Page 1 of 1

Itinerary/Strategy for Passes

Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 6:18 pm
by dharter
Yes, I am a computer anal-yst. That said, I do enjoy the planning almost as much as the trip.

I am working on our itinerary (starting 8/22 must be in Lone Pine to catch the bus on 9/14) and wondered if anyone would like to share their ideas and suggestions for that, as well as strategies for positioning to attack the passes - for example, campsite within x miles or within y feet of elevation gain, but never above 10000 ft or before noon to avoid mid-day sun/storms or whatever!

Thanks.
Doug

Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 5:39 am
by The Other Tom
Lots of info on trailjournals.com.

Also, for a good account of hiking the trail, connect to http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~gavenda/jmt/ ... _log.shtml

Maybe several people here will chime in with their experiences.

Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 12:04 pm
by maverick
Hi Dharter

That is 23 days, how are you planning to resupply? Will you be
carrying bear canisters or depend on the bear boxes? Bear canisters
will allow more freedom but boxes will allow you to carry more food.
How many miles a day? Do you want x-country route? How much
experience do you have? Are you comfortable with class 2 routes?
What would you like to see, lake basins, moon-like terrain, rivers,
peakbagging or a combination?
Topo Interactive Maps will give you info you can play around with
like measuring distances, elevation profiles and alot more so you can
become familiar with your intended route.

Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2007 10:50 am
by SPeacock
We have always tried to start a big pass (Foresters comes to mind) early in the day so we can have options if there are any delays and also to do anything fairly strenuous early while still 'fresh'. It gives us time to do what we might want to do on the other side after an early meal.

You won't have a lot of options of staying much below 10,000'. Its always nice to try to sleep as low as you can, but if you are managing mileage you won't always be able to do that.

Establish your daily milage plan and work against that. If you are finishing strong early in the afternoon you might consider pushing a little farther 'banking' miles for some recreation later in the week or to average out some 'slow' days, or to get a head start on a 'hump' later.

Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 3:27 pm
by EricJLee
As mentioned above the strategy will really depend upon your mileage and pace. When I did it I liked to camp high, usually reaching a high camp between 10-12K by 2pm. Starting in the south I was doing a pass a day pace, hiking over early in the morning, then down and climbing back up toward the next pass. I think you get better views and better lighting when you camp higher, but you are also more exposed to the elements. Depending on the time of year you hike, it would probably be best to hit the pass before noon, just to avoid any weather. Definately be flexible with your timing/schedule as you will probably hit a road block or two along the way(storms, fatigue, love of a specific campsite...)
Eric