JMT thru hike in October

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bobby49
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Re: JMT thru hike in October

Post by bobby49 »

If you try to go out and back over Kearsarge Pass to resupply in Independence, consider this. During early season and mid-season, lots of PCT backpackers do this, so there tend to be a few trail angels hanging around to aid in hitching a ride. However, once those backpackers are gone, and once the Onion Valley campground closes for the season, you don't see many people at all there.

If you have a friend who is a strong hiker, get them to carry in a ten-pound bag of food and meet you at the Charlotte Lake trail junction, and then they can hike back out on the same day.
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fishmonger
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Re: JMT thru hike in October

Post by fishmonger »

Here are the resupply options in Late September into October if you don't know anyone (the OP is from Australia, so I assume there's no local support crew)

Tuolumne Meadows - if the store/post office is already closed, drive or get a ride up there and leave a box in a bear locker at the ranger station parking lot before the hike
Reds Meadow store - mail food there and pick up before Sept 28/29 (based on recent years closing date)
Vermillion Valley Resort (VVR) - mail food to their pickup location. Open into late October, so definitely use that place
Parchers Resort - rather lengthy detour exiting from Le Conte Canyon over Bishop Pass which adds more than a full day to your route and buys you maybe 4 days of extra food over a huge VVR resupply, assuming a 10 mile/day pace.
Kearsarge Pass/Independence (with Sat phone you can coordinate a shuttle ride, otherwise a long walk to town). Also add 1 full day to your trip
Roads End in Sequoia NP, although I have never been there and don't have a clue where you'd leave your food. It is many miles down a trail, although not as much elevation loss/gain to get there. Others may know more about the viability of that option

Anything else requires the help of outside hikers to meet you at trail junctions or passes. If that is an option, you're golden and Taboose Pass and Kearsarge Pass are prime resupply entries to meet the support helper. As far as I know, there is no commercial service you can hire for that, and expensive horse packers are long done packing by the end of September, so the whole sherpa style resupply thing requires local connections.
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Wandering Daisy
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Re: JMT thru hike in October

Post by Wandering Daisy »

You said that you plan on two layover days. I would instead, just keep hiking and use the layover days if needed for bad weather.

Not all miles on the JMT requires a bear can. With some careful planning, such as using the bear boxes at established campsites the first few days after a resupply, and/or resupplying where bear cans are not required, you can get by with one bear can per person for a 10-11 day resupply. You have to be very careful to bring low-volume food that packs down well.

Note that Tioga Pass often closes temporarily for October storms and parking along the road is usually not allowed after Oct 15.

In my opinion (others may disagree), just staying put in bad weather is safer than trying to bail out. You should have some kind of emergency communication, such as In-Reach so as a last resort, you could get help. October storms can dump a bit of snow and be nasty but rarely are they the start of continuous winter snow.

The Whitney Portal exit at the end of the trip exposes you to the most difficult pass late in the year. What about going south-to-north? Although it makes a difficult start at altitude, you go over Trail Crest when you have a reliable weather forecast. First come permits that time of year are easy to get.
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fishmonger
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Re: JMT thru hike in October

Post by fishmonger »

Wandering Daisy wrote: Wed Jul 10, 2019 10:47 am
Not all miles on the JMT requires a bear can. With some careful planning, such as using the bear boxes at established campsites the first few days after a resupply
That is a good thought, but I've come to the conclusion that those bear boxes aren't located where they help with oversize food loads. On the JMT, I only know of bear boxes between Woods Creek and Tyndall Creek. I can't think of any way to plan a big resupply around those locations. You either have to spend nights with extra food out in the open before you get to Tyndall Creek starting at Whitney Portal, or you don't need the lockers any longer when you get to Woods Creek as you are heading south.

Hanging food in trees may actually be a solution for the southbound direction. Kings Canyon NP allowed (still allows?) food hanging from trees between Piute Creek and Pinchot Pass. Thing is, since you can't get your resupply at the Muir Trail Ranch, you now need to hike from VVR to Kings Canyon. I don't know the bear canister rules between VVR and Piute Creek, but if it is legal to hang food there you should be able to pack beyond bear can capacity for the rest of the trip at VVR. You will need to camp low where there are actually trees that can be used for counter balancing. Hanging food properly is an art form that's mostly lost these days, plus, you want to find the tree and do your hanging before it gets dark.
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commonloon
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Re: JMT thru hike in October

Post by commonloon »

The JMT can be pretty incredible in October, but as many others have said particularly for a longer hike you can and probably will encounter bad weather. I'd be prepared to both hike in mild-moderately bad weather (mid-layers, shells, gloves & mittens, etc.) and to sit out a storm (extra food & fuel). I would 2nd what Wandering Daisy has said about the Portal. The Whitney area weather is notorious.

Here's a video from October on JMT, with a sleety-windy but relatively mild storm:

https://youtu.be/BxnBHdXPEAs
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instocramb
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Re: JMT thru hike in October

Post by instocramb »

Thanks Fishmonger, my head is spinning with the math and the ever growing risk register, Snow, smoke, short days, fast sprints, no resupply points and .....

bears ...its shaping up for an interesting walk in the woods.
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Re: JMT thru hike in October

Post by Wandering Daisy »

I am sure you have heard the old climber's saying, "speed is safety". Inasmuch as you can lighten your pack weight without sacrificing safety, maximizing each day's travel will allow you to finish earlier. Speedy travel means less food between supply points, which means lighter packs, which means more walking and less rest-breaks, which means longer travel each day. Of course, this is more difficult to do with short daylight. But you could make a point of being on the trail at the crack of dawn and get to camp just at dark, doing camp chores by headlamp. Having a non-cook breakfast or eat breakfast as trail food will help.

I do not know your backpacking style, but if you prefer more leisurely travel, what about just deleting a few sections of the trail? For example, start at Tuolumne Meadows and end at Kearsarge (Onion Meadow TH)? (The earliest that Tioga Road has closed is Oct 17 in 2004. But the road is closed temporarily during storms and no parking along the road is allowed after Oct 15.)

I would not worry too much about bears, especially up high. Most bears move down to lower elevations by October.

Long term weather forecasts are not always accurate, but for what it is worth, a mild fall is in the long term forecast. Having 2-way communication, such as InReach would allow you to get current weather forecasts and would greatly increase your safety as well as reduce weather anxiety as you hike.

Good Luck. There are a lot of options.

You may have already seen this.

http://www.edisonlake.com/hikers/resupply
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Re: JMT thru hike in October

Post by Wandering Daisy »

Here is another piece of data:

At Bishop CA, Oct. 15 sunrise is 7:01 AM, sunset 6:17 PM, for about 11.25 hours of light. This is sufficient daylight to walk 8-9 hours a day, which is all I usually want to do anyway. A more serious issue is the low sun angle which puts a lot of valleys in shadows (cold) as early as 4PM and often morning sun does not hit until 10AM. It is key this time of year to choose a campsite with this in mind.
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instocramb
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Re: JMT thru hike in October

Post by instocramb »

Just wanted to say big thanks to all who have generously provided info and advice. Only a few weeks to go and I am feeling very excited about the hike. Watch out for our trip report, hopefully in early November.
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