Agile Trekker: Yosemite Backpack Day 1 - Pacific Crest Trail/John Muir Trail to Ireland Lake Trail

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
9/7/2022	6.3	4 hours 47 minutes	331'	2.2 mph	654.9

Parking:

Dog Lake Trailhead

Maps:

Gaia GPS app

Directions:

Follow the Pacific Crest Trail, which joins the John Muir Trail. Follow to the intersection of the Ireland Lake Trail. Tent.

Last night I met our guide Michaela, and the other 3 backpackers on our trip - Jessica, Dagmar, and Jim, all retirees from Salt Lake City who came together. We had another woman, but she ended up backing out after injuring her foot hiking up Half Dome. We stayed at a front country campground. Basically, a small grass yard where we tented close to each other, and close to 2 other groups. I prefer backcountry camping - usually much more privacy. The group next to us was pretty noisy somewhat late. When you backpack, you tend to go to sleep very early. Lots of headlamps and flashlights in the evening as well. Eventually everyone quieted down and I got to sleep. At 3am, again tons of headlamps. People going into cars. I was annoyed by the rude people - don't they want to sleep? But in the morning, I found out why. The group next to us accidentally left 2 loaves of bread out. A bear came into camp and ran off with the loaves of bread. And then came back for more. People woke up and tried to scare the bear away (it didn't want to leave - free cookies!). I managed to sleep through the noise as I had ear plugs in. I had no idea what was going on, lol.

In the morning, we were all pretty tired. We got our packs organized. I brought my backpack, but there was no way it was going to hold a Bear Vault 500 bear canister along with my other gear. Ugh. So, I along with another woman borrowed a 75 (+10) liter Deuter pack from our guide. It was heavy. Then we had to take a portion of the group gear. My pack ended up at 35 lbs. I'm used to backpacking with < 25 lbs. Yes, the trip prep guide said to expect a pack weight of 35-45 lbs. Still, I expected it to be much lower since I was bringing a lot of my own gear. I did pack heavy for cold weather - my 20-degree bag + sleeping bag liner + puffy pants. Anyways, I didn't train with 35 lbs. My backpack isn't even meant to carry that much load, I'm sure. Our guide, a small 120 lb woman, carried a 100 (+10) liter back with 64 lbs. OMG.

We drove to Dog Lake Trailhead. Packed any remaining smellables we weren't taking with us into bear bins in the parking lot. And off we went. Slowly. Sheesh. I had a lot of trouble just getting the pack on (I'm also going for PT right now for a rotator cuff issue). I tried as much as I could to find an elevated place to rest my pack on when taking it on or off. Otherwise, I needed help to put it on. Our guide maintained a very slow pace for us which I was grateful for. The trail was almost level, but it felt like we were hiking in slow motion. 35 lb-packs don't agree with me. Even though the pack has a ton of padding, it just didn't feel right. I did try on a ULA Catalyst that another hiker brought. It's 75 liters and can carry a BV 500 horizontally and its reasonably light. This might be my next pack, as I'm looking to find a pack which will carry a bear canister more easily, for when I need one.

It was very cool seeing signs for the PCT and JMT. Both hikes I'm interested in. The temperatures were warm but not hot, and the air was NOT smokey! The air was dry, so I didn't really sweat. But it left my mouth and lips dry, so I drank a lot of water. We stopped at a river and decided to take a dip. Stripped to my sports bra and underwear, and into the very cold water I went. The best part - there was a mini-waterfall. Two of us sat under it and let the water beat our shoulders. It was like being in a jet spa tub! This experience was totally worth the price of the trip alone!

From there we hiked to a campsite in the woods. Our guide prepared us dinner. It feels really, really strange to have someone filter water for me and cook meals for me. Even though I'm paying for this service. I would love to find a different style of guided backpacking trips - where you are responsible for 100% of your gear and cook for yourself. But the guide plans the trip logistics and shows you where to go. I can only think of one group that does this - but let me know if anyone knows of others. It was great going with other people though - the group worked well together, and all of us were pretty compatible.