JMT Week 2
One week done and I’m still alive! The fires sure made me nervous that we wouldn’t even make it to the trail, let alone this far. There was a bit of smoke from the fires during the first few days but its pretty well cleared up by our second week, I’m glad we ditched our masks at MTR. Last week was about getting settled into our mojo, this week, is all about the real struggles, the hurts, the bickering, and the boo-boos.
August 15, 2018: Day 8- Everything hurts…
Fish Creek/Silver to Bear Creek Trail
Miles: 14
Everything hurts… My toes, my ankles, my knees, my hips, my butt, my shoulders…I’m sure I missed something else… are all sore and tired. We made it even further today than yesterday. I can’t really say that I enjoyed today. We even got rained on once. Our total mileage was at 16.5 miles. We hiked over Silver Pass and another hill that, in my opinion, should be considered a pass. There were so many switchbacks!
The upside to those bazillion miles is it gave me a lot of time to think. I pondered on where my happiness lies. Thought about a lot of good times and some not so good times. Time here is short. Made me realize I need to spend more time with those I love. I’m grateful to be hiking the JMT with Natalia, she understands the need for quiet time. I’m not sure I could spend this much time with many other people. As painful as today was, I really do enjoy being out in nature. It’s refreshing to be in the quiet and not have a bunch of responsibilities, just carrying my own weight and getting to and from where ever I need to be. Much to continue thinking on…
JMT Lesson #8: When you’re hurting, deal with it now, don’t let it fester.
August 16, 2018: Day 9- Soaked!!!
Bear Creek Trail to Camp past Muir Trail Ranch
Miles: 16.9
Soaked!!! Today we adventured to MTR (Muir Trail Ranch)…it definitely lacked excitement. It was cool to be able to dig through the hiker buckets. There was lots of good stuff left behind, crazy how many batteries there were. Makes sense though, I shipped batteries for my headlamp at each resupply and tonight was the second time I’ve used it.
her photos are really amazing.
If there’s one thing I’d pass on to anyone prepping a resupply at MTR, it is to be there early. We were there around 4:30 and that wasn’t nearly enough time to get our buckets sorted, repackaged and ditch the extra stuff. Our canisters are packed full, and we have two odor proof bags of other things like sunscreen and bug spray. We are curious to know what VVR’s (Vermillion Valley Resort) resupply is like because everyone here seemed so grumpy.
Today we were anticipating around 13 miles but didn’t count the mileage to MTR or the mileage to our camp spot. We finished the day at 16.9 miles. I was feeling it before MTR but after it started dumping rain, all I could think about was how wet we were getting. Setting up a tent in the rain is not fun, definitely felt the added weight in our packs too. I’m looking forward to resting on Saturday.
I’m starting to feel a little homesick. Miss my family, miss my pups, my couch, my shower. I’m glad we are about half way done with the miles but still have quite a few days left. I was bummed there was no cell service at MTR, I was hoping to call the kids, get a dose of their craziness, call Troy and get my fix.
Almost forgot to share that we had our first barefoot river crossing of the trip, and I fell in…I’m not really sure how it happened but I got a bruise on my foot and shin, and a scrape on my knee and forearm. I fell on one side so only part of my pack got wet, and my shoes got wet. All of that happened after I watched Natalia cross and jokingly told her I might have to rescue her. Lol. I’m just glad it was warm so everything could get mostly dry and I wasn’t cold.
JMT Lesson #9: Plan for the worst so that when you get there it isn’t as bad as you expect.
August 17, 2018: Day 10- Halfway…
MTR to McClure Meadows
Miles:12
Halfway… We made it to camp at 5 o’clock! Just enough time to settle in and eat some dinner with time to spare before going to bed. We hiked 12 miles today, even though we only anticipated 10.9 miles. We are a little bit past the McClure Ranger Station, Natalia found us this great spot a distance from the trail. It’s set up like it’s a group spot, even has little log benches around a fire pit, and it’s close to the water. I may get to swim tomorrow!
We almost skipped our rest tomorrow because we weren’t sure we could make it for our resupplies, but we were able to pack in the miles the last few days to do so. I’m sore but not as sore as I anticipated, maybe God has something to do with that? This trail really can get to a person, so many thoughts going through my head. Just today’s canyon was really impressive, makes me realize how small I am and how vast this world is. It’s hard not to feel connected to something Greater than I out here.
This makes me think a lot about home. Especially about James and how much better of a job I could be doing with him. If I’m supposed to help raise him to be the best he can be, I need to start working harder on that. I’ve become so engrossed in becoming my best self, I’ve left some of the most important people in my life to suffer. Not saying taking care of myself should be set aside, but I definitely need to re-prioritize. #thoughtsofahiker Enough of my inner thinking, I made it through a barefoot crossing without falling in again. Today has been a good day.
JMT Lesson #10: There’s value in everything, even the tiny creepy spider. You just have to look for the good.
August 18, 2018: Day 11- Rest day number 2…
McClure Meadows
Miles: 0
Note to self: You can still get sunburnt on your rest day. It was nice to have a low key day. Spent most of the day by the creek, Evolution Creek. Just soaking up the sun, listening to classical and Christian music, along with the flowing water. We also got destinkified. It’s amazing what a little shampoo can do for a girl’s spirits.
It was also the perfect day to get laundry done with how warm the sun was. We, mostly me, were definitely smelling ripe. We haven’t been able to do much laundry with all the rain we’ve had the last couple of days. It was nice to be able to fit almost all our things into the bear canister again. Natalia has been making sure we eat, and eat, so there’s room.
JMT Lesson #11: Patience is a virtue. Not really a JMT lesson but we had two baby deer and their mama close by. Natalia patiently waited so she could get just the right shot.
August 19, 2018: Day 12- Are we there yet???
McClure Meadow to Starr Camp
Miles: 14.7
Are we there yet??? Today we hiked 14.7 miles. We thought there were only 11.8 miles to hike so when we hit 11 and still had even further to go it was quite a disappointment. We hiked by Evolution Lake, Sapphire Lake, and a few others but I think by far Wanda Lake was the prettiest. The water was so blue, wish I would have gotten a better picture.
We made it over Muir Pass today and got to check out Muir Hut, which was pretty cool. I really appreciate brick work, it’s neat to see something someone put together one small piece at a time. It was crazy how much water there was today. Tons of crossings but even most of the trail was a small creek, thankfully it was shallow so we didn’t have to get our shoes wet. We are both counting down the time till we are done. The scenery is beautiful but the up, then down, the sleepless nights, are really starting to get to us. I’m glad we aren’t the only ones who feel that way though, another hiker asked us if we were over it too.
JMT Lesson #12: Don’t forget to look behind you, sometimes the view is pretty amazing. Don’t get stuck there though, you’ve got to keep moving forward.
August 20, 2018: Day 13- We are half way up, just kidding…
Starr Camp to Palisade Lake
Miles: 15+
Just a zillion more steps…
Golden Staircase…has been our toughest day yet. The climb up to Palisade Lakes just kept going, and going! It’s so frustrating to think you only have 13.8 miles and at that mileage you haven’t reached your destination. We hiked over 15 miles today and it honestly made us, mostly Natalia, want to quit. She is hurting everywhere, and I feel bad that she’s getting dragged along feeling the way she does. I almost want to tell her to go home at the Onion Valley resupply. I don’t know if I’m brave enough to hike the last bit alone though. It’s actually pretty encouraging to see so many single women hikers. There’s by far more single women than men on the trail. We thought we would be alone most of the trip but there’s an average of 40+ people we see everyday. I love that almost everyone is so positive too. Eight sleeps left.
I wish I could say that our camp spot was epic after such a long day. Yes, it was beautiful but there were no bathroom options. Thankfully there was no need to go number two because there were absolutely no trees to hide behind.
JMT Lesson #13: Don’t get caught up in the numbers. You might miss the beauty of the waterfall on the Golden Staircase.
August 21, 2018: Day 14- Accuracy, yes please…
Palisade Lake to Lake Marjorie
Miles: 13
Accuracy, yes please… Overall today was a decent day. We hiked over Mather Pass, it was tough but going down the back wasn’t nearly as bad as some of the other passes. We love the dirt trail, rocks and gravel make for sore knees and ankles. It was weird, the side we went up had trees and looked pretty. As soon as we got over the top, it looked so desolate, there were lakes and other mountains but almost just dirt and rocks, no trees.
We’ve been trying to do our laundry on our lunch breaks, which has proven to help with drying time, but also means our lunch breaks have gotten longer. I also try to get a swim in a lake but today was too cold. Natalia told me I looked like an Eskimo, I probably would have been fine had there not been so much wind. The mileage for today was 13 miles, and we actually only hiked 13 miles! The last bit of the day was uphill and tomorrow we start the day going up Pinchot Pass. I’m glad we ended up at Marjorie Lake like we had planned.
Today was the first time I actually got “mad” at Natalia. Silly to think about now but when you’re tired, and ready to be done, have to pee, emotions tend to be heightened. All is well though. She had been really struggling with the hike today, so I told her to sit down and relax while I set up the tent. The wind blowing it around proved that my stubborn/grumpy self needed help. It helped me to resolve the anger and along with talking it out and explaining what frustrated me to begin with. Communication is definitely something I need to be working on more at home. James gets so angry without trying to fix the problem, I need to help him with that. #BeabetterExample. I’m learning a lot about things I need to work on out here…
JMT Lesson #14: Don’t get so caught up with the big things that you miss the small things. Little flowers are pretty too. <3
Week 2 Done!
Guess what that means? I’ve only got one week left on the JMT, and of course, the juiciest, or biggest TMI moments, would have to be saved for last. Lol! Seriously though, I’m a little embarrassed to be sharing about them. Hope you’ll check back next week to read about my final days.
This brings back good memories…funny how challenging it was and how we were so done, and yet the things I remember are most the good times!
looks amazing!
It really was amazing. <3