Thoughts on doing the hike in two weeks:

It's interesting how, despite being in a completely different environment from daily city life, I couldn't seem to shake the sense of urgency that becomes a vital part of the "survival" instinct of living in modern society. It was a pleasure hiking the trail, but what about stopping and experiencing the place, the moment? I didn't stop for an all-afternoon break to swim in a stream or listen to the sound of nothing in a shady spot for hours. Although I often took breaks, some long, spending the hours relaxing that are needed to really drop into a zone, that place where time stops, is something I didn't do. So, why was I out there? To accomplish something or to just be? What did I want from this hike?

Talking with other hikers, most of which were taking three weeks or more to do the hike, I often heard comments about the speed of which I or a few others were doing the trail. They often said they wouldn't want to hike the trail in just two weeks because they wanted to "enjoy it." But that is over simplifying what the trail has to offer. The trail does not only offer access to remote spots, places to "be". The trail in its entirety also offers a physical challenge and chance to feel the accomplishment of completing a focused, determined endeavor. The balance that each hiker finds in the JMT is up to that hiker, and no one can tell him or her what that balance should be.

Right now, if I were to take three weeks or more to hike the JMT, I would gain value in some ways and lose value in others. The opportunity to experience a specific place and moment would increase for me, with many rewards. However, the challenge of pushing my mind and body, the thrill of reaching deep down to find, to create, the will to meet a personal physical and mental challenge, would be lost. What each person wants from the trail should dictate how they approach the hike.

 

How I got to and from the trail:

My friend and roommate and her boyfriend brought me to Yosemite from our place in Los Angeles via Highway 395. On the way, we made a side trip to Whitney portal where I left my car, so I would have transportation home when the hike ended. As the hike progressed and I met several people who had been dropped off in Yosemite and had no idea how they were getting home, I began to realize how lucky I was that I had friends who would agree to shuttle me door to door like this.

If you don't have this luxury, don't despair. If you end your hike at Mt. Whitney portal and need a ride to outlying cities, I found that fellow hikers who had transportation were very helpful to those that needed a ride, and it seemed at the very least it would be fairly easy to get a ride into the town of Lone Pine. From Lone Pine, there seemed several ways for the resourceful hiker to get to where they needed to go. Please visit some of the other web resources, such as the Pacific Crest Trail Association site (see link below) for more logistical information, including info on a shuttle that serves both ends of the JMT. Be wary of any site offering transportation information that looks like it doesn't receive regular updates.

 

Thanks:

To my girlfriend Pia. Without her encouragement I probably wouldn't have done the hike. To my friends Heather and Scott, who shared the fun of planning with me, helped me make hard tack, drove me all over the Sierra's, and hiked with me part of the first day.

-Jason Hashmi
e-mail: jnhashmi@hotmail.com

 

Links:

PCT Association
This site probably has the best and most up to date links available on the trail.
http://www.pcta.org//about_trail/muir/links.asp

Yosemite Association
Information about how to get a permit.
http://yosemite.org/visitor/wild.html

Hard Tack
It was good enough for John Muir.
http://www.kenanderson.net/hardtack/index.html