JMT Training Hikes

 As part of my training for the JMT I want to make sure I get actual hiking miles, not just walking around the easy local trails.  To accomplish this I plan to undertake a long hike each month:

March - Snowshoe from Badger Pass to Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park

April - Snow camp and summit Lassen Peak in Lassen Volcanic National Park

May - Long weekend in Yosemite

June - Longer weekend in Yosemite

July - Week long trip in Lassen Volcanic National Park

August - JMT

Part of my inspiration came from a few days snowboarding at Badger Pass in Yosemite National Park with Pete and Harvey.  We had a great time and afterwards I wanted to come back and enjoy the backcountry.

2/22/2022 - Badger Pass

Seeds of a JMT hike

 In 2021 I was backpacking with Steve J. and we started talking about the long trails we hiked (me with 600 miles on the AT, him with 950 miles on the PCT).  At the time we were hiking on a section of the JMT, so the topic of doing the entire JMT came up.  When I got home I put JMT Lottery on the calendar and when the dates for 2022 came up I submitted for a SOBO hike from both Yosemite trailheads that allow exit over Donohue Pass.  Of course I didn't get a permit, nor a permit the next, or the week after that.  So I called my friend about plan B.  In addition to coming up with several alternative plans, he agreed to hike with me.  The next several post will be about planning for, and hopefully hiking the JMT.

Mark and Steve J. in 2021

With several options under discussion, I decided to start getting into hiking shape.  I was doing most of this already, so the only real change was to add hiking three times a week.  The mid-week hikes will be short 2-3 hours of rolling hills, and the Sunday hike will be 5+ hours.  Here is the plan: