Tag John Muir Trail

The JMT: Peaks and Valleys Like No Other Trail

Reg Spittle 5 Comments

After walking the 211-mile John Muir Trail in August 2021, I returned home with an insatiable appetite for YouTube and written accounts of one of the world’s great treks. I am glad the first book I chose was Inga Aksamit’s Highs and Lows on the John Muir Trail.

An experienced backpacker, Inga had never attempted a distance walk as long as the 165 miles she and her husband, Steve Mullin, planned to cover over 23 days. She had often walked the first southbound section, from Happy Isles to Tuolumne Meadows in California’s Yosemite National Park, so they began their 2014 trek at Tuolumne. As she points out, permits are also more difficult to get if hikers hope to start at Happy Isles. Inga’s goal was off the trail to Onion Valley, short of Forester Pass, the JMT’s highest pass. The last section of the book describes her and her husband’s walks over Forester Pass and to the Mount Whitney summit, completing their JMT in sections.

Older than most on the JMT, Inga writes an account that is realistic and approachable. Her book would be helpful to anyone contemplating the trek. But even if the book is the closest you will ever get to long-distance backpacking, you will likely relate to her narrative and honest storytelling about the mental and physical challenges.

The author describes her preparations, battles with migraines, self-doubts, and trail camaraderie in just the right doses, along with spot-on descriptions of the high Sierra Nevada landscape. Besides Yosemite, the JMT travels through Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks and undulates nearly 100,000 feet of accumulated elevation change.

The color photographs in the ebook I purchased made me even more eager to return to the John Muir Trail. A warning: If Highs and Lows on the John Muir Trail draws you to the mountains, you are in for experiences that may create an addiction like the one that fills my heart.

For now, my addiction is being fed by preliminary work on what may turn out to be my third book, about my experiences on the trail named after the Sierra’s most famous mountaineer.

Pacific Crest Trail: What Is Your Plan?

Reg Spittle Leave a comment

Whether you are thinking of tackling a section of the Pacific Crest Trail, walking the entire 2,653 miles, or want to glimpse the trail from your armchair, these guidebooks are for you.

In the Pacific Coast Trail: Oregon and Washington, Jordan Summers presents a user-friendly guide that addresses my questions: Could I walk the two states’ sections? Or just one state? Or should I try a short section first?

Summers’ book, updated in 2020, includes PCT history, mile-by-mile points of interest, permitting, and equipment. Topographic maps and elevation charts accompany blue text boxes highlighting all-important water sources. Looking for campsites or resupply information? Summers has you covered.

In Hiking the Pacific Coast Trail: Oregon, Eli Boschetto covers similar basics for the middle state of the PCT.

After walking five famed distance trails in Europe, I wondered if I could enjoy a backpacking trip in the USA, without the perks of hostels, hotels, and places to eat at the end of each day. I read both guidebooks as I prepared to walk California’s John Muir Trail in August 2021. For a month, I filtered water, bathed in streams and lakes, and lived in a tent. I was part of a group of 11 backpackers who were mule-supported, relieving us of the need to carry a heavy pack for 243 miles on the northbound walk through the Sierra Nevada.

The high-elevation trek included summitting Mt. Whitney and conquering 12 passes as high as 13,150 feet. It was the greatest physical challenge of my life, but, as tough as it was, I long for more.

The next logical step would be to tackle another section of the PCT, but without mule support. No doubt, I hear the PCT calling, but I have yet to answer.

At the very least, these books allowed me to appreciate and understand the challenges of one of the world’s great trails. If I decide to answer the call, even if just for a weeklong section, I will return to their pages.

Check out my new book about my adventures on four iconic trails in Europe: Trippin’ Through My Sixties.

My first book is Camino Sunrise: Walking With My Shadows.