Ultrarunning, hiking, climbing mountains, essentially "traveling by foot" to the wild pure places still left on the Earth has become a means for many to stay connected to life’s fundamental aspects. John Muir said, “Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.”
Monday, July 23, 2012
John Muir Trail Pictures
Just some pictures for now. I'll have stories and videos as time goes by. I gathered lots of stories during my 20 day backpacking adventure.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
John Muir Trail Preparations
I am just putting on the finishing touches in preparations for our John Muir Trail Hike. I got enough food for 7 days in the wilderness packed in a 550 cubic inch Garcia Bear resistant canister. Yosemite National Park requires all over night backpackers to keep all their food in an approved bear resistant canister. The one I got is opaque black, 8 inches in diameter and 12 inches deep. By using high density dry foods I hear it is possible to get 10 days worth of food in one. I guess it depends on how much you eat. Here is a picture of all what I put in.
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All this fits in that black can with the decals on at the back of the table.
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With that done it was time to pack the rest of the gear. Here is what it looked like.
We will be starting from Happy Isle in Yosemite Valley on Saturday, June 30th. We will exit after we reach Mt. Whitney on July 19th. Here is the link to my Spot transmit that will track our day to day location.
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0ql2ZURhTMVbJcg5IWox3Bhqj7VjGI3y0
The above are my own best measurements of the weights of some of the items I will be packing using a balance scale and a bathroom scale so they are not 100% precise. I tried my best to keep the total weight down, but this is definitely not an ultralight rig. Thankfully there is a lot of water flowing everywhere, so most of the time I will only need to carry 1 bottle, 1/2 a bottle or no water at all. Each day we hike we will also be loosing 2 lbs of food so that will be nice. That is until we hit our big resupply on day 8 of our trip at Muir Trail Ranch. That will be our last resupply point until we complete the hike 11 days later. I will be taking on 26lbs of food that day and my backpack weight will probably be in the neighborhood of 75lbs. Hiking out of of that resupply point we will need to climb 4,000 ft as we immediately hit Muir Pass which tops out at 11, 955 ft. I anticipate that to be one of the most challenging parts of the hike.
Backpacking Gear list.
Clothing
Woolen cap, sun hat, wicking t-shirt, long sleeve wicking
t-shirt, , long sleeve thermal shirt,
cotton hoody sweat shirt, , wind breaker nylon ski jacket w/hood, wind breaker sweat pants, pocketed shorts,
running shorts, running cap, 2 pairs of woolen socks, 2 pairs cotton socks, NB
110 running shoes (light weight 10oz shoes for trail running, walking around
camp and wading), Salomon XA 3D Ultra Gore Tex trail runners, light gloves, Hiking
gloves (cyling gloves),
Camping supplies
2 sleeping pads (1 foam and 1 Thermarest), sleeping
bag, ground sheet, poncho/tarp shelter, pocket
knife, bug repellent with Deet, toothpaste and brush, soap, matches, aluminum foil, 2 qtr. Al pot with lid, 2 qtr.
double nest pots with fry pan lids, MSR Superfly stove, 2 X 8oz MSR fuel
canister, Spot Transmitter, toilet paper, zip-top plastic bags for used toilet
paper, Microfiber 12” X 24” towel, 8 MSR groundhog stakes, Insulated covered
coffee mug, 2 cup plastic food cup with screw on lid, New Trent 5000 eternal
back up battery, Nylon cord for tarping, Hand Sanitizer, extra camera
batteries and charger, Double wall USB charger, A16 bug bivy, portable tripod,
mini-tripod with rubber band for attaching to hiking pole,
Hiking Supplies
Hiking poles, backpack, headlamp, compass, Tylenol, Advil,
Band-Aids, sunscreen, sunglasses, reading glasses, magnifying glass, maps ,
water filter, water purifying tablets (iodine system), water bottle, waterproof
poach for cellphone and camera, whistle, Binoculars, Sierra Nevada Field Guide by John
Muir Law, Pacific coast Tree Finding guide., Extra AAA batteries, Head net, John
Morrison John Muir Trail Map-Pac
Fishing supplies
1
spinning rod with lures and gear, 1 fly rod with lures and gear, 1 plastic tube
for carrying rods
We will be starting from Happy Isle in Yosemite Valley on Saturday, June 30th. We will exit after we reach Mt. Whitney on July 19th. Here is the link to my Spot transmit that will track our day to day location.
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0ql2ZURhTMVbJcg5IWox3Bhqj7VjGI3y0
Weights
| Item | Weight in lbs and oz | |||
| Empty backbpack | 5lbs | |||
| Clothes (less running shoes and tarp/poncho) | 6 lbs | |||
| Running Shoes (NB 110 trail runners) | 1 lb | |||
| Poncho/ tarp | 13 oz | |||
| Sleeping bag | 3 lb 8 oz | |||
| Aluminum 2 qt. pt | 9 oz | |||
| Double stainless steel pot/ fry pan lid | 1 lb 12 oz | |||
| Binoculars | 1 lb 12 oz | |||
| Full backpack without water or binoculars and field guide | 52 lbs | |||
| Full backpack with 48 oz water with out binoculars and field guide | 56 lbs | |||
| Full backpack with 48 oz water with out binoculars and field guide | 60 lbs |
The above are my own best measurements of the weights of some of the items I will be packing using a balance scale and a bathroom scale so they are not 100% precise. I tried my best to keep the total weight down, but this is definitely not an ultralight rig. Thankfully there is a lot of water flowing everywhere, so most of the time I will only need to carry 1 bottle, 1/2 a bottle or no water at all. Each day we hike we will also be loosing 2 lbs of food so that will be nice. That is until we hit our big resupply on day 8 of our trip at Muir Trail Ranch. That will be our last resupply point until we complete the hike 11 days later. I will be taking on 26lbs of food that day and my backpack weight will probably be in the neighborhood of 75lbs. Hiking out of of that resupply point we will need to climb 4,000 ft as we immediately hit Muir Pass which tops out at 11, 955 ft. I anticipate that to be one of the most challenging parts of the hike.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Up and over Mt. Charleston, one really old tree but still shy of 100K
I am not sure what I was thinking when I planned out this 100K route last Friday afternoon. It sure looked good on paper. The plan was to start from the foot of Mt. Charleston at about 5,800 feet, run to the peak, come the down other side, traverse to the ski resort via Deer Springs road and continue to run though the Spring Mountains till I came out the other side at Coal Creek. This would have given me my goal of 100 kilometers for the day. It sounds a doable run, but not for me just yet - at least not in the 12 or so hours that I would like to complete it in.
I started at 5:00am at the junction of Kyle Canyon Road and Harris Springs road. I took off with about 6 liters of water, 6 energy bars and 6 Gu packs anticipating at most 6 hours of running up and over Mt. Charleston, Nevada highest mountain at 11,918 feet. The sun was just coming up as I got started, the temperatures were in the low 70's, and I felt ready for this one.
After Rain Tree, it is about 4 more miles down to Deer Springs Road where Amy is waiting for me with water and food. When I get there I will have completed 29 miles. At the road the plan was to turn left and continue westward. However I will have to leave that to another day. This coming August sounds good. Instead, for today I will turn right, head down the road towards Mt. Charleston and back to my car. When I get there I will have completed about 52 miles, or 83 kilometers just 17 short kilometers of my goal. On a positive note, I felt really strong during the entire run. I did use the salt tabs for this run (about one 340 mg of sodium every 2 hours) and that seemed to alleviate some leg pain and I didn't experience any cramping. I was sweating more freely the entireand when I got home I had lost only 2 pounds of water weight. I felt I took better care of my hydration this time. Even in the final miles I was able to average about 10 to 12 minutes per mile. I feel I am getting stronger at these longer distances and I am at a point now where I can comfortably keep running the entire day. It's a good feeling. Today I continue to replay and visualize yesterdays run. There is something empowering about knowing that you have the ability to self propel yourself up and over these magnificent mountains.
Above This the data was gathered from My Garmin during the run. It stops at 45 miles because that is where the Garmin lost power.
I started at 5:00am at the junction of Kyle Canyon Road and Harris Springs road. I took off with about 6 liters of water, 6 energy bars and 6 Gu packs anticipating at most 6 hours of running up and over Mt. Charleston, Nevada highest mountain at 11,918 feet. The sun was just coming up as I got started, the temperatures were in the low 70's, and I felt ready for this one.
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| Harris Springs Road (I have spotted wild Burros in this area on previous days) |
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| Three miles up the road I come to the turn of for Griffith Peak trail. I will be passing by Griffith peak on the way to Mt. Charleston. The sun is up now, and I got K.D. Lang Belting out Halleluiah on my headphones. |
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| The start of Griffith peak trail. This is 8 miles into the run which up until this point has been about a fifty - fifty split between running and fast hiking because the road is so steep in places. The start of Griffith peak trail is a nice, gentle climb that is very runnable. The elevation here is about 8,000ft and the air is not too thin for me yet. |
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| Ahhh...,but that runnable section ends about three miles further up he trail as I hit some heavy climbing. I am always amazed at all the work that goes into making these trails. God bless these hard working people. |
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| Time for a quick look back at what has already been accomplished. I am up around 11,000ft. now and all running and even hiking has become difficult because the air is so thin. I have been slowed down to 30 minutes/mile in places. |
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| After passing Griffith Peak the trail levels out again as it aims for mMt. Charleston. I am still feeling strong and I am able to run again. I am already 14 miles and 3 1/2 hours into this run. |
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| Up above the tree line now and everything is hard but the sight of the goal gives strength. This picture is taken at about 11,200 ft and looking directly at Mt. Charleston. |
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| Five hours, 18 miles, 6000 feet of elevation (about 800 feet more than the Grand Canyon) and here I am standing in the howling wind with Old Glory |
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| his is the view from the top looking down the north side. That's the town of Mt. Charleston and Kyle Canyon in the distance. You can see a piece of the steep trail leading down in the foreground. |
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| Looking back at Mt. Charleston from the North Loop trail. Much of the upper part of the North Loop trail is very steep and difficult to run even if you are heading down. My progress to this point is over an hour behind where I hoped to be and I am already considering changing plans. |
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| Hi my name is Rain Tree and I am the oldest thing living here in the Spring Mountains. I am over 3,000 years old. I am a bristlecone pine and some of our kind have been known to live to 4,900 years old. I am located at the junction of the Mummy Springs Trail and North Loop Trail . |
Above This the data was gathered from My Garmin during the run. It stops at 45 miles because that is where the Garmin lost power.
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