Tag Sierra Nevada

Top Ten Retirement Adventures: No. 1

Reg Spittle 6 Comments

When I set out to catalogue my top ten retirement adventures, the easiest choice was number one. As great as the other nine adventures have been, the John Muir Trail had them beat. By way more than a mile.

Talk about the improbable. I never imagined I would spend 30 days in California’s Sierra Nevada wilderness, sleeping in a tent. No toilets. No showers. No going back. Another out-of-character feature: I would travel with nine others, giving up my treasured privacy and my need to recharge by myself, or with just Sue.

Through seven distance treks, I have learned important lessons: Take chances, seek discomfort, be vulnerable. None is easy for me.

The John Muir Trail was the hardest adventure of them all. Sure, we were fortunate to have had a mule train and four dedicated packers that eased the physical challenges. I will be forever grateful for their efforts that allowed me to experience a trek I’m not sure I could do on my own. But, still, we walked 246 miles, conquered 100,000 feet of elevation, and answered numerous unexpected obstacles. The mountain passes tested our resolve; one of them was Muir Pass, where we paused at Muir Hut (photo above). Also, I overcame my fear of heights and climbed Mount Whitney.

The people. I will hold close my nine fellow trekkers and four packers for the rest of my life. And I was so fortunate to behold one of Earth’s most spectacular places up close.

Since our JMT in August 2021, I have been reliving my experience through my MacBook Air’s keys. I can’t wait to share the story later this year in the form of my third adventure trekking book.

Sue and I will soon embark on one of our most ambitious journeys. We will walk, but in the form of day hikes as we explore lands afar. Lead Foot (our truck) will lead the way, pulling our third Minnie, aka Mini. For the first time, we plan to take our travel trailer to another country.

We are not done distance trekking, though.

Here’s to the next top ten adventures!

John Muir Trail: ‘We Can’t Do That?’

Reg Spittle 11 Comments



“We can’t do that!”

Those were my words when Sue said we should walk across Spain on a famed pilgrimage.

The Camino de Santiago and distance trails in seven countries have taught me to question my first reaction to a backpacking challenge.

Two years ago, Sue and I tackled the John Muir Trail in California’s Sierra Nevada. Mules helped carry our stuff, but our legs carried us 246 miles from Horseshoe Meadow southeast of Mount Whitney to Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley. One of the most memorable days was the trek to the Mount Whitney summit; the bottom photo shows me on the switchbacks above Guitar Lake during my climb to the highest point in the continental USA. The other photos show us at Muir Hut and near Cathedral Peak.

We slept in a small Nemo tent, filtered our water, and went without showers or toilets for 30 days. It was all part of the adventure that kept us above 10,000 feet much of the way on a trail through astounding scenery.

Sue and I are preparing for our seventh distance trek, which begins September 1. If we are able to complete the 42 days on the trail, it will be our longest trek yet. This time, we plan to carry everything we need, but our packs won’t contain a tent or sleeping bags.

Stay tuned.