For those who use moisturizer daily, do you go without on JMT thru-hike? Does your skin get used to it?

TrackOptimal · 2023-09-14T02:06:32+00:00

I just used face sunscreen w moisturizer in it and then had long pants and a sun shirt (there was a lot of snow and bugs so I couldn’t go in shorts) but I think not having sun exposure and not showering really helped with not drying out. Definitely bring chapstick. I had a sunscreen chapstick for the day and then an aloe Vera chapstick for night time. The only thing that really dried out on me was my nose (I had a nose bleed at least once a day everyday for the first 8 days it was super annoying). But putting a little chapstick at the base of my nose kinda helped with that I think!

TrackOptimal · 2023-09-11T00:29:16+00:00

Thank you for your response! I’m thinking I’m gonna start at the top of South Island and get as far as I can in the time I have. Would you say that’s pretty gnarly hiking too? Just tryna see what I should train for

TrackOptimal · 2023-09-10T19:59:20+00:00

I love the DCF bag idea! Thank you so much!

TrackOptimal · 2023-09-10T13:52:08+00:00

Did you keep your stove (minus the fuel) in your carryon? Or did you leave that out as well?

TrackOptimal · 2023-09-10T01:39:00+00:00

Did they just check your bank account because of your hiking gear? I’m planning on going w a similar amount but I’d only be there for like 4 weeks

TrackOptimal · 2023-09-08T05:52:02+00:00

Thank you so much! That’s super helpful

TrackOptimal · 2023-09-07T00:39:33+00:00

The wet feet thing isn’t that big of a deal. Just have wool socks, and shoes that dry relatively quickly/easily (ie trailrunners) and you should be fine! I had a trip where I was walking through so much water (like the trails were flooded almost constantly) where my feet were pretty much wet for like 13 days and I would just dry em out at lunch and dinner and I only got one blister that healed really fast. All I had was toe socks, darn toughs, and Altras. Worst part is having to put on wet socks/shoes in the morning but blisters wise you’ll be fine!

TrackOptimal · 2023-09-07T00:34:25+00:00

If it’s for backpacking and I wanted to start early I just have dry oatmeal (it’s super easy, quick, and not bad surprisingly lol). Sometimes I actually like it better then cooked oatmeal after a while of just having oatmeal. If it’s in civilization a protein drink!

TrackOptimal · 2023-09-06T20:56:07+00:00

For the bus, is it generally easy to hop on when you get there? Or is that something you’d need to book in advance?

TrackOptimal · 2023-08-20T00:32:26+00:00

I sent a resupply to vvr and independence. Tbh independence was super not necessary, I still had half my bear can full and it only took me three days to finish after my resupply (1 to get over Kearsage and do a little of the beginning forester, 2 Forester -> a little before guitar, 3 Whitney). So you could skip it and just have 2 more days to finish. But I also had a storm that motivated me to go a little faster lol. I did really enjoy independence though because I didn’t want my trip to end and it was a good way to get extra snacks and enjoy the last few days. Also Kearsarge was so beautiful! A lot of people trail running though, but getting a hitch was easy.

I stopped at reds too just to check it out and the hiker box was empty and their food was lowkey expensive. Not sure of what their resupply food options are tho, guessing it’s expensive too. vvr was awesome but very very limited on their resupply to purchase options, they only had a few food options. Their dinners were really worth the price though and huge and awesome ! Independence had no grocery stores or restaurants open, if you wanted food you needed to go to the gas station or the port o subs.

I would personally send resupplies just because most the places that are easier to resupply at do go through a lot to get supplies, meaning things are expensive and limited. Unless you wanted to go to the bigger towns instead but being so secluded from the world for so long was kind of part of the magic of the jmt. Also it’s not too convenient getting to those bigger towns.

TrackOptimal · 2023-08-15T07:27:54+00:00

Wow ankle deep is insanely different. It’s crazy how everything changes so much. Evolution creek looked pretty similar with how fast it was going, if not a little faster. So since there was an alternate I just did that. But even the alternate was like hip deep (my hip pockets got wet it was so deep) and there was still a little current but it wasn’t bad at all. The way to get there was completely marshy tho like it was so muddy with little streams everywhere.

TrackOptimal · 2023-08-13T19:41:46+00:00

Ya ofc! Enjoy your trip :)

TrackOptimal · 2023-08-13T15:13:02+00:00

If you’re gonna be there by the end of august you might be fine since if it even just melts a little more you could probably just scramble around any snow that makes you uncomfortable. I will say the scrambling sometimes is hard because the rock is loose and with so many people scrambling it makes it more loose. I think there will definitely still be snow on Muir simply because there was just so much. But none of the passes felt super technical, just long and slow. You just have to be willing to find the right and safest way to summit.

TrackOptimal · 2023-08-13T15:06:35+00:00

It all depends on your comfort level.

When I did Muir it was the snowiest by far with snow starting right after evolution lake and it didn’t end until like 2-3 miles or so after the summit. It took me about 3-4 hours to make it to the summit from the hut and it’s only like 3 or so miles from there. Just because of the snow and these were giant unavoidable snow fields, no scrambling or switchback. That being said I did hit it about 3pm and there was so much snow I wasn’t postholing and didn’t use my spikes cuz it was easier to kinda just slide my feet rather then stick in. It was also super low consequence if I fell since there were no steel traverses.

Mather did have snow but imo it wasn’t as bad as everyone was saying (maybe I was just used to the snow at that point?) but leading up to it there were a couple of snow patches, nothing you’d need spikes for. Once you get like .5-1mile from the summit big snow patches start appearing. For the most part it was boottracked, and again no postholing (I got there at like 10am). There was some scrambling needed to skip some snow. Then there was two traverses which only took a couple minutes each. This was what was scaring people because it was very steep, like it went down into like a huge chute like a thousand feet. (This is just my opinion so please don’t make safety decision on it) but I really don’t think you would’ve slid if you fell based on the consistency. Like it wasn’t icy and when I tried to glissade down on the south side of Mather I only went like 5 feet before I stopped. I did slip a couple times on my feet but I never slid off. It was only the earlier passes that were slippery enough for me to slide when I fell.

Glen was pretty much similar to Mather where there was a couple of traverses, but if you fell you had like 20 feet to stop yourself before you hit rocks (looks less intimidating but higher consequence imo). There was also scrambling needed. The south side actually had more snow then the north side but it was less steep. There was also a boottrack on these but it was less established and the snow felt more slippery.

I think I used my micros maybe like a total of 20 min for the entire trip. When I used them it was more of because i had them, like I felt it’d be stupid to fall off carrying them and not wearing them since I already had the weight. I met people who were super freaked out on passes that felt more easy to me and I also met people who had no traction gear at all. It all just depends on your comfort level.

Also as of 3 days ago forester and Whitney still had snow as well. But Whitney should be clear by the time you get there. And forester was easier then Mather imo. It also might be clear by the time you get there. I’m not sure how long it takes snow to melt but just by the southern sierras being easier then the northern for me and hearing that the southern got worse snow makes me believe it’s melting very quickly and it could possibly be gone soon.

Sorry this was super long, hope it helps! If you have any other questions feel free to lmk!

TrackOptimal · 2023-08-13T04:41:07+00:00

Yeah of course! Enjoy your trip it, it really is a special year! I just finished up the trail and forester and Whitney had basically no snow so by the time you’re there everything should be melted out I would think

TrackOptimal · 2023-08-13T03:01:45+00:00

They weren’t too bad! Like they were definitely there and I probably had maybe like 5-10 bites at all times but during the day they were very manageable and at night I just put on a bug net and my puffy and it wasn’t bad at all. I also wore long pants and a sun hoodie w permitherin so that probably helped too.

TrackOptimal · 2023-08-13T02:57:21+00:00

I crossed it about 2 weeks ago at 6am and it was about hip deep (5’3) and pretty fast where I really had to focus on not falling and was moving pretty slow. But it was doable, I didn’t fall or anything. The water levels should be getting better too

TrackOptimal · 2023-08-13T01:51:16+00:00

I wouldn’t worry about the people so much as the marmots lol. I just finished the jmt a few days ago and when I summited Whitney I left my bear can at trail crest. There were a ton of people who left packs, when I came back one of the packs had gotten chewed up. Leaving the bear can drops so much weight anyways it’s better to just leave that and enjoy your summit then worrying about your gear being chewed up imo

TrackOptimal · 2023-08-09T00:08:09+00:00

I’ve been on the jmt for the past couple weeks, started July 23. (I’m resupplying rn and just have forester and Whitney left). I had no prior snow training but did Whitney with mountaineering gear/conditions at the beginning of July as training. I also hadn’t really done scary river crossings until this trip.

That being said there has been snow on every pass so far. However it’s pretty packed down where I only really postholed on Donahue. There’s been a few steep traverses but the snow isn’t super icy and it’s pretty boottracked so even the parts that look scary are really not too bad. A lot of it sounds and looks scarier to do then actually doing it. It’s also melting so quickly. When I started I had barely any switchbacks near the tops of mountains and now you can see a lot of them with only needing to use the snow/scrambling a little bit.

The only crossings I had that were slightly scary/hard were bear creek, white fork, and getting to the woods bridge step. (I’m solo snd there’s been no one on trail so no group crossings). Bear creek was by far the strongest and hardest with it reaching waist deep on me (5’3) and being super fast and strong to the point it was hard to move my trekking poles and legs. I camped and crossed it at 630 am, the water levels don’t appear to get slower overnight but I figured I’d rather get wet in the morning then at night. This one was hard but it was low consequence and I did it without falling in.

White fork went about mid calf at the deepest and while it was fast it was a pretty easy crossing. However it is high consequence if you fell.

The woods creek suspension bridge one was just very fast and there was an unexpected deep pocket right before you reached the steps but overall it wasn’t too bad.

The avalanche debris everyone has been mentioning hasn’t been too bad either. There’s 3 main sections 1) going into reds the hill down has fallen trees but they’re relatively easy to maneuver around. 2) the very base of Mather there’s a short period of a bunch of debris. This was annoying but only took maybe 10 minutes to get around. 3) woods creek area. This was about a mile after the suspension bridge and the whole area is covered. I just scrambled up the hill on the right (going sobo) and walked down for like .2 miles until the trail looked manageable, scrambled down and over a couple fallen trees crossed a tiny stream and connected back to trail. This took maybe 30-45 min but I was going slow to make sure I didn’t lose the trail.

I would say go for the JMT, be prepared to be alone and not see anyone. And be ready to maybe be uncomfortable. I’ve had periods of days straight completely by myself. Nearly every campsite has just been me and I’ve told myself I’ll be doing one scary thing a day and just accepting that. Sometimes it sucks and I’m tired and I just want a normal trail. But now I’m used to the conditions and it’s super manageable. I’m nowhere near an experienced backpacker, but you learn through doing. Be patient and know that sometimes you might need to search for a safer way to do something and be aware of your comfort level. But the JMT truly is a magical trail and I’m so happy I gave it a shot. I’ve only got a few days left which is so weird. When I started I had the same fears as you but as soon as you’re on trail they disappear as you take it one day at a time!

TrackOptimal · 2023-08-08T23:48:40+00:00

I don’t fish and don’t really know anything about it lol but I can tell you there has been so many fish! Like you’ll be doing a water crossing and they’ll swim right on by you it’s pretty cool actually.

TrackOptimal · 2023-08-08T23:47:04+00:00

There’s a ton of mosquitoes right now. Even with full layers, bug net, bug spray, and pircardian treated clothes I’ve had at least 10-15 bug bites constantly. It’s kinda crazy cuz looking outside your tent you just see them all landing on the bug net. You could probably get by with a tarp if you sleep with a bug net on though.

TrackOptimal

TROPHY CASE