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Posted
2 hours ago, hookem2010 said:

I loved this hike. Went with the now-wife in 2016. We woke up early from the Eagle Creek Campground and did a total of about 12 miles out-and-back. Hardly saw anybody before our turn-around spot. There were at least a half-dozen waterfalls on that 6-mile stretch.

I think there was a fire out there a year or two after we did it, so I'm curious how it looks now. It was incredibly green when we went.

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Nice. Yeah this teenager burned down most of the forest in like 2017 with fireworks. It’s been recovering. 

  • 3 weeks later...
Posted

Chewy Jr just finished up day 1 of the Maroon Bells 4 Pass Loop. Not my cup of tea, but he's been looking forward to this since they got the permit this winter. Gotta love modern tech that I can follow his progress in real time.

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Posted
On 7/11/2025 at 11:19 PM, Chewbacca said:

Chewy Jr just finished up day 1 of the Maroon Bells 4 Pass Loop. Not my cup of tea, but he's been looking forward to this since they got the permit this winter. Gotta love modern tech that I can follow his progress in real time.

What are you using for that? I use FarOut to keep from getting off track in the North Woods on the Ice Age Trail, especially when there's logging. But it never occurred to me that I should have my wife track me when I'm hiking (generally with hiking buddies; actually, not being tracked is half the fun).  Not even sure FarOut has the function of allowing others to track and haven't looked into different means. Planning to do about half of the John Muir Trail next summer and we'll need a resupply at Kearsarge, so we could use some kind of tracker to coordinate.

I guess he's off the trail now? How was it? Or are they taking their time?

Posted (edited)
49 minutes ago, Hayduke said:

What are you using for that? I use FarOut to keep from getting off track in the North Woods on the Ice Age Trail, especially when there's logging. But it never occurred to me that I should have my wife track me when I'm hiking (generally with hiking buddies; actually, not being tracked is half the fun).  Not even sure FarOut has the function of allowing others to track and haven't looked into different means. Planning to do about half of the John Muir Trail next summer and we'll need a resupply at Kearsarge, so we could use some kind of tracker to coordinate.

I guess he's off the trail now? How was it? Or are they taking their time?

These are pretty much the gold standard in the thru hiking world these days.  The newest ones are the Messengers which basically act as a full on texting and tracking device.  The minis (which I have) aren't as robust, but also smaller and lighter.

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/c/outdoor-recreation/satellite-communicators/

Edited by Biff Tannen
also SOS functionality, which is their actual main purpose
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Posted
50 minutes ago, Hayduke said:

What are you using for that? I use FarOut to keep from getting off track in the North Woods on the Ice Age Trail, especially when there's logging. But it never occurred to me that I should have my wife track me when I'm hiking (generally with hiking buddies; actually, not being tracked is half the fun).  Not even sure FarOut has the function of allowing others to track and haven't looked into different means. Planning to do about half of the John Muir Trail next summer and we'll need a resupply at Kearsarge, so we could use some kind of tracker to coordinate.

I guess he's off the trail now? How was it? Or are they taking their time?

Also, where are you planning on starting the trail?  Nobo or Sobo?  I may try and hit it up next year also.  Not sure how deep into the backpacking world you are (though your username gives me some idea), but if you want any info on permits or anything else, happy to give my input.

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Posted
10 minutes ago, Biff Tannen said:

Also, where are you planning on starting the trail?  Nobo or Sobo?  I may try and hit it up next year also.  Not sure how deep into the backpacking world you are (though your username gives me some idea), but if you want any info on permits or anything else, happy to give my input.

Thanks for that info, @Biff Tannen. I'm not deep into that world at all. Big Ed Abbey fan, but I'm more philosophically aligned with the Hayduke character than in lifestyle. Have been mainly a car camper and section hiker; I'm more than halfway into the Ice Age Trail, but have never been in the right juncture of mental space, finance, marriage/family and opportunity to really dedicate myself to consistent, serious backpacking or thru-hiking. As a for-instance, this would be my first trip where I'd need a water filter. 

Bro-in-law recently retired and he's been wanting to do part of the JMT, so we're planning to do southbound, departing from near Bishop. Ending at the Whitney Portal, probably over eight days. He's former military and recently recruited a church buddy who's also ex-military to come along. For me, it will be a test of my two new knees, so I'll probably do one or two shorter backpacking trips up here between now and next summer.

My son is also planning to join us, and he's a reservist/ROTC senior next year who just finished his advanced training at Fort Knox and will run his third Bataan Memorial Death March next spring. Don't know BIL's buddy, but confident that both BIL and son will be mentally and psychologically ready for the challenges of the JMT. We old guys are all fully aware of the challenges of that area and understand the need for training and prep. Glad my son is coming, though. He'll be the guy we put in charge of running down the escape route if we need him to!

I'll keep you posted, so if any of your time coincides we could be on the lookout for you. We're shooting for July, and BIL and sis are actually on the road as I write, headed to King's Canyon and Sequoia, where he'll do some scouting. I'm also pretty sure the others would say you're welcome to join us for any of it.

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Posted
4 hours ago, Hayduke said:

What are you using for that? I use FarOut to keep from getting off track in the North Woods on the Ice Age Trail, especially when there's logging. But it never occurred to me that I should have my wife track me when I'm hiking (generally with hiking buddies; actually, not being tracked is half the fun).  Not even sure FarOut has the function of allowing others to track and haven't looked into different means. Planning to do about half of the John Muir Trail next summer and we'll need a resupply at Kearsarge, so we could use some kind of tracker to coordinate.

I guess he's off the trail now? How was it? Or are they taking their time?

He has a Garmin InReach Mini that can send waypoints as he goes (and can send/receive text messages), so he sends a pin of their campsite each night, but it can also do a live track, which he is doing now.  He's about 1-2 miles from Crater Lake as I type this.  Today is the last day.

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Posted
4 hours ago, Hayduke said:

Thanks for that info, @Biff Tannen. I'm not deep into that world at all. Big Ed Abbey fan, but I'm more philosophically aligned with the Hayduke character than in lifestyle. Have been mainly a car camper and section hiker; I'm more than halfway into the Ice Age Trail, but have never been in the right juncture of mental space, finance, marriage/family and opportunity to really dedicate myself to consistent, serious backpacking or thru-hiking. As a for-instance, this would be my first trip where I'd need a water filter. 

Bro-in-law recently retired and he's been wanting to do part of the JMT, so we're planning to do southbound, departing from near Bishop. Ending at the Whitney Portal, probably over eight days. He's former military and recently recruited a church buddy who's also ex-military to come along. For me, it will be a test of my two new knees, so I'll probably do one or two shorter backpacking trips up here between now and next summer.

My son is also planning to join us, and he's a reservist/ROTC senior next year who just finished his advanced training at Fort Knox and will run his third Bataan Memorial Death March next spring. Don't know BIL's buddy, but confident that both BIL and son will be mentally and psychologically ready for the challenges of the JMT. We old guys are all fully aware of the challenges of that area and understand the need for training and prep. Glad my son is coming, though. He'll be the guy we put in charge of running down the escape route if we need him to!

I'll keep you posted, so if any of your time coincides we could be on the lookout for you. We're shooting for July, and BIL and sis are actually on the road as I write, headed to King's Canyon and Sequoia, where he'll do some scouting. I'm also pretty sure the others would say you're welcome to join us for any of it.

Awesome!  It's such a fun hobby and community.  Sounds like you have a good group.  Sending you a DM with some info on permits.

 

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