The ranger at the JMT permit desk in Yosemite talked me out of my no-resupply plan, and I'm still not sure she was right | Backpacking Routes - nhfree.com
The ranger at the JMT permit desk in Yosemite talked me out of my no-resupply plan, and I'm still not sure she was right
Everyone on the trail groups tells you to mail a resupply bucket to Muir Trail Ranch and call it done, and I used to argue the other way. I figured one carry from Whitney Portal to Reds Meadow, about 60 miles, was fine for a strong hiker, so I skipped the extra stop on a 2019 trip. By day three above Guitar Lake my food bag was down to crushed crackers and a sad pouch of peanut butter, and I was moving slow enough that a couple from Sacramento passed me twice. The ranger at the permit desk had actually said something like "most folks overpack miles and underpack calories," and I brushed her off. I finished, but I lost a day and hated the last stretch. Now I plan food by calories per ounce instead of miles per day, and I'll never do a 6 day carry without a real dinner in there again. Curious if anyone here has done the full Whitney to Happy Isles stretch with just two resupplies and actually felt good at the end.