Southern Half Without Resupply

[jj442434]

I am going on my first thru hike, starting at the beginning of this August. I was looking at my potential resupplies, and of course I am stuck on what to do after Muir Trail Ranch. I'd prefer not to get off the trail too far (Independence or Bishop), so I am contemplating doing the 116 miles from MTR to Whitney Portal without resupply. I was thinking I would shoot for 8 days at about
14.5 miles per day. I am going to be using a BearVault BV500 for this hike.


Will I be able to do this? I have a fairly light pack, I'm 20 years old and in very good shape. The previous backpacking trips I've done I've covered some big miles, but I don't know how I'll respond to the altitude, extra weight of the food, etc.


Any input is appreciated.


-Jeff

[Malto]

While 8 days of food will be heavy, it can be done. The area just south of MTR does not require canisters until you get over Pinchot Pass. By this time you should be able to get all your food into your canister. Between MTR and Pinchot you can hang but if you do please learn to do it right. The PCT method is easy to learn via YouTube and can keep you from feeding the bears.

[Coffee]

I'm also going on my first thru hike this year and currently my plan is to take all of my food from MTR to Whitney. I am taking nine days to hike the segment but the first day of food will be outside the canister so it is really only eight days. Or really 7 2/3 days since I'll be eating dinner at the Portal or Lone Pine when I finish. I have a custom Bearikade canister that is 12 inches tall (between the weekender and expedition) and although it will be tight I think it should work out OK. My canister has about 750 cubic inches of capacity and I believe the BV-500 is 700 cubic inches but it looks like you are shooting for eight hiking days rather than nine so maybe it will work out.

[Coffee]

BTW, I looked into resupply options south of MTR as well. The pack station at Onion Valley trailhead was willing to hold a package for $80 but that's a 14 mile round trip detour from the trail over Kearsarge Pass. Over Bishop Pass there is Parcher's Resort which holds packages for $25 but that's an even longer detour and too close to MTR for it to make sense.

If you have $400-500 to spare, you can have packers bring up food to Charlotte or Rae Lakes. There's really no way I could even begin to justify that as a solo hiker but on the JMT Yahoo group there are people who are trying to coordinate food drops to get the cost down. To me that coordination seems like a potential nightmare.... what if one party is late and the other early? Too complicated.

[Kerosene]

My guess is that you'll cover this distance in 6-7 days if the weather cooperates and you don't lollygag too long taking in the scenery. Break camp before 8. Cover 10 miles by noon. Take a late afternoon break and eat an early dinner. Hike for another hour or two after dinner. I wouldn't be surprised if you averaged closer to 20 per day on that section of trail.

[wcgornto]

Hike for another hour or two after dinner.

Not me. I eat dinner where I am camped for the night.

[Coffee]

Not me. I eat dinner where I am camped for the night.

I'm thinking of eating a hot lunch (what I would normally have for dinner) and cold dinner. I like taking an our for lunch anyway and not having cooking odors around camp might be good. But I'm not totally sold on that idea yet...

[Cookerhiker]

My guess is that you'll cover this distance in 6-7 days if the weather cooperates and you don't lollygag too long taking in the scenery. Break camp before 8. Cover 10 miles by noon. Take a late afternoon break and eat an early dinner. Hike for another hour or two after dinner. I wouldn't be surprised if you averaged closer to 20 per day on that section of trail.

Maybe others can but not me, for lots of reasons. They're named Muir Pass, Mather Pass, Pinchot Pass, Glen Pass, Forester Pass....

[wcgornto]

I'm thinking of eating a hot lunch (what I would normally have for dinner) and cold dinner. I like taking an our for lunch anyway and not having cooking odors around camp might be good. But I'm not totally sold on that idea yet...

I am the opposite. I never take a pre-set hour for lunch, opting instead to take several shorter breaks throughout the day for snacks. Having said, that the JMT has enough spectacular beauty that it might entice me into a few longer lunch breaks. The only time I have a hot meal is at dinner time. No hot lunches for me ... it's just extra prep time and extra fuel.

[fiddlehead]

The longest I ever went without resupply was on the JMT, back in '90.
We carried 12 days food.
Of course this was in the days before you needed the bear canister so, it wouldn't be possible anymore I think.
But, I carried a lot of food that I would have a problem eating anymore, simply because I can't stand some of these things anymore:
Instant oatmeal, ramen (lots of it), grits.

I now prefer to go heavier on foods I like and even go out for resupply if necessary.
But, if you resupply at Reds and Muir ranch, why should you have to?

One of the beautiful things about this trail is the sunrises and sunsets.
I like to be sure I'm out hiking for those and not sitting in my tent.
Long days on the trail will make 20 mile days fairly easy.

Have fun and Enjoy a Great trail!

[schnikel]

My wife and I thru hiked the JMT in 2011. We did not resupply after MTR. We carried 8 days of food and it was possible. We dehydrated our dinners and kept our "bulk" to low amounts. We also used a Bear vault 500. We averaged right around 14 miles a day and we thought it was tough hiking. The Altitude is up there on the 2nd half of the hike as well as the elevation gain. There are days we did 4000 ft gain after lunch. We felt very safe from bears when away from civilization, Yosemite,toulemine, I spelled that wrong, VVR, MTR, so we cooked dinner where we slept. Use common sense in the backcountry in regards to your food, and I bet you will be okay. The OP said he was 20 yrs old, and in good shape so the elevation and altitude may not effect him as much as it did us. We flew out of ohio around 800 ft above sea level and the hills we hike to prepare were about 700 ft in gain. Out west is much different!
Hope this info helps, the hike is awesome!
Schnikel

[Hole-In-The-Hat]

Jeff, I think your plan is do-able. Eight days means seven days of food in the BV500 - this is possible, though it will take some care in how you pack the food. You'll want to get rid of any bulky packaging (e.g., re-package freeze-dried meals into a Ziploc), and you may need to scrunch some foods to reduce the volume. Your food will need to be fairly calorie-dense - no corn chips, for example.

As you're aware, the MTR-Whitney Portal portion of the JMT is high and rugged, with significant elevation gains. Elevation probably won't be a determining factor, though, because you should be well-acclimated by the time you get to MTR.

My nephew and I hiked the JMT last July; we did this stretch in seven days without too much trouble. I'm 66, and I'm not going to say it was easy - but my pack was light (11.6 # base weight) and we were well-conditioned from the first week on the trail.

Best wishes!

[BrianLe]

My wife and I did exactly this in September --- loaded up with 8 days of food at MTR and didn't stop for resupply again. That 8-day load is a bit of a pain at first, but totally worth it as you go along.

The saving grace here for us was the knowledge that at the Kearsarge Pass junction we could assess our pace and remaining food supply and opt to bail to Independence to resupply as needed. But we didn't, and were happy to miss that (I've done that extra bit before).

And --- we're in our mid-50's. Given that you (OP) are young, fit & strong, and have experience at doing decent mileage, I see no problem.

Possible caveat: are you doing the whole trail? Starting in Yosemite Valley, but the time we got to MTR we were pretty much up to speed in terms of dealing with altitude and just generally being a bit more in shape and overall tuned-up for walking.

[jj442434]

Thanks all!

I just got back from a trip in the San Gabriels, and all these responses are making me think about the JMT and now I want to get right out of LA again. Thanks for all the advice and the kind words.

-Jeff

[Berserker]

I'm also going on my first thru hike this year and currently my plan is to take all of my food from MTR to Whitney. I am taking nine days to hike the segment but the first day of food will be outside the canister so it is really only eight days.

This is what I'm planning to do also. I'm budgeting 9 full days between MTR and the Portal so that I can enjoy the area in between there. I could do it faster, but why...it's not like I'm going to get the opportunity to do this trip that often. I have a standard Bearikade Weekender, and will be hanging the excess food for the first couple of days.

While 8 days of food will be heavy, it can be done. The area just south of MTR does not require canisters until you get over Pinchot Pass. By this time you should be able to get all your food into your canister. Between MTR and Pinchot you can hang but if you do please learn to do it right.

I had read this somewhere, and it's good to get confirmation that I can do hangs for a couple of nights in this area. I'm versed on the PCT method, and will be hanging using that method.

[doodah man]

jj442434. I did the JMT north bound in 2008 and long north bound sections a couple times since, always entering backcountry from Horseshoe Meadow. Never needed to resupply before MTR. Was 53 years old in 2008 so not a young speedster. One advantage going nobo is that there are lots of bear boxes in the Mt. Whitney area if you have bear canister overflow early on. In 2008, I think I started with 11 days of food from Horseshoe Meadow. I have the Wild Ideas Bearikade Expedition and all my food fit after day one food consumed. See attached spreadsheet for related info. Doodah-Man

[wornoutboots]

My wife and I did exactly this in September --- loaded up with 8 days of food at MTR and didn't stop for resupply again. That 8-day load is a bit of a pain at first, but totally worth it as you go along.

It shouldn't be tough at all, BrianLe here is talking about food for 2, & I believe the OP is talking about food for 1? I just received my BV450 in the mail for my August hike & I'm thinking it will hold 5 days worth?

[staehpj1]

I have a standard Bearikade Weekender, and will be hanging the excess food for the first couple of days.

Looking at the trail data I have to wonder about that choice. It looks like you almost have to be above tree line for the first night after MTR. Am I mistaken? I'd love to be wrong on this as it would allow me to take a smaller lighter bear canister.

[BrianLe]

"It shouldn't be tough at all, BrianLe here is talking about food for 2, & I believe the OP is talking about food for 1? I just received my BV450 in the mail for my August hike & I'm thinking it will hold 5 days worth? "

The food for 2 was carried by 2, and we each had BV500's, not BV450's. And it was a relatively tight pack to get it all in, with most of a days worth of food left out (sorry, I can't recall if we slept near trees the first night out of MTR).

The BV500 has volume of 700 c.i. versus 440 c.i. for the BV450. So not double, about 1.6 X the capacity. But there's no way I would have been able to bring the food I wanted in a significantly smaller can; even getting the food garbage into it (and toothpaste etc) that first night out was a bit of a push. I had enough volume in my pack, and the 8 oz difference between the BV450 and the BV500 --- assuming that *you* have enough volume to carry it, I'd really recommend a full-size can in there if you want to do a carry of that length. People do manage to put improbable amounts of food into bear cans, but beyond the more obvious solutions it boils down to compromises on the types (and/or quantity) of food carried --- often more primitive ingredients requiring more effort and perhaps fuel to convert into a meal. We heated water for dinners (for repackaged Mt. House or Knorr sides or the like) but not otherwise.

I've done some creative bear can filling in the past, and have used both short and full-sized cans (of more than one type). I suggest that anyone considering an 8-day (or longer!) carry where canisters are required should go for a full-sized can. The Bearikade is an awesome product that IMO is too expensive for most people --- buy that if you go often enough into "can required" areas to warrant it. Otherwise the wider mouth and see-through body of the Bear Vault makes it a good choice to maximize what you can get in the volume you have with it.

[Berserker]

Looking at the trail data I have to wonder about that choice. It looks like you almost have to be above tree line for the first night after MTR. Am I mistaken? I'd love to be wrong on this as it would allow me to take a smaller lighter bear canister.

I'm not following exactly what you are saying. From the topo maps I've looked at there should be forested areas after MTR in which to camp. I'm also planning to repackage everything, and go with a lot of freeze dried stuff after MTR so I'm not yet sure how much of my food will actually be outside of my can. It shouldn't be more than 2 days (I've used the can a good a bit, and know about how much I can get in there).

Heck if all else fails I can use my food as a pillow like Lone Wolf (I'm not sure if he even checks this forum to defend himself)...that'll work won't it?