How Did We Decide to Hike the John Muir Trail
Photo by: Nathan Moore
How did we pull the trigger to try a multi-week backpacking trip, when our previous "record" was merely five or six days in the wilderness? It turns out all we needed was a spark.
This article is part of our series: Along the John Muir Trail in 18 Days.
How Did it All Start?
It all started three or four years ago when Timea and I took a guided trip in Yosemite with an Arizona company called Wildland Trekking. We absolutely loved the trip, but that's not what the spark was. On this trip, on our very first day, maybe even the first several hours, while passing through Lyell Canyon, we met a few hikers wearing these cool Dirty Girl gaiters. I was very curious about them so we took a few minutes to chat. That's how we found these backpackers they were doing the unthinkable, that is, hike for hundreds of miles from Yosemite all the way to Mount Whitney. Wow, we were completely shocked. I could not imagine us doing something even remotely like that, ever. It seemed unreal.
We continued our trip through the beautiful Yosemite wilderness and, towards the end, we met somebody even more impressing. This person, in his fifties, wearing a surprisingly clean looking hiking shirt and matching pants, was finishing his John Muir trek all the way from Mount Whitney. He was hiking north-bound, and all by himself! Wow, how is that possible, we thought?
Well, a couple of years passed and I don't know how we found it, but we did. We found a documentary about the John Muir Trail called Mile, Mile and a Half. It looked cool, so we watched it, and bam!! We were hooked on this so called John Muir Trail! They did such a wonderful job documenting not their strength walking the trail with huge packs, but their struggles, their fun and laughter, the scenery and wildlife, the people they met on the trail, and their feelings. It was that very moment that we decided we were going to try to do it. We didn't know how, in fact, we had no clue, but we knew we would try.
That, was our spark!
Mile/Mile and a Half
Watch the trailer for yourself now. You may find that Mile, Mile and a Half is your spark too.
After the video, I hope you will continue reading the next chapters of our John Muir story or you may be interested to read about that trip to Yosemite which inspired us.
This article is part of our series: Along the John Muir Trail in 18 Days.