Update from Rich Johnston, August 8

The JMT has been a beautiful and exciting trip so far. The scenery is fantastic, and I have a lot of pictures to share.

Chuck and I completed the first leg of the trip on 8/5. We covered 60 miles from Yosemite Village to Red's Meadow near Mammoth. We met my wife and family for a food resupply on Friday, 8/5. Our third member had a family emergency and will be joining us later.

The first 60 miles exacted a heavy toll on me and my equipment. I had (have!) pepperoni-sized blisters on on my heels and I broke one of my trekking poles. (On the positive side I've lost 14 pounds!) The most difficult part was getting over 11,000 foot Donohue Pass out of Tuolumne Meadows. We had to cross several snowfields. At one point my trekking pole got jammed in a rock and I fell into a snowfield. As I was struggling to get up my left leg plunged through the snow and got trapped so I had to dig myself out with my REI cup.

We took an extra day to get to Red's Meadow. Fortunately we often had text, email, and even voice communication during the first leg so we could coordinate with my family. In addition the Spot Communicator allowed us to provide updates to our plans when cell communication wasn't available.

We spent a couple of nights in Red's Meadow with my whole family. It was a great continuation of my 70th birthday celebrations. I decided that I needed to heal myself and my equipment before continuing, so I drove home with Wendie on Sunday. Chuck is continuing on to our next resupply point at Vermillion Lake. We encounter dozens of hikers going in both directions every day, so hiking solo isn't a problem. Christopher and I will hook up with him on Wednesday 8/10, and resume the hike on 8/12. I spent Monday exchanging boots and poles, buying additional items I need and getting advice on blisters. (Duct tape works wonders! )

Tuesday I will evaluate every item in my pack and discard those I can do without. I need to lighten my load for the remaining part of the JMT. We go over 12,000 and 13,000 foot passes before reaching the end of the JMT at the summit of Mt. Whitney (14,505 ft). We now plan to walk out of Whitney Portal on 8/25.

I am much stronger now, and I will be carrying less weight for the remainder of the trip. However, the altitude does affect me. This next section (Vermillion Lake to Muir Trail Ranch) will allow me to see if I've adapted adequately to the altitude. I have two exit opportunities after Vermillion Lake if it turns out that I can't do the whole JMT.

For me this has been a great adventure and I feel that I've already met my expectations. The rest of the trip will be the bonus.

Thanks for your support. I'll keep those Spot messages coming.