During my 2008 Tour in Iraq my vision for the hike changed when while perusing BackpackingLight I learned about the Sierra High Route. This amazing route travels parallel to the JMT while remaining mostly off trail. I ordered all of the necessary maps and began to map out the route as described by Steve Roper. I
t took several weeks to turn the written descriptions in Roper’s book into a complete plotted route. I was set and just needed to get home and hike it. I returned home just before Thanksgiving 2008 and told my wife Molly about the hike and that I would be away for a month during the summer of 2009. In retrospect I should have anticipated her response. Molly in no way wanted for me to be away from her for another month after being gone for so long in the past few years. I was bummed but then a couple of days later Molly asked me if she could come along. I said sure and changed the plan back to the JMT as this would be Molly’s first long backpacking trip. During the next few weeks we tossed around possible dates and then in March 2009 we applied for and received our permits. The hike was on!
7-28-09
Exhausted. Today’s Hike reminded me why I am not a big fan of Yosemite Valley. There were tons of people and it was somewhere north of 100 degrees. The heat made our 3300′ elevation gain seem like 6000′. Molly really wanted to climb half dome, I did not. We climbed to within a half mile of the top when a ranger strongly suggested we turn around due to a storm building to the east. I was more than willing to turn around. About 2:00 PM we took a long break by a stream and we both showered using our 4.5 Ounce Sea to Summit Pocket Shower. It felt Great! We then hiked on to our campsite on the side of Sunrise Mountain where we met some very nice LDS Boy Scouts who were quite impressed by our water filter.
Matthew Parker's photography is captivated by the challenge of catching
the beauty of creation, undestroyed by humans. Whether in distant
National Parks, urban parks or in his hometown of San Diego, Matt enjoys using the camera lens to
frame the incredible beauty around him. He seeks to capture both the
easily-overlooked beauty of subtle patterns in rocks and water
reflections, as well as the magnificent grandeur of mountain peaks and
grand vistas.
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Matt,
Love your blog. I’m hiking JMt this summer and I’m appreciating the time you took to reflect on your trip.
BTW, how did you use your water filter above tree line? What did you hang the to?