A week on the John Muir Trail

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John M

climber
Oct 8, 2012 - 01:59am PT
Who deleted their post? Someone had a post about doing the route just before you. They said something about having a 22 pound pack and no resupply. I was curious how they managed that. This new fangled gear boggles my mind.
spidey

Trad climber
Berkeley CA
Topic Author's Reply - Oct 8, 2012 - 09:15am PT
Here is my gear list:

Zimmerbuilt custom pack (frameless)
piece of a Ridgerest pad for back padding in pack and sit/kneel pad at camp
Mt. Hardwear Phantom 32 sleeping bag
Neoair full length pad (with stuff sack)
Gossamer gear groundsheet
4 titanium and 4 MSR carbon stakes (titanium ones worked better)
BD Betalight silnylon tarp (with stuff sack)
BD Alpine carbon cork trekking poles

Clothing:
Patagonia Capilene 1 boxers and T-shirt, Capilene 2 long sleeve zip-neck and pants, NanoPuff pullover
OR Helium 2 rain shell
OR Desert Runner hat
MHW convertible pants
MHW powerstretch beanie
Bandana
Manzella liner gloves, old and beat up but still functional
2 pairs injinji synthetic toesocks for hiking
1 pair smartwool phd socks for camp/sleeping
La Sportiva Raptor shoes
1 OR waterproof stuffsack for clothing, would also fit sleeping bag if
necessary, doubles as pillow with nanopuff inside

Homemade first aid/repair/etc kit in ziplock bag
2 platypus 1L bottles, collapsible
about 10 iodine tablets (only used 4, mostly just drank the water)
BD spot headlamp with extra batteries
Snowpeak canister stove (litemax?) with small fuel canister
Snowpeak Titanium 700ml pot with silicone cup
lighter and waterproof matches
small Gerber paraframe knife
pen and paper
Tom Harrison Map pack
Camera - panasonic lumix ZS-10 and extra battery (did not need extra battery)

Food:
BV450 bear can
3-5 bars per day (larabar, builder, and probars) for lunch/snacks
homemade dehydrated food - sweet potatoes and chicken/sausage with veggies
mostly, for breakfast and dinner. 3-4 oz per meal plus 1-1.5 oz macadamia nuts or pecans per meal.
1 starbucks instant coffee and 1 teabag or emergen-c packet per day.
1 8oz sausage and a small bag of dates for the first few days.

I think that's it. All together the pack weighed about 15 lbs with 3-4 days of food. I never carried more than 1 liter of water, usually less than half a liter, often none.
spidey

Trad climber
Berkeley CA
Topic Author's Reply - Oct 8, 2012 - 09:18am PT
You could do it with no resupply, 22 lbs sounds about right. food is typically 20-32 oz per day. so no resupply means 4-8 lbs extra if you take 3-4 days to do the second half.
rich sims

Social climber
co
Oct 8, 2012 - 12:01pm PT
Great job
Reading your TR brought back a flood of happy memories . I haven’t been hiking in the sierras for 30 years.
johntp

Trad climber
socal
Oct 8, 2012 - 10:33pm PT
John M-

Checkout "backpackinglight.com" and do a search for "JMT record" or spell out the full trail name.

These guys use mostly powdered supplements and gels with a few bars; no stove or cooking gear. They go incredibly minimal on gear; pack for speed and not for camping. They calculate how much weight they can lose. Travel at night and sleep in the afternoon so they can reduce weight of insulation.

It really is a similar competition to speed climbing the Nose. Just different starategies and techniques. These guys start with a 5 pound pack weight and then add food.

Not my cup of tea.
John M

climber
Oct 8, 2012 - 10:38pm PT
Its not really my cup of tea either. Not the speed hiking. I am interested in the lighter gear because I would like to get back into backpacking but don't think I could carry those old heavy weights anymore. My problem is that I do like my comfort. So I am looking for some tradeoffs. I am definitely getting rid of the 8 pound pack.
Nick

climber
portland, Oregon
Oct 8, 2012 - 11:39pm PT
Thanks.
spidey

Trad climber
Berkeley CA
Topic Author's Reply - Oct 9, 2012 - 12:58am PT
John M -

You'd be amazed how comfortable you can be with modern lightweight gear. I find carrying less stuff and lighter stuff really makes hiking more enjoyable. And the lighter your load the more miles you can do in a day, so you need less food, so your pack gets even lighter...
John M

climber
Oct 9, 2012 - 01:06am PT
And the lighter your load the more miles you can do in a day,

When I was running it was about the miles and ground that I could cover and new country that I could see, but backpacking for me was always about getting into the back country and then hanging out. Climb this or that peak, swim in this or that lake and just hang out. But a messed up back has made carrying the loads out of the question, so the new gear maybe could reopen the possibilities.

Thanks again for sharing your trip with us.

John
10b4me

Boulder climber
Somewhere on 395
Dec 27, 2012 - 02:50pm PT
http://vimeo.com/28965851
Charlie D.

Trad climber
Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra
Dec 27, 2012 - 04:06pm PT
Having worked most of my life trying to figure out how to spend more time in the mountains not less I suppose I'm heading in the opposite direction ;^) my record for the JMT was 28 days! Hope to break that record before the lights go out.
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