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Welcome!

The following pages detail a trip I took with three friends: David, Susan, and Zach. The goal of the trip was to cover the John Muir Trail from Yosemite to Bishop (roughly) in a week. 85 miles, one way. There would be a complex car shuttle to route around the need to backtrack on foot.

We would be travelling 85 miles down the spine of the Sierra Nevada in the middle of August, which in my experience often means thunderstorms. We might encounter bears, so we had to take 3 pound bear canisters. And snowstorms have happened in July, so we had to be prepared for cold weather.

I think David took a leap of faith when he invited me on this trip. I hadn't backpacked with them before, nor went on a trip of this difficulty level in many years. It took me awhile to accept the invitation. On the last trip here, my friend and I were headed for Mt. Whitney but had to cut the journey short at Mammoth due to a serious blister on his foot. I felt determined not to let that happen to me. Furthermore my pack would be heavier than everyone else's because of my photo gear. I'm happy to report that David's trust was not misplaced and in fact we all finished this test of our abilities without any showstopping injuries or problems. It was a trip of a lifetime!

Packing for this trip involved a number of Gordian knots. How much photo gear to take? What camera? How much food? How many layers? How many spare parts? Backpack technology has come a ways since I had last hoisted a Kelty external frame along the John Muir Trail. I learned a lot on this trip about what works for me and what doesn't.

The stretch of JMT trail from Yosemite's Tuloumne Meadow to Mono Creek/Lake Edison passes through some of the most beautiful High Sierra country, such as the famous Mount Ritter, Shadow Lake, and Silver Pass.

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