Gary-Summer: February 1973

Friday, February 16, 1973

JMT Master Planning Document

This is a master document of our John Muir Trail (JMT) Trip for 2016.

Dear Friends and Family,

Sherri and Gary are trying to walk most of the John Muir Trail this year--starting Sunday morning, August 7th. Instead of going alone, we will be joining four other friends of ours: Rose, Sonya, Kate and Kim. This year instead of walking all the way to Mt Whitney, Sherri and Gary will be exiting at Roads End, near Cedar Grove in Kings Canyon. The rest of our group will be conquering Whitney. We anticipate it will take us a little more than three weeks. Some of you have said they would like to follow us. Here's how:

Each day after we set up camp, we will send out a message through our Personal Locator Beacon (SPOT Messenger or SPOT 2).
It will appear on a map, which you can see at bit.ly/mapritto1 (if that does not work, try clicking on this link.). The link should be updated each night by about 7 or 8 .
A map should appear in your browser, when you click it. You will see our locations from the past 5-7 days. Take a look at the map below for an example. By the way, Ritto and Shirley are the names of our two PLB's.
SPOT Map-Corrected from Original e-mail

Most messages will say, we are OK. But if you see a “Custom” message or a message with text, we are probably on a day hike, or communicating with our support team.
If a campsite does not appear for a day or two, do not panic, we may not have been able to transmit. If we are in trouble, we will have set off an alarm for our support crew to help us out.

For those of you who want to know more, here is a little more detail. We own both a SPOT Messenger PLB and a SPOT2. It uses satellite communications to transmit messages and coordinates. There is a limited number of message types which can be sent—see the list below. It's most important function is if we are in a terrible fix, to alert a national rescue center to find us. But its more common use is to let people know where we are and to help them follow us or to coordinate with our support team. Sherri's and Gary's support team consists of Gary's brother and our children. The SPOT Messenger has five buttons, which we mostly use the first one:

“I am OK”,
“Custom Messages”-which we use to say we are on a day hike,
“Help”-to coordinate with our support team,
“Tracks”-leaves a set of tracks on the map showing where we have been, and
“SOS”-notifies the national rescue center.

The SPOT2 has those functions and the ability to send limited text messages.

Finally, for those of you who cannot get your fill of us, there is a blog of our summer travels which you might be interested in. They will not be updated with out JMT walk until we get back:

Gary's Summer Trips Blog: http://gary-summer.blogspot.com/

JMT-2016: Proposed Itenerary

There are six of us which are on this trip. Two people have permits to do the JMT. Four of us have permits to do a alternative/pseudo JMT route. Possible alternations:

On the alternative route, we are mulling over changing the trailhead to come in at Silver Lake and go by Agnew, Gem and Waugh Lakes rather than over Parker and Koip Peak Passes. This is the highly probably route we will be taking.
Another alteration to the route. On August 30th, Gary and Sherri will be leaving the party and returning home. Their route will be down Bubb's Creak to Roads End, near Cedar Grove.
The other four are examining ways to accelerate getting to Lone Pine. Nothing has been put into concrete yet.

JMT Proper Route

Date	Day	JMT Mile	Mileage	Elevation Gain	Camp Elevation	Camp Spot	Notes	Side Trips	Access Points

08/07/16	0	0.0	0.0	0	7,215	Glacier Point
08/08/16	1	6.0	6.0	1,400	6,174	Little Yosemite Valley		Half Dome
08/09/16	2	15.3	9.3	3,700	9,498	Sunrise/Long Meadow		Clouds Rest
08/10/16	3	24.0	8.7	600	8,615	Tuolumne Meadows		Columbia Finger
							Restock/Night in Lee Vining?

					8,671	Tuoulumne Meadows Wilderness Station
08/11/16	4	34.6	10.6	1,506	10,185	Pond at 10,185'		Donohue Peak
08/12/16	5	41.3	6.7	1,440	10,233	Island Pass	We will meet at Devil's Lakes Trail Jct		Rush Creek
08/13/16	6	52.8	11.5	1,775	9,304	Trinity Lakes			Shadow Lake/Agnew Meadow
08/14/16	7					Zero Day-Mammoth
08/15/16	8	63.7	10.9	1,673	9,514	Deer Creek	We pass through Red's Meadow on this day	Red Cones	Red's Meadow
08/16/16	9	73.6	9.9	2,085	10,344	Virginia Lake			Mammoth Pass, Duck Pass
08/17/16	10	84.1	10.5	1,869	9,016	Pocket Meadow	(Not a good camp spot)		McGee Pass
08/18/16	11	87.8	3.7	121	7,648	Edison Lake			Mono Pass
							Restock at VVR

08/19/16	12	97.8	10.0	2,580	10,010	Bear Creek		Volcanic Knob
08/20/16	13	109.1	11.3	1,120	7,920	John Muir Ranch Area	Meet Lianne and her daughter		Florence Lake
08/21/16	14	120.7	11.6	2,540	9,800	Evolution Valley/Colby Meadows			Piute Pass
08/22/16	15					Zero Day			Piute Pass
08/23/16	16	125.8	5.1	1,186	10,971	Sapphire Lake		Mt Spencer	Piute Pass
08/24/16	17	136.9	11.1	1,058	8,733	Le Conte Ranger Station		Mt Solomon, Black Giant	Bishop Pass
08/25/16	18	147.2	10.3	2,546	10,615	Lower Palisades Lake			Taboose Pass
08/26/16	19	157.5	10.3	1,825	10,564	Bench Lake	Not a good place to sleep-Marjorie is better	Split Mountain	Sawmill Pass
08/27/16	20	167.8	10.3	1,350	8,537	Wood's Creek Bridge			Woods Creek
08/28/16	21	174.6	6.8	2,053	10,544	Rae Lakes	Half a zero day	Painted Lady	Baxter Pass
08/29/16	22	180.9	6.3	1,434	10,510	Kearsarge Lakes	Half a zero day	Painted Lady	Kersarge Pass
08/30/16	23	186.9	6.0	1,092	9,219	Onion Valley Campground	Need to be at Onion Valley by 12:30		Kersarge Pass
							Restock: Mt Williamson Hotel

08/31/16	24	196.9	10.0	2,487	9,945	Upper Virdette meadow		Mt Bago	Bubb's Creek
09/01/16	25	208.1	11.2	3,155	10,890	Tyndale Creek		CalTech Peak	Shepherds Pass
09/02/16	26					Zero Day
09/03/16	27	219.9	11.8	1,875	11,559	Guitar Lake		Tawny Point
09/04/16	28	229.1	9.2	3,336	11,810	Trail Camp	Whitney Day	Wotans Throne
09/05/16	29	235.4	6.3	147	8,333	Whitney Portal
							End of Trail

JMT Alternate Route

Date	Day	Cum Milage	Day Miles	Elevation Gain	Camp Elevation	Camp Spot	Notes	Side Trips	Access Points
	0	0.0	0.0	0	7,214	Glacier Point
08/07/16	1	3.5	3.5	0	6,400	Illouete Creek
08/08/16	2	8.4	4.9	800	6,174	Little Yosemite Valley		Half Dome
08/09/16	3	17.7	9.3	3,700	9,498	Sunrise/Long Meadow		Clouds Rest
08/10/16	4	26.4	8.7	600	8,615	Tuolumne Meadows		Columbia Finger
							Restock/Night in Lee Vining?

					9,700	Mono Pass/ParkPass Trailhead
08/11/16	5	37.4	11.0	2,500	10,627	Alger Lakes		Donohue Peak
08/12/16	6	48.7	11.3	1,160	10,233	Island Pass	We will meet at Devil's Lakes Trail Jct		Rush Creek
08/13/16	7	60.2	11.5	1,775	9,304	Trinity Lakes			Shadow Lake/Agnew Meadow
08/14/16	8
08/15/16	9	71.1	10.9	1,673	9,514	Deer Creek	We pass through Red's Meadow on this day	Red Cones	Red's Meadow
08/16/16	10	81.0	9.9	2,085	10,344	Virginia Lake			Mammoth Pass, Duck Pass
08/17/16	11	91.5	10.5	1,869	9,016	Pocket Meadow	(Not a good camp spot)		McGee Pass
08/18/16	12	95.2	3.7	121	7,648	Edison Lake			Mono Pass
							Restock at VVR

08/19/16	13	105.2	10.0	2,580	10,010	Bear Creek		Volcanic Knob
08/20/16	14	116.5	11.3	1,120	7,920	John Muir Ranch Area	Meet Lianne and her daughter		Florence Lake
08/21/16	15	128.1	11.6	2,540	9,800	Evolution Valley/Colby Meadows			Piute Pass
08/22/16	16								Piute Pass
08/23/16	17	133.2	5.1	1,186	10,971	Sapphire Lake		Mt Spencer	Piute Pass
08/24/16	18	144.3	11.1	1,058	8,733	Le Conte Ranger Station		Mt Solomon, Black Giant	Bishop Pass
08/25/16	19	154.6	10.3	2,546	10,615	Lower Palisades Lake			Taboose Pass
08/26/16	20	164.9	10.3	1,825	10,564	Bench Lake	Not a good place to sleep-Marjorie is better	Split Mountain	Sawmill Pass
08/27/16	21	175.2	10.3	1,350	8,537	Wood's Creek Bridge			Woods Creek
08/28/16	23	182.0	6.8	2,053	10,544	Rae Lakes	Half a zero day	Painted Lady	Baxter Pass
08/29/16	23	188.2	6.2	1,434	10,510	Kearsarge Lakes	Half a zero day	Painted Lady	Kersarge Pass
08/30/16	24	194.2	6.0	1,092	9,219	Onion Valley Campground	Need to be at Onion Valley by 12:30		Kersarge Pass
							Restock: Mt Williamson Hotel

08/31/16	25	204.2	10.0	2,487	9,945	Upper Virdette meadow		Mt Bago	Bubb's Creek
09/01/16	26	215.4	11.2	3,155	10,890	Tyndale Creek		CalTech Peak	Shepherds Pass
09/02/16	27
09/03/16	28	227.2	11.8	1,875	11,559	Guitar Lake		Tawny Point
09/04/16	39	236.4	9.2	3,336	11,810	Trail Camp	Whitney Day	Wotans Throne
09/05/16	30	242.7	6.3	147	8,333	Whitney Portal
							End of Trail

dasdsa dsadsa dsadsa

JMT-2016: Misc Stuff

7/22/2016
1) Inyo National Forest is under fire restrictions, except in the wilderness areas.
2) Also Sierra National Forest has restrictions in place-this affect Edison and Florence Lake areas. Vermillon Campground is exempt from the restriction.
2) When will Dave know if he can pick up Kim and ___ on Sept 5th?
i) Who will coordinate with Jody to pick up people?
3) We should compensate Lianne and her daughter for the ferry service-it is $25 a piece for a round trip.
4) There is currently a fire above Edison Lake called the Springs Fire. It is 174 acres and 85% contained. Between 40-75 firefighters are in the area and being feed by VVR.

7/15/2016
Just got a notice that Sequoia National Forest is banning all fires-not a concern right now, but other places we go through may be upping their restrictions

NO campfires or charcoal fires, are allowed within the Sequoia National Forest and the Giant Sequoia National Monument.
Yosemite is banning fires below 6,000'-we are not affected.
Again from the Sequoia NF, but probably is applicable to Inyo NF. Stoves and lanterns with shut-off valves that use pressurized gas, liquid fuel, or propane will be allowed if the operator possesses a valid California Campfire Permit. Forest visitors must clear all flammable material five feet in all directions from their camp stove, have a shovel available, and ensure that a responsible person attends the stove at all times when in use.
They also note:While drought-stressed trees create dry fuels for wildfire, they also present a danger of falling unexpectedly. When choosing your campsite remember to look up, down and around. Choose a location away from hazard trees.

JMT-2016: GPS and Electronics

7/22/2016
a) GPS
    i) Gary is carrying a wrist GPS (Garmin Fortex 401).
    ii) Rose's InReach can be used as a GPS.
    III) Gary has GPX files of locations along the JMT with bear boxes. Also there is a GPX file with the campsites listed in Wenk's book. These files are attached.
    iv) Also I have quadrangle topo maps for the entire JMT in pdf format if anybody is interested-they are large so I am not including into this e-mail. Also have a map with the entire JMT on it.
b) PLB (Personal Locator Beacon)
    i) Rose-InReach
    ii) Kim-InReach
    iii) Sonya-SPOT
    iV) Sherri-SPOT 2
    V) Gary-SPOT Messenger
c) Gary will be bringing along a solar charger (Goal Zero Nomad 7). While this is enough to power Gary and Sherri's devices and some others, it probably is not enough to power all 6 of us. If you intend to power your devices, be sure to bring the proper cables.

JMT-2016: Permits

2/16/2016
Gary and Sherri will need to get a separate permit to come out at Road's End in Kings Canyon. They will travel on Rose's permit from Glacier Point to Tuolumne Meadow
We will see if we can get permits over Donahue Pass rather than Parker Pass and the formidable Koip Peak Pass. The question is who will get to go over Donahue Pass if there are two slots open. We can probably decided that when we see how strong Gary and Sherri are.

JMT-2016: Transportation

07/22/2016
a) Talked about Lianne and her daughter. We will meet them on August 20th. If each could carry 2 lbs/person (12 lbs on each person), that would be good.
b) Confirmed Jeff is not going to Mammoth
c) Transportation out of Lone Pine. With the Duran's not needing transportation and Dave (Kim) there should be enough seats to take all out of Lone Pine at the end of the trip.
i) If Dave cannot make it, Jody Hamilton has offered to pick people up on Sept 6th. the question is how to coordinate with Dave, Jody and Jeff.
d) August 10th/11th: Does Sonya need to deploy her truck at Tuolumne Meadows? It sounds like we can squeeze into Jeff's Tahoe. Or if Kim comes up on the 10th, then she could take someone to Lee Vining
i) Note: Kim will be coming on on either Aug 10th or 11th to Tuolumne Meadows with Dave rather than hiking from Glacier Point
e) August 18th: Jeff and possibly Dave will come up to Edison Lake/VVR with the restocks. Jeff is wondering about BBQing at Edison.
f) Jeff will bring stuff back for our pick up if we so desired-probably put into the same packaging we sent our resupply in.
g) Jeff is willing to keep medicine in a refrig instead of in the heat, if required.

JMT-2016-Zero Days

7/22/2016
There are two concerns with this.
1) In the second section, there are two zero days almost back to back.
2) If we can meet Lianne on August 20th, then Lianne can also bring in her daughter who can also carry weight as well.
We decided on moving the zero day from Island pass to someplace after meeting Lianne and before leaving the trail for Mt Williamson.
How we use zero days is up to us as a group, or at least each sub-group with a permit. I would suggest we have three considerations for us of zero days:
1) How do we like the area-do we want to explore
2) Our physical needs-are our bodies falling apart and we can us a rest
3) Weather.
Also as a note: To make us arrive at Onion Valley by noon on August 30th, I may split one of the zero days into two half days.

The schedule for Mammoth's zero day will look something like this:
a) Rosalie, Gladys and Trinity Lakes are all within a mile and a half of each other and have campsites. They are about a half day hike to Red's meadow. We do not want to stop at Johnston Lake-it is a biting fly magnet. Both Rosalie and Gladys are popular stopping places. We have stayed at Trinity, but have not found Wenk's sandy beach area.
b) Should get to Red's Meadow around noon. There is a shuttle to Mammoth where we would need to take the "white Bus" into mammoth proper.
    i) There is a forest service campsite at Red's Meadow which costs $22/night
    ii) Shuttle costs $7.
    iii) I am not finding much on the MAS Bike Shuttle. There is a map which shows it goes from the Village up to the Adventure Center where the Red's Meadow shuttle takes us the rest of the way.
    iv) Sonya is finding out about places to stay in Mammoth.
c) Leave Mammoth someplace between 9-10 to return to Red's Meadow.
d) Eat either breakfast or lunch at Red's Meadow
e) Hit the trail around noon.
f) Camp at Deer Creek that night.

JMT-2016: Duran Decisions

July 22, 2016
Gary and Sherri told of the decision to come off the trail at Bubb's Creek instead of going over to Mt Williamson. Gary will talk to mt Williamson about the situation. It is possible that Rose will need to leave a credit card with them, or at least when they sign in. A lot of the decision has to do with the care for Gary's Mom. They were torn between going on and the needs of the family.