Yeah, yeah, you have heard this before, I know. This year, I am trying the trip solo without Jar Jar and Stalker... should be interesting. Go to this page to read about the results of that fiasc-- I mean drama. http://psychohikers.blogspot.com/ . We did have a good time, but fell well short of the goal. This year will be different... I hope.
The John Muir Trail runs 211 miles through the southern Sierra Nevada mountains of California from the floor of Yosemite Valley to the summit of Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48 states. That town of Visalia on the map above, that is where I grew up. We lived just near the place on the map where Highway 198 gets squiggly as it moves into the Sierra foothills. Orange trees on the valley floor... pine trees, giant Sequoias, and alpine meadows just a short drive away.
As a boy, I hiked along the John Muir Trail a couple of times. When I was 14, our Boy Scout troop hiked from Cedar Grove / Roads End in Kings Canyon National Park to the summit of Mt Whitney and then out through Mineral King in southern Sequoia N. P. When I was 15, a friend, Paul, and I tagged the JMT on a hike down Goddard Canyon in northern Kings Canyon N. P.
Since that first summit of Mt. Whitney, I have been back to the top 5 more times. In 2006, I tagged along with my son and his Boy Scout buddies to hike the entire JMT from north to south. We did that trek in 23 days, had a great time, and forged some lasting friendships and memories.
Walk 4 SOCK 2010 will follow the JMT in that same direction. This time, though, I expect to take around 7 days to hike the 211 miles (+11 more miles hiking to get down from the summit of Mt. Whitney). 30 miles a day is a push, for sure. I may do it faster, or (more likely?) slower... we will see.
Okay, so that is the basics... Walk 4 SOCK 2010. Support the camp, support the kids, and follow along on my hike. I will have a full report from camp this year (July 25th - 30th). Check in for updates.
The walk is planned to begin on August 5th... that is my permit date for starting in Yosemite. I have a SPOT tracker that you will be able to see the progress each day as I cruise through the Sierra Nevada wilderness. The SPOT track will look something like the depictions below. For info on these satellite tracking devices, go to http://www.findmespot.com/en/ .
--- Click here to Support Walk 4 SOCK ... Later, Gator.
SPOT TRACKING FROM A RECENT BACKPACKING TRIP IN THE ILLINOIS RIVER CANYON...Check out the 3rd image. Track #48 is right on the trail we were hiking and the OK message on #49 is exactly where our truck was parked... the SPOT tracker was on my backpack in the bed of the truck. Track #1 is from the beginning of our trip, not quite as accurate (1st hit), but is from the day we departed. No, the satellite photos are not realtime. My military career does not hold any clout with the NSA.
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