View Full Version : Do Yourself a Favor - Avoid the JMT
wandering_bob
01-27-2011, 13:23
The JMT is a mosquito-ridden dust-slog up incredibly steep slopes covered with little ball bearings disguised as pebbles. If you do survive to reach the pass, all you can see is more rock. Savage bears, sneaky marmots, and silent rattlesnakes lurk nearby, just waiting for your first, inevitable stupid move. The abundant deer (see "hunters" below) and grouse are their scouts, sent to locate potential prey. :-?
Most water crossings are readily and preferrably swimmable; packrafts are optional. Escape routes are almost as bad and take at least 2 days, being their own mini-versions of the JMT tread. Did I mention the rampant hunters that stalk the woods, desperately seeking something at which to fire their new rifles?:eek:
Resupply options are almost non-existant since the outrageously overpriced horsepacking outfits have bought up and closed most local roads - of which there are pitifully few - and towns, which they use to shelter the stuff they rake out of their horse barns.:confused:
Yosemite? It's a tourista trap - lots of loud kids and rude parents in shorts and Hawaiian shirts packing 20 pounds of camera gear they have no idea how to use. Concessionaire price shock is the #2 cause of sudden death in the Valley, second only to being run over by shuttle buses driven by under-paid, legally blind, former NASCAR drivers.:banana
Mt Whitney? Yes, it is the highest point in the lower 48 states - that part is true. What they don't tell you is that Sir Edmund Hillary decided Everest was an easier and safer climb. The only rangers that go there are the ones being punished by their superiors for morality reasons. Forget the ice axe and crampons; bring oxygen tanks - lots of them.....and be sure your life insurance premiums are paid in full.:D
Decades ago, the western states decided that it's cheaper to just drop their convicted psychopaths and serial killers in the middle of the wilderness and let nature take its course. If they're innocent, they will survive, if not............ Unfortunately, a few have proven stronger than the local wildlife and even the Grizzlies and rattlesnakes turn and run.;)
Be smart - stay away. Better yet, stay east of the Rocky Mountains. This is the REAL wilderness out here.
The rest of you posters, STOP pontificating; let's keep our secret to ourselves. We don't need no stinking east-coast hikers.
I'm told the Long Trail is nice ... and it's local. Hike on!
Wandering Bob
Sickmont
01-27-2011, 13:32
Wait, what?
chiefiepoo
01-27-2011, 13:42
Wait, wait you forgot to mention malaria, dengue, typhus, and gonorrhea carrying green head flies.
Kerosene
01-27-2011, 14:04
I knew it! Kind of like all the rain in Seattle. Plus you've got to deal with all those left-coasters. Guess I'll just stay put in the frigid Midwest and be satisfied with hiking the flats.
Helmuth.Fishmonger
01-27-2011, 14:07
yeah, Sierra sucks. Don't go. Hell, why even Colorado, or Wisconsin. I have a park across the street from where I live, and I think there are less people in that park than I meet on an average JMT day. Never looked at it that way.
But I am still thinking of doing three trips to JMT country this year alone... I must be crazy
Well, you are right about the mosquitos and the dust slog and the water crossings.
After Labor Day is the best time to hike the JMT. Most of the real problems listed above will be long gone.
Blissful
01-27-2011, 16:27
Sounds like my kind of place. Can't wait to be there July 7th.
:)
Cookerhiker
01-27-2011, 16:39
Wandering Bob, I think you covered it all.
Except....
You forgot what's been the subject of the most recent WB threads: what a PITA it is to get your permits. A bureaucratic labyrinth indeed.
SouthMark
01-27-2011, 16:42
I can't wait. I'll be there in August 2012. I love a challenge!
It's been a very long day....
http://images2.memegenerator.net/ImageMacro/5423103/Why-u-HIke-the-JMT-2-HARD.jpg?imageSize=Medium&generatorName=Troll-Face
DinnerFer2
01-27-2011, 19:35
Thanks for the preview! I'll be there August 2011. The Long Trail IS nice and so are east-coast hikers.
After I finish I'm moving to Portland too. And yes, I'm going to ride my bike everywhere and add one more body to the liftlines at Mt. Bachleor. See you there neighboreeno!
Let's see... A rare few have been attacked by bears (usually over poor food storage), snow covered passes, fast moving deep water at fords have swept away hikers, it's snowed in July just to try and freeze hikers who only have shorts and a t-shirt, thunderstorms hanging out just on the other side of the pass waiting to zapp someone, and let's not forget the legendary hoards of mosquitos that lie in wait in late June through July wanting to suck you completely dry. You can literally be days from help if you get injured. Yosemite rangers waiting to ambush you when you hike by to check your permit or bear can. Let's throw in a few plaque carrying rodents, begging marmots, and a few rattlesnakes, and you have the makings of a great time. Did I mention that you should apply DEET to your behind before heading off to the bushes if you want to be able to sit on it latter?
And yeah, I like September best also, though June with its snow covered peaks is pretty scenic.
Sly got it right! After Labor Day, before the first hard snowfall in Oct is the best in the Sierras. You can avoid the problems listed! It's like that in many other places too - Vermont Trail, Colorado Trail, Great Smokey Mnts, Yellowstone, etc Or, do what Hellmuth does. Hike elsewhere in Yosemite and Sequoia/Kings Canyon NPs, Ansel Adams Wildereness, Inyo Nat. Forest.
It's all about timing ... I guess the next thread will be about the AT in Georgia during march and april.........
postholer.com
01-27-2011, 22:26
...and
...there are no shelters, trail angels will be cited by rangers for leaving food unattended along the trail and weed whackers are not allowed...
It's an awful, repulsive place! Stay away!
thanks for the tip, I'll stay away. I don't recall ever seeing loud kids with rude parents in hawaian shirts on the Long Trail. Yosemite is a tourist trap overrun with R/Vs and tourist busses in the summer. John Muir must be rolling over in his grave.
Locals call it the John Manure Trail... miles and miles, of horse piles.
I still have flashbacks - the flies, oh the flies, everywhere the flies --
Blissful
01-27-2011, 23:41
Locals call it the John Manure Trail... miles and miles, of horse piles.
I still have flashbacks - the flies, oh the flies, everywhere the flies --
Oh crap.
oops.
:D
DinnerFer2
01-28-2011, 06:09
Any alternative suggestions or just banter about how horrible this trail supposedly is?
I can't wait. I'll be there in August 2012. I love a challenge!I do believe I'll see y'all there, SM. Already shopping for a (GASP!) tent.
Old Hiker
01-28-2011, 09:10
Don't care - I'm still starting my thru there on 30 Feb 2014.
Helmuth.Fishmonger
01-28-2011, 10:16
Any alternative suggestions or just banter about how horrible this trail supposedly is?
not sure if you noticed, but that post is tongue in cheek - seems like he just wants more room for himself, so he can be chased by vicious bears and crazy rangers all by himself, and to make the rewarding getaway from Yosemite and its toursit masses and smelly shuttle busses, only to head south for those noisy military jets circling over Sequoia at night...
but then maybe he was serious :D I definitely appreciate his efforts to make this a more private experience for those who do go there this year.
Sickmont
01-28-2011, 11:06
not sure if you noticed, but that post is tongue in cheek - seems like he just wants more room for himself, so he can be chased by vicious bears and crazy rangers all by himself, and to make the rewarding getaway from Yosemite and its toursit masses and smelly shuttle busses, only to head south for those noisy military jets circling over Sequoia at night...
but then maybe he was serious :D I definitely appreciate his efforts to make this a more private experience for those who do go there this year.
I picked up the sarcasm and the tone immediately. I can't blame him one bit for wanting it all to himself either. I tell people all the time about the preserves i hike in down here in Florida as being, hot, humid, skeeter and gator infested swamps. :D
Odd Man Out
01-28-2011, 12:13
I will be at Yosemite in early August. Staying at the lodge and day hiking (wife is not able to backpack). Yes I know it is over run with tourons (tourist-morons), but it is the only week I can take a vacation. Should I never in my life see Yosemite just because I can't backpack in the back country in Fall?
I will be sure to wear shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. For the record, I really like Hawaiian shirts and don't most backpackers wear shorts?
my buddies and I can't wait till August/Sept for our hike! I, too, have forsaken my hammock for a tent on the JMT... I have a new Bearvault, and a Neoair... all set to go!
I agree. Everyone should avoid the JMT. I'm an east coaster and in 2009 I had a terrible time on the JMT - they don't like us. I think they put something in the beer at Vermillion Valley Resort - it gave me a bad headache.
I will be going back to thru-hike the JMT in July 2011 just to warn people to stay away. It's terrible. Permits are impossible to get! I'm sure I only got a permit to warn others of the dangers.
postholer.com
01-28-2011, 15:55
Wandering Bob is probably laughing his a$$ off right about now! :)
The JMT and Yosemite Valley are one of those *must see* kind of places.
Even if you are not into hiking, Yosemite Valley is one of those stunning, jaw-dropping places that a person must visit.
Yes, yes, lots 'o tourists, but it is still absolutely magnificent!
wandering_bob
02-01-2011, 14:15
HUSH !
If you advertise it, they will come.......:D
No matter where you live, nothing exists on the other side of the Mississippi River. Live (and hike) where you are planted.
HYOH :banana
is this a joke??
How can the JMT, with the finest mountain scenery in the whole country be so bad?
oh wait.. I just read further.. the post was sarcastic!
Nice try.. if the weather is grand (I hear it hardly ever rains on the JMT during summer) and the scenery is even better (best mountain scenery in the country the books say) then nothing is gonna keep me away for long!
oh wait..
and the scenery is even better (best mountain scenery in the country the books say!
Besides it's scenic beauty, and great weather, the High Sierra is one of the longest ranges, if not longest, before a road crossing.
However, it's arguable, as to whether is the most scenic. The Wind River Range in WY is truly outstanding, as is Glacier National Park, and the San Juan Mountains and the Weminuche Wilderness in CO.
For scenic beauty and wildlife, Glacier wins with the San Juans second.
Carl in FL
07-29-2011, 19:30
Let's throw in a few plaque carrying rodents
I assume they are handing these out for things like best tongue-in-cheek post and other awards....
Besides it's scenic beauty, and great weather, the High Sierra is one of the longest ranges, if not longest, before a road crossing.
However, it's arguable, as to whether is the most scenic. The Wind River Range in WY is truly outstanding, as is Glacier National Park, and the San Juan Mountains and the Weminuche Wilderness in CO.
For scenic beauty and wildlife, Glacier wins with the San Juans second.
I totally agree.
I never thought anything would temp me away from the Sierra.
But you are right about the wildlife Sly. It's like seeing a UFO to see a Sierra Big Horn Sheep yet the things are all over the place in Glacier. I saw more Pronghorn Antelope than people while hiking the CDT through Wyoming.
As for the San Juans, I went through beginning March 31st. The snowpack and vast scale of those mountains dwarfs the narrow strip of mountains we call the Sierra.
The one huge thing the Sierra and JMT has going that those other places don't have so much.. LAKES!
The Sierra has incredible alpine lakes.13343133441334513346
Pictures are from: PCT/JMT Marie Lakes Sierra Nevada Range, Big Horns in Glacier NP, Wind River Range Wyoming, San Juan Mountains of Colorado
No Belay
11-22-2011, 01:33
Sly I agree that Glacier is spectacular but it's hard to get away from people (permits) there. The San Juans are just raw wilderness, a boundless playground. When I die with a pack on my back, I wanna be in the San Jauns. The JMT is a "concession" hike but it still rocks as far as AHHs and the fishing is hard to beat.
TaTonka
Mike2012
11-22-2011, 06:49
mean people suck
I agree with the OP. Having been foolish enough to do the JMT, while there I couldn't get the Mississippi delta or the Kansas praries out of my head. Oh if only I had no views and rabid humidity. The ups and downs sucked. Give me that flat-as-far-as-the-eye-can-see country any day!
Sarcasm the elf
11-22-2011, 09:32
Have fun with your permits, but I'm goin to stay in Connecticut and still hike the JMT! http://www.ct.gov/dep/lib/dep/stateparks/maps/paugnutstateforestmap.pdf
mean people suck
So do jugemental people !
Siestita
02-05-2012, 08:35
Thanks "Scarcasm the Elf" for lettting us know that Connecticut has a JMT. Tennessee does also, in the Big South Fork National Recreation area. Hopefully, those fine eastern trails won't lose their luster due to the JMT of California's horrors.