Flowing Water | Fragrant Mountains

Jon O followed Jim’s progress on the John Muir Trail remotely. Jon interviews Jim about recording his experience, the podcast production, feedback from listeners, what happened after the end of the hike at Whitney Portal, equipment, food, and lessons learned.

The last two days in September are as challenging as anything yet on Jim’s John Muir Trail trip, given the cold and icy conditions. A long final day will see him over Trail Crest, the highest pass on the JMT, and down into Whitney Portal. But Mount Whitney may be out of reach.

After backpacking together for four days, Jim and friends part company in Independence, where Jim spends two nights at a hotel. In between he has a zero day and goes to Bishop for some gear. Once on the JMT again, he goes over Forester Pass, and on toward Crabtree Ranger Station. The weather is getting cold, and he’ll need to make a trade-off between making progress and staying in a protected area.

Jim meets up with Patti, Debbie, and Ted at Le Conte Ranger Station. Over the next three days, they go up and over three major passes on the John Muir Trail: Mather, Pinchot, and Glen. Along the way they experience many fine sections of the JMT, including the Golden Staircase, the Palisade Lakes, and the Rae Lakes. On the fourth day, their last together, they exit over Kearsarge Pass, down to the Onion Valley trailhead above the town of Independence.

Jim has been backpacking alone for many days now as he approaches the midpoint of his southbound John Muir Trail trek. He looks forward to meeting friends who have come into the backcountry from the east, with a resupply.

Concerned about staying on schedule to arrive at the meetup point on the planned day and time, Jim faces challenges in the days leading up to their coming together.

Jim cuts it close in trying to catch the boat to Vermilion Valley Resort. At VVR he has a day and a half of rest. He enjoys a real bed and food from a restaurant, and gets a re-supply of provisions. After leaving VVR, he soon completes the first half of the John Muir Trail.

Back in Mammoth Lakes, his staging area for the JMT backpack, Jim makes final preparations. He has choreographed things so that, for the first segment, 75 miles from Tuolumne Meadows to Vermilion Valley Resort, he’ll alternate two nights in the backcountry with one night in civilization. This offers him multiple chances to “opt out”, for whatever reason, should he need to.

Jim weighs the advantages and disadvantages of going solo or with others on his John Muir Trail backpack. Practicalities mean he "goes it alone" for most of the more-than-200-mile trek. Early on he decides that one way to combat loneliness is to chat up the occasional hiker he meets in the backcountry.

His first segment is a 25-mile day hike from Yosemite Valley to Tuolumne Meadows, with nearly 6000 feet of elevation gain. It's a long day with unexpected encounters and a major mishap.