*If you’d like to skip directly to the gear list, scroll down to the bottom.* Introduction: Heavy pack = insane determination to go ultralight (because sometimes I was so annoyed with my 35-lb pack that I was tempted to chuck it over a cliff) When I was just beginning to get into the outdoors, I …
Continue reading JMT 2017 Gear List: What worked, what didn’t, and what was just plain dumb
Here I am again: sitting at my desk, writing at my computer. It feels weird to be out of the wild, off of the JMT, enjoying the fruits of civilization, facing the turn of the seasons again. I’ll spare you the “time goes so fast, I can’t believe the trail is already over, etc etc” …
Continue reading Beautifully Brutal: Some Reflections on the John Muir Trail
Short post because I'm writing on a phone! More detailed updates to come, but for now here's a quick briefing... 17 days of hiking has led us to Red's Meadow Resort and a much needed zero day in the town of Mammoth Lakes! We are about 60 miles from the end of the road for …
It's here. It's finally here. After months of planning, training, packing, gear purchasing, paring down, and stuffing more food than is reasonable into a bear can, the time has arrived. Tomorrow morning we'll depart LA for the Eastern Sierra Interagency Center in Lone Pine, where we will pick up the permit that we reserved for …
Above: My gear for the JMT in 2017, including the "maybe item" Petzl Glacier ice axe - 350g (will wait until the day before to decide based on trail reports). My Osprey Ariel 65 is off to the side at top right. My Kelty Cosmic Down 20-degree sleeping bag will go in a dry compression …
I've been training like crazy for the JMT. This is mainly because I see this trail as having so many inherent hazards this year (e.g., snow on high passes, swollen creek crossings, mosquitoes by the bushel, to name a few), and I do not want my fitness (or lack thereof) to be added into this …
Continue reading JMT training: a short saga (with pictures!)
I've never been able to stick with blogs before. Whether they are too specific to sustain my interest, or too broad to share pertinent thoughts, I haven't had much success in the past. But alas. I am trying again. Because this year, I am attempting to hike the John Muir Trail northbound, in July, in …
Reason #1: "Fun" I ran cross country all four years of high school. In the summer, as soon as the conference rules allowed us to practice, we met five times a week at 7 in the morning for runs that ranged from short-distance speed training to long, grueling, sweaty Kentucky 12-milers. When I started I …
Sarahmarie Specht-Bird 