Hey Guys,
for those experienced out west can you pls give me some feedback on my JMT gear list under my user-profile. My wife and I will be doing a 9-10 day thru this coming August and feedback would be much appreciated. Thanks!!

FYI, I put Aloksaks on there twice by mistake and the food and water weights are just numbers I was playing around with.

That's a nice list. I don't know how bad the bugs are in August on the JMT, but you might want to thin about a mosquito headnet and/or DEET.

thanks for the feedback Scott, bugs are def a concern. We will each have pants and long sleeve bug resistant clothing on. The headnets are a good thought and somthing I had considered as well. Also going to wash out clothing with permithrin before we head out so we will not need bug spray.

A umbrella comes in handy at the right time(August is Hot)in the long stretches above treeline plus for the possible afternoon thunderstorms. Bearikade(Wildideas) makes a larger volume=CI bear canisters and lighter---they can be rented but are expensive. Where are you resupplying?

-Jay

Hey Jay,
good call on the umbrella but I figure if it is that hot I will just get wet. My clothing dries out pretty fast so no big deal. I was also looking at models from Wild Idea's but the cost is wayyyyy to high for a New Englander who may never use one again. Besides I was able to use my REI dividend to buy it :)

So our game plan is to head out on the plane with just one days worth of food. Hike in to Tuolomne the first day and pick up our first resupply. Next resupply is going to be MTR.

Don't forget to take a hot shower at Reds Meadow!! Sounds like you are all set to go. I can't talk my wife in to doing it with me --- sounds like a great trip with the wife. Enjoy!!!!

good call on the shower, do they charge for them if you are not staying there? Is there a place to get lunch there as well? Figure that will make alittle less food to carry along with the lunch at Tuolomne.

Yea I was lucky to find an better half that loves to hike. As long as I do all of the planning and gear selections (she hates all that stuff) she is good to go!!

Yea I was lucky to find an better half that loves to hike. As long as I do all of the planning and gear selections (she hates all that stuff) she is good to go!!

So she not only tolerates your gear obsession ... she demands it? Nirvana!

I did not pay- I am sure its free and feels great after a few days of hiking.. Its a hot spring shower---They have a diner there and a small store with some backpacking stuff. Another resupply option too. Check out there website for the latest info.

hmmmmmm I would not say she demands it by any means. But when she is walking effortlessly down the trail I never hear her complaining :) Trust me I do get the "did you really need that?" from her all of the time....

Jonathan,
Your list looks really good. The only thing I didn't see was your method of water treatment listed ??
Also, having done the JMT in 9 days I can tell you that you are really humping to get in the mileage each day and really need to think about blister prevention and maint. during the hot part of Aug. You might really want to think about talking the Tincture of Benzoin ampules and Leukotape sports tape as they are life savors IMHO. The JMT is ROUGH on the feet with all the rocky sections.
May want to slightly increase the sunscreen as well. Only 0.5 oz. per person per 5 days might be a little thin in Aug.?
Also, you should be able to get two peoples food for 5 days into the BV500 with very carefull packing.
I hope you have a GREAT JMT hike!
Kevin

Edited by kegelhoff on 03/04/2009 13:46:22 MST.

Jay said:
...They have a diner there and a small store with some backpacking stuff. Another resupply option too. Check out there website for the latest info....

Red's Meadow Campground-
Showers are free- though you can make donations toward future refurbishment. Water is quite hot.
Camping is standard Forest Service rates- a bit steep compared to free.

Red's Meadow Resort-
Realize that their season is only a few months long and normal restaurant suppliers won't make the drive down the hill- so they have to bring all their own supplies in. That increases costs.

Cafe has good burgers at a decent price. The often praised "packer's dinner" or whatever they call it didn't look like a good value. Milkshakes are very expensive but yummy.

The store is pretty well stocked with snacks, drinks, and some camping supplies. They have some food items- I don't recall if they have freeze-dried entrees or other "just add water" type stuff. I wouldn't plan on a full resupply at the store, but you could definitely supplement what you picked up at Tuolumne. They had butane canisters.

On the trail south (east actually) of Red's Meadow you pass through a burn area. The first stream you pass in the burn area is from a spring right near the trail, with very good tasting carbonated water.

Great suggestions Kevin. Leukotape never leaves my pack so not sure why I forgot it on this list. Also taking some hydropel to keep the feet in good shape. Good call on the sunscreen as well. We will prob end up taking more but I was just playing with the numbers. We will each be wearing full pants and long sleeve shirts so that should help.

As for fitting all of the food in the BV500, we think it should work well. We will not be using any freeze dried options so we can pack much smaller.

And regarding the time frame it is def not a relaxing pace, but one that we are used to and unfortunatly all my vaca time permits :/

I think you'll find the trails on the JMT an absolute pleasure to walk. The rocky sections there are not what we would consider very rocky here. Remember these trails are made for horse packers and never get too steep relatively speaking. The major difference is out here you hike the P.U.D.S and there you go up,up,up and then down,down,down. Still your going at a good pace and vacation time is vacation time but man, are you gonna want more time to hang around!
-Reds Meadow has beer and a $9.00 double cheese burger thats sooo worth it. the burgers a Toulumne are thin and over priced. The cook at VVR is good and a good guy, youll get good home style meals there(and did I mention beer).
Edison Lake is very low and the boat taxi only comes at certain times, I found it wayyy too hot to sit there on the sun exposed dock waiting for a boat that may never come and I just hiked the 5 miles or so there.
-The JMT is perfect bivy country IMO it hardly ever rains and you usually have fair warning before it does.
I only found mosquitoes at Deer river crossing and maybe one or two isolated places, a few places have aggressive ants and you will defiantly want to have protection from them.

It is better to be safe then sorry when it comes to mosquitoes on the JMT. I did the JMT Starting 8/1 and finished 8/14. That was 2006 and it was a above average snow year. I had mosquitoes almost the entire way even at high alpine likes above 10,000 ft. that really surprised me!! The only stretch of the JMT that were less mosquitoes was past Forester Pass and there was a lot mosquitoes in the lower valleys. So the last two years we have had below average when it comes to snow... So far we are a little above average meaning EXSPECT a lot of mosquitoes to spawn during and after the snow melt. I know a few people that have left JMT because of the Mosquitoes...Bring your DEET, Head Net and be prepared to walk faster then the pesky little bugs. My 2cents

PS: More Pacific storms are on the way. More Snow More Mosquitoes--Guaranteed

Edited by Creachen on 03/04/2009 17:40:02 MST.

Brian said: "-The JMT is perfect bivy country IMO it hardly ever rains and you usually have fair warning before it does."

I've had at least three memorable trips in the high sierra where it rained every day for a week. True, the rain is most common between 2 and 8 PM, but I've had it come down all night as well.

I took a bivy last summer and only had rain for an hour or so on two days and maybe two hours on a third out of fifteen. So yes it is good bivy country but you might want a small tarp just in case.

I got slammed with COLD rain and hail/ice (in the high passes) for two straight days last July.
I had a small tarp and a bivy...a bivy alone would've possibly bordered on dangerous- no way I could've kept my bag dry.
That was during the major storms that wiped out roads all over Lone Pine/Independence/Onion Valley.

Edited by xnomanx on 03/04/2009 19:02:13 MST.

When I say perfect for a bivy I simply assume when someone is using a bivy they are pairing it with a tarp,especially since the OP's gear list has a Duomid and double bivy- just to make it clear.
I think its good bivy country simply because there is a lot of opportunity to use it with out having to set up a tarp.

Edited by MAYNARD76 on 03/05/2009 02:44:07 MST.

Brian said: "I think its good bivy country simply because there is a lot of opportunity to use it with out having to set up a tarp."

Absolutely. My plan is to ~upgrade~ to a poncho and bug bivy for just that reason. Last summer proved that I like being a "fastpacker" (meaning quickly loading my pack). I was on the trail within 15 minutes of waking partly thanks to the bivy.