Temple Crag (12,976') towering over the milky-turquoise waters of Second Lake (10,159')
Just four hours from Los Angeles and a few miles in by trail lies a stunning landscape of 14,000-foot mountains, milky-turquoise lakes, and the largest glacier in the Sierra Nevada. We visited in mid-September and were at once humbled by the beauty, enormity and variety of features within easy reach for even a beginning backpacker.
Read MoreAround Thanksgiving 2014 Edith + Jolly's friends, Kelley and Peter, casually threw out an idea: to hike the John Muir Trail. The JMT travels 220 miles through some of the most rugged and stunning mountain scenery in the world, gaining and losing some 50,000 feet of elevation from iconic Yosemite Valley to the top of Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous US (see previous Hooves on the Ground posts about exploring the Yosemite high country and Mt. Whitney). The JMT shares most of its route with the Pacific Crest Trail and is widely considered to be the most demanding and scenic portion of that much longer trail.
E+J were more than intrigued: they were up for the challenge. Months of preparation ensued. Permits were secured. Books were read. Maps were studied. The vast resources of the interweb were consulted. Gear was upgraded. Calories were counted. Resupply packages were assembled. Routes were planned. Bodies were trained. Minds were prepared.
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