July 26, 2010

JMT Quick Recap


Andrea and I on the summit of Mt Whitney (mile #211), the highest peak in the lower 48 states (14,505 feet), at sunrise.

We're back from the John Muir Trail!


There are 1300 pictures and 20 minutes of video to sort through, but I wanted to post a quick update tonight. Over the next two weeks, I'll be posting our day-by-day accounts of the trail, photos, videos, and all kinds of other good stuff.

The quick synopsis is that we started from Yosemite on Wednesday July 14th and finished the 223 miles of trail and 42,000 vertical feet of climbing in 10.5 days. We had mostly perfect weather, although we did experience a "50 year storm event" that dropped 4" of rain in 2 hours and made stream crossings extremely dangerous. Carrying backpacks for over 20 miles a day through those types of mountains was tough: despite eating a TON of food, Andrea and I both lost 7-8 lbs. Mentally and physically, it was the toughest thing either of us has ever done, but also incredibly rewarding.

This trip was the greatest experience of my life, and the stories we'll be sharing in the upcoming weeks hopefully will get that message across very clearly. There is no doubt in my mind that the JMT is the greatest trail in the world. And I was lucky enough to complete the journey with the greatest partner in the world.

Here's a few pictures to start off... recaps for each day along with lots more pictures are on the way!


The elevation profile and approximately where we camped each night


Mt Whitney


Thousand Island Lake


Silver Pass


Seldon Pass


Camping at Evolution Lake


Muir Pass hut


Palisade Lake


Pinchet Pass


Taking in the views


Campsite near Forester Pass


Andrea hiking up Forester Pass


Day #10 on the trail


Our campsite near Mt Whitney


Inside the Mt Whitney summit house


The final day on the trail... almost done!


Sun rising as we neared the top of Mt Whitney


The finish line

4 comments:

  1. Looks like a great trek and as you're saying the experience of a lifetime. Great pictures, I'll be checking here to see more in the next days. I've started thinking about JMT few months ago. Maybe one day...I'd like to do it with my teenage daugters. Good luck to both of you. WK

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  2. congrats! this looks like an incredible experience. Where are the Diet Dew pics though?

    - Evan

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  3. We are planning on doing JMT next year. Your pics make us want to go NOW.

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  4. It looks amazing! Thanks for sharing your stories and especially the pictures!

    - Sara (a running/sports enthusiast from Finland)

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