosemite Valley to Mount Whitney.
After a historic winter left the Sierras packed with the most snow seen in 50 years, our August hike felt more like a late June hike. Small patches of snow turned into large snow fields. Small streams became sketchy water crossings.
I got crazy bad blisters (blister within a blister anyone?) and the mosquitoes were thick enough that, on multiple occasions, I actually had wear my mosquito head net. Head nets are cute, right? This is also where I discovered that sunburned hands make daily chores like, oh say, putting things in backpacks, nearly impossible.
I also learned that I can get through anything by repeating the words,”Pain is only temporary” to myself over and over. FYI – you know you’re having fun when you come up with sayings like this.
Despite all of this retrospective “fun” we were having, hiking the JMT was one of the coolest things I’ve had the pleasure of doing in my adult life. The snow made the mountains more scenic. The blisters made me realize that I can tolerate a lot of pain without dying, and the mosquitoes, well, they helped me appreciate the importance of bringing alcohol on all of my hikes.
Feel free to check out our pics here. Questions and comments are always welcome!
Chelsea likes mountains, adventures, good weather, laughing, and drinking fancy beer. Preferably all at the same time.
I will be hiking the trail Sept 2-24 first few days with my wife, then 16 days alone, then 4 days with my cousins who will re-supply me over Kearsarge.
Nice, should be a good time to go after all the snow this Winter!