High Sierra Topix

Training for the JMT this summer, and I'd love to do some long dayhikes with a full pack. Last year I frequented Clouds Rest from Happy Isles as my go-to training hike, and always with a full pack, but I read recently that if a ranger catches you in the wilderness with a full pack they're going to assume you're backpacking, and that if you don't have a permit they'll cite you.

Has anyone had experience with this? I'd like to continue dayhiking with my full pack, but I'd also like to avoid any conflicts with rangers. Thanks!

No sleeping bag, no tent, no kitchen, one days food, far too much water and maybe some chains or bags of sand in the pack to give it weight. That oughta be convincing enough about your intention.

Or, you could check in with them before the trek so they know your name and that you're day-hiking.

I used to do that - a larger day pack, say 30 liters, with about 15 pounds is adequate to the task. No need to go full backpack to get the workout.

Or replace the gear with bags of beans and bottles of water. Dumping out the water on the way back to lighten the load becomes possible then.

Or, if you're hiking somewhere busy like Yosemite trails, fill with dry ice and beer, and hand them out on your way back to the car -- automatic popularity.

keep the 20 lb dumbbell where it's easy to pull out of the pack. very convincing.

You don't need to train with your pack weight all the time, working up to the weight is fine, but if you continuously load yourself up with heavy weights, you will set yourself for injury, especially from the downhills, it will reek havoc on your knees and lower back, you should not over stress the eccentric portion of the movement. A much better/healthier alternative for your joints, is to use some larger collapsible water containers and pour some, or most, of it out at the top, you can share some of it on the way down too.

I used to do that. I'd sometimes walk from Yosemite Valley to Tuolumne Meadows via one of several routes, stay in the campground there and then hike back the next day. I did a double trans-Sierra that way one time too. I saw and talked to a number of rangers on those trips without any issue. Then one time I was warned by a ranger that what I was doing was technically illegal and that I could be ticketed. In fact he told me that some of his colleagues would almost certainly give me a ticket.

Since then I've walked the JMT a couple of times with permits out of Tuolumne where I first day hiked from the Valley. Driving the 100 miles from Yosemite Valley to Tuolumne and back just to stash my backpack seemed kind of silly each time I did it.

The rationale for the regulation isn't hard to fathom. It just seems unfair to be judged by appearance rather than action when you're trying to otherwise play by the rules.

So... water jugs. They carry differently than actual gear, but on the other hand you can dump them for the descent to save your knees.

Climbing gear is a good weight alternative to backpacking gear if you have it.

What a cool training hike. I'm jealous.

As a guide, our packs were usually about 90 lb. To stay in shape during the off season, I put about 105 lb of rocks in my pack, wore ankle weights, and climbed stadium stairs on Tue. & Thur for about 2 hr. and ran about 10 miles on M-W-F. I lived near Stowe for a couple of years and hiked a trail in a state park to the top of a mountain with that pack several times a week.

I used some old useless cotton sleeping bags in with the rocks to avoid all the weight on the bottom and get closer to the density of a normal load. If they want to cite you, just explain what you are doing, open the top of the pack for them to see, and you won't get cited for illegal camping. Of course they may call the local cops to see if any BOLOs are out for someone who has just escaped the local mental institution.

Wow. 90lbs isn't normal.