An attempt at speed hiking the John Muir Trail

The prologue:

John Muir Trail (aka JMT) is, perhaps, the crown jewel of High Sierra trails in California. It runs 211 miles from Yosemite Valley to Mt. Whitney – with zillion miles of elevation gain and loss. It just sounded pretty cool. And I wanted to do it in less than 5 days. This was a trip I had been thinking about for a few years now. It just happened that this year turned out to be when I actually decided to invest the time to train for it and get ready. Did a 50 miler and a 100 miler over the summer to train for it, lots of running on trails in WI with a 15 lbs pack on, and also added quite a bit of stairmaster training with a pack. I had always felt that my hamstrings were fairly weak, so I definitely needed to strengthen them for this trip.

Going into my taper the final week, I felt fairly strong. I was quite nervous too. I had always enjoyed solo trips to Sierra – including scrambling up pure choss in the past. However, it had been a few years since I was a sierra regular – and I was afraid I had gotten a bit soft and would have a hard time managing all the risks that come with being solo in a remote wilderness with no easy exit points if things go wrong.

Going into the final 2 days (I was flying out on Friday evening), I got a terrible cold (still have a bit of it). To add to the fun, my flight to San Francisco got delayed and I got there at 12:15 AM on Saturday morning. I got to my motel, slept for 2 hours and drove to Yosemite Valley wilderness permit station to stand in line for (hopefully) the same day permit. The wait for the permit was a bit long, but I ran into excellent company waiting for their permits for JMT too. We chatted, and generally had as good time as anyone could have waiting in line. There were two women from MA, and two guys from San Louis Obispo (in CA). All of us had different time goals, and they all were very nice and supportive of me when I mentioned that my goal was to do it in 5 days, and try to go about 45 miles a day.

After I got my permit for the same day, I waved my new friends good bye and we wished each other luck. I got back to my car and packed my backpack. With food and water, it came to about 16 lbs. I did not carry a tent, and an emergency blanket was what I was planning to use in case of rain. However, the forecast was as good as anyone can hope for – sunny all the days, and not too cold either. After talking to my wife on the phone, I started out.

Day 1 (Yosemite Valley to Cathedral Lakes ~19 miles):

This was a shortened day since I got to start at about 1 PM. JMT immediately starts to climb from the Valley (~4K ft). And, at 1 PM in August, it is hot there. And crowded. I got to Vernal Falls after weaving through crowds initially (it got a bit less crowded when I left the Mist Trail for the actual JMT). Hardly anyone replied to my smiling “Hi”. Wait a second, did I end up in Colorado, instead of Yosemite? Fortunately, this section passed fairly quickly, and, once I got past Little Yosemite Valley, it was mostly the usual friendly, smiling-to-say-hi-even-if-tired crowd of High Sierra (and *almost* everywhere else). The trail climbed pretty much all the way to Cathedral pass (about 10k ft). Mostly a nice trail for running *if you were going the other way*! There was  section between when the trail to Half Dome splits and Sunrise camp that was flat or even slightly downhill in the direction I was going.

The heat of the day, along with the climb and the lack of sleep, ensured that I got tired earlier than I had expected. By the time I got to Cathedral pass, I knew I would not be able to make it to Tuolumne, as I had originally planned. So, I got to Cathedral Lakes (~9.5 k) at about 9 PM and called it a day. Had a bit of a dinner (all my food was dried snacky stuff), and promptly fell asleep.\

Day 2 (Cathedral Lakes to Crater Meadows - ~43 miles):

I woke up at 4 AM on Sunday, had a decent breakfast, and started to hike/run. It was fairly uneventful getting to Tuolumne and beyond into Lyell Canyon. The trail was pretty flat going quite a bit into Lyell. However, I was unable to run much in this section – a combination of altitude (~9K ft) and a bit too sandy a trail. After several miles into the day came the first climb of the day – Donahue Pass (at ~11 K ft). Ah, the joys of trying to go fast(ish) at altitude – not being able to have eat/keep down any food. It was a theme that kept up with me till the bitter end. 

This first big pass was quite something – kept going up and up for a long time after several false summits. This was another theme – an actual pass in the Sierra is the farthest, most remote pass you can see from a basin. That is, if you are lucky. Usually, the actual pass comes after several layers of farthest, most remote apparent “passes”. Eventually, the trail crested Donahue Pass, and the decent into the basin below was fairly quick. Then came the climb up Island Pass (~10.5 K ft).

Now, compared to other passes on JMT, Island Pass is probably a baby. However, the amount of food I had been able to keep in me after breakfast was exactly zero. As the day wore on, I began to feel the effect of increasingly scarce fuel. Peak Oil passed and the west was wild again. The trail down from the Pass to Thousand Island Lake was very runnable. However, I stumbled down this trail. Even the majestic view of Mt. Ritter and Banner Peak with the lake in the foreground did nothing to cheer me up. I probably stayed at the lake for 30 minutes, just feeling miserable.  After a while, the caffeine pill I had taken a bit earlier started to act up and I was able to proceed. It was some good caffeine sh*t! I got a second wind – food or no food, I started running most downhills.

Now, those who know me, know that chances of me getting lost at any moment of time are fairly high. I decided not to disappoint those folks, and promptly got lost at the next lake (Garnet). Instead of continuing on the JMT, I mistakenly took a “trail” – more of a class 2 scramble down – to the River Trail. After navigating some serious looking drop offs into a canyon, I eventually got to the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) – which meet up with JMT around here and keeps together for a while. So, after some combination of JMT, River Trail, and PCT, I finally got back on the right path and eventually ended at Devil’s Potspile (~7.7 k ft).

I texted my wife from there, ate some food for the first time after breakfast, and decided to keep going a bit further. The next section was uphill for a while and I went till about midnight to Crater Meadows and decided to call it a day there. Funnily enough – since I was at ~9 K ft, no pre-sleep snack.

Day 3 (Crater Meadows to Bear Creek Trail junction ~32 miles):

Aka, the day of the first big bonk. I woke up about 5:30 AM – forced a bare minimum of food down and set off. Lukily, I had a good sleep – so felt quite fresh. Made fairly good time to Purple Lake (~10.5 k Ft). Then, after a bit of downhill, came the first big climb of the day – to Silver Pass (~11 k ft). A second day with minimal food kind of ensured that I started to feel the bonk coming on the climb up. And, of course, it was one of the usual Sierra passes with, at least, one false hope.

The downhill section after the pass began a bit promisingly, but it was just momentary mental jubilation, rather than any renewed strength on my part. Soon, I started to stumble downhill to Quail Meadows at a much slowed pace. The final downhill section to Lake Edison (~7.8 k ft) was very miserable. For most of time till then, I had been maintaining about 4 mph on downhills – but this one from Silver Pass was about half that pace.

At Lake Edison, I tried to force some food into me with little success. It was still too early in the day (~5 PM) to quit for the day – despite feeling miserable. The climb up from the lake is a real pain. The first section gains almost 2 k ft in less than 2 miles. Just a consistent steep grade. I started to feel lightheaded, uncoordinated, and cold (despite the steep climb). I wanted to stop and sleep – but there wasn’t place even remotely fit for a bivy. I had to keep on for quite a while before I could find a suitable spot. Five hours of slow climbing finally took me to a place about 4 miles from the lake, and I called it a night there. Worst part was that I had no appetite even as I went to sleep. 

This was the first time I considered calling it quits – and, if there was a place nearby to quit, I probably would have. I knew if I just slowed down substantially, I would be able to eat a bit more and able to finish. But, that would mean giving up my goal of less than 5 days finish. Granted, 5 days is an arbitrary number – but it was a goal for me, and, hence, a mental sweep wagon. And, I was already off pace. I decided to see if I can somehow make up the short day with a longer day the next one. Given that I wasn’t even able to have dinner, I wasn’t sure if that was possible, but may be worth a try.

Day 4 (Bear Creek Junction to LeConte Canyon - ~42 miles):

Right from the start of the day, I knew I had to make it a 50 mile day to make up for the silliness the day before. Or, at least, a 45 mile day. Fortunately, I was able to eat some amount of breakfast. Buoyed by that, I took off at a good clip. The day started with a gradual climb up Selden Pass (~11.2 k ft). I made good time up that. 

The descent from Selden Pass to Muir Trail Ranch (7.4 k ft) started off fairly well. However, the nice section of the trail soon made way for an exposed, hot, sandy/rocky trail that was a pain to run on. I got to MTR about noon, and (legitimately) mooched food off the left over resupply bins. I managed to find something that I was able to eat, felt rejuvenated for the climb up to Evolution Valley. I met several nice people at MTR who were resupplying and the chat also made me feel better.

The climb up to Evolution Valley was fairly gradual for several miles, before turning steep at the final entry into the lower valley. The lower valley is mainly meadows and is very nice for hiking through at a fair clip. After a few miles, the trail climbs steeply about a 1000 ft into the upper valley. I was still feeling strong when I got to the upper valley (~11 k ft). At the top, I met a couple (Chris and Syil) fro  Hawaii (I am sure I am butchering Syil’s name). We talked for a while, and it was Syil’s sixth time on the (through) JMT!

The next section from the start of the upper valley to Muir Pass (~11.6 k ft) was, in retrospect, what did me in. It was a long, hard slog. Again, no food. And, to top it off, Muir Pass is the epitome of annoying Sierra passes (goes on and on and on). By the time I got to the summit of the pass (with a cool hut on top), I was well into a well-deserved bonk. It was just getting fully dark, and I was already more spent than I had been. The strain of trying to go fast to make up for the previous day was showing up.

I met two guys at the top of the pass. I will venture out and say that I remember their names as Dave and Jansen. I am sure I am completely off target here. Jansen was doing the High Sierra trail – which sounded pretty cool. I don’t remember much more of the conversation, expect that Dave offered me a chili chocolate. I took a small bite and almost gagged. The day I start gagging on sweets is the day I know I am in trouble.

I took off – aiming to go a bit beyond the junction with Bishop Pass trail. However, I was very lightheaded and uncoordinated. On top of that, the decent from Muir Pass into LeConte Canyon is, possibly, the most horrendous section of JMT. Very rocky with lots of potential for ankle twists (which happened several times). I decided to bivy about halfway down the Canyon, and tried eating before going to sleep – but to no avail.

Day 5 (aka, the day of bailing out; aka, the day of having to hike 13 miles over a 12K ft pass just to bail out):

The day started with a nice view of peaks from the bivy site. That was the nicest part of the day. I gagged on chocolate poptarts. That was a new low for me. Great, now I will have to try to make up for the lost mileage starting out in a bonked state. A sip of water perhaps? Nope, that wasn’t going down either. I stumbled down the remaining 3 miles to the junction with Bishop Pass trail in about 2 hours. That was slow. For the next half an hour, I agonized over continuing on the JMT versus bailing out over Bishop Pass. I eventually decided to bail out – despite the 13 miles hike out with a 3600 ft climb in the middle.

I started going up the Bishop Pass trail. A few switchbacks up, I thought maybe I am quitting too soon – after all I have only 74 miles to the end the JMT. I stopped again, and decided to jog down the trail back to the junction to see if I could carry on. I could barely run without wanting to throw up – and this was at only 7.8 k ft. So, back I started going up. Several slow hours later, I finally made it out at the trailhead. On the plus side, I timed my bail out perfectly – I ran into a guy named Andy on the way out and he gave me a ride to Mammoth Lakes (where he, coincidentally, runs a hiker’s guest house!).

So what do we make of it all?

There are several thoughts that come to my mind in terms of analysis (loosely defined). Firstly, the trail itself was less runnable than I had thought. So, I was mainly doing a glorified backpacking trip. And, I hate backpacking. Perhaps a bit more training on rough, rocky trails would have helped. Secondly, given that I was not enjoying the running (or lack thereof) part, and was going too quickly to enjoy the views, the only reason I was doing it (besides the coolness factor of JMT) was to do it in less than 5 days. If I lose on the time front (as I was obviously going to), was the coolness factor enough to sustain my interest? Apparently not, in this case. I know I would have viewed my attempt as failing to achieve my goal had I kept going at a slower pace and finished in, say, 6.5 days. That would have immediately made me think of doing it again at the original intended pace. So, it boiled down to what the intended goal of the whole thing was. A very similar issue was covered in much more detail by Alicia in her blog after West Highland Way.

The last thing is – what should I have done differently? Since my legs feel okay, I think I trained reasonably. I wish I could have tried out different food combinations too figure out what works for my stomach when going at a fair clip (for me) at altitude.

Overall, it was an interesting experience. Maybe I will try it again, maybe not – it is not very high on my list at the moment (refer to the glorified backpacking part).