Comment: I have a love-hate relationship with the Sierras. They are easily some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen and sometimes I think I might as well be in Oregon (lush forest, plenty of large streams and rivers, lots of undergrowth, nice grassy meadows, etc). But the terrain is HORRIBLE. Everyday is up and over another pass (1000s of feet in elevation gain) then down into a valley (1000s of feet in elevation loss). Also, imagine that you are walking up and down stairs, but these stairs aren't any normal stairs. They're about 1.5-2 feet high (sometimes higher) and about 5 feet long. And they're not just flat on top- imagine every "stair" is filled with golfball-size gravel. Yeah. Not fun on the ankles. And you have to go up and down these near the top of every pass. And this coupled with the thunderstorms everyday is why I'm hating the Sierras.
Friday, July 3, 2015
A Comment and an Observation
Observation: for a while now (maybe a week) the JMT and the PCT have been the same trail. And because most JMT hikers are southbound, I see a lot more of them than I do PCT hikers. My observation: JMT hikers are weird. The trail is only 211 miles which should take.... maybe 11 or 12 days to do (if you put in pretty good mileage). But I've seen tents set up as late as 10:30am and set up as early as 5:15pm. I very rarely see anyone on the trail after 7pm. It's like they're lazy and just take their time (a huge contrast to my journey where I push as many miles as I can everyday). Also- all of their packs look super huge! One guy told me his pack was over 50 lbs! Even with 5 days of food, mine is only about 45 or less.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
The JMT is a vacation for most people. They don't need to rush it. I don't think that's weird. Thru hikers are in it for a different experience.
ReplyDeleteI should clarify that I don't mean "weird" as an insult. It's just somewhat of a culture-shock to us PCT hikers as we've been hiking 800+ miles at this point, doing roughly 20 miles a day, and are on a (more or less) schedule. It seems odd to us to see the multi-day (as opposed to day-hikers) JMT hikers that can just take their time and set up their tents whenever they feel like it. The "culture-clash" is strange to us.
DeleteThanks for making clear about the ankle difficulties. I am worried about that when I hike that area but know that I will be extra careful just because I won't want to be sidelined by injury. Maybe the JMT will be my first thru-hike. Short and good preparation for the PCT and others.
ReplyDeleteYeah and don't forget to use the Guthook app! It's super helpful!
Delete