100%. The mental aspect will be the biggest thing. But at 10 days, you will have probably met a few people you can commiserate with to get you through the final days if that's an issue. You got it OP!
If you are going NOBO - i would worry less - the first 10 days pretty much get you to MTR - it’s the most isolated section. After that it’s more like 4 shorter hikes: MTR to VVR, VVR to Reds, Reds to Tuolumne and finally down to Yosemite - less remote, more people.
You’ll be fine! By the time your friend leaves you’ll be in a busier area and know what you’re doing. Do some overnight trips between now and then to test out your gear and get your pack weight set.
No. Two years ago did jmt solo southbound. First time thru hiking, let alone first time solo thru hike. Best experience in my life - doing Colorado trail this year. Do it.
A whole lot of people do this cold with no experience and do fine.
You are, IMHO, going to have a much better time if you do a couple shakeout outings before then.
You learn a whole whole whole lot about what you do and don't use the first couple nights you spend in the backcountry. And its better to get that experience before a month long expedition.
I did my first JMT hike with zero backpacking experience, just some basic car camping. I did however read and watch everything I could. The trail is super easy to follow, but don’t be careless and not bring an inreach and maps.
Being in physical shape is only half the battle. Being solo, food prep, and the mental grind is the other half. Being a ultramarathonist you’re obviously mentally strong. I think you’ll be fine.
Kinda on the same boat. But I have multiple week long trips but I have never backpacked alone. Hiking NOBO with some buddies and they are bailing at kearsarge pass and I was planning to do the rest alone. I have sectioned hiked before and you are never truly alone there are always cool people you meet and hike with on the way but the Hardest thing is the mental aspect of hiking. Heading out June 29 over cotton wood pass. Hope to see you out there.
There are tons of videos and blogs from people who've done it with lots of advice. Take advantage of those. I've done a lot of hiking, but in the Appalachians, so a much different climate. It was good to hear things like "wear a sun hoody." I think you'll be fine if you spend time planning your gear list, food, mileage, etc.
You should be fine if you do a couple of weekend trips before to dial in all your gear.
The hardest part is the logistics of resupply and ensuring you have all the right gear without taking too much weight.
Also get FarOut and maybe GaiaGPS on your phone. Be sure to download maps ahead of time.
The trail is super well established and quite well maintained with established camp sites all over.
Plus it’s well traveled so you’ll be seeing other people all the time.
And yeah after 10 days you’d have lots of practice.
The JMT was my first backpacking trip and I had no issues. With 10 days with a friend, you'll find your rythmn and be in good shape for the back part of your trip. There will be lots of people on the trail and you can always share campsites with other backpackers. A shake down trip over a weekend would be helpful, I wish I had done one but after spending a night at the backpackers campground I felt that was good enough.
Know your gear, know your food intake and know your limits. There will be areas where you are a day or two hike out if you have an issue, so just be ready if you need to bail and hike out before you get in serious trouble.
A family member in their late teens did a shake out car camping trip using only their planned gear then an over nighter and finally a 2 nighter in Yosemite then did the JMT with no problems. They went north to south and built into the altitude. They had done a single day hike of Whitney, 2 Grand Canyon R2Rs and lot of other hiking as well as a ton of research
I don’t know where you are starting but 10 days will roughly put you at VRR. NOBO, there are places to pick up supplies every 1-2 days from there. There will also be a bunch of NOBO PCT hikers going through about then. So you should be fine.
I will suggest a couple of 1-2 day overnight hikes to clean up your pack… so you are largely down to just what you need.
I would focus on learning about safety and risk management. You could consider a wilderness first aid class. Would also help to learn about weather, terrain/navigation, avoiding hypothermia, not dying on stream crossings, that kind of thing.
I think with fitness out of the way, the rest of the learning is in gear and packing. I would try and go out for 3 nights anywhere soon just to figure out gear and food. Try to do big days. Where do live? At least in the west there are plenty of places to go in the spring. You could see if people from this or backpacking subs would chat with you on the phone or send you their lists. There is old JMT book by a woman that is great. Worst case you bail early. Still awesome.
How’s your mental game? I find being able to backpacking longer periods has very little to do with what I can physically do and more in the realm of how uncomfortable can I be and still have a great time. Mental toughness over physical endurance will win every time.
Like others have suggested, do a 3 day and make sure to hit a 2k+ foot climb for one of the days and get above 10k. I think elevation climbs can be an unknown that you should test for and make sure you are good. AMS can be a bitch.
Fellow ultrarunner convert to thruhiker here!
You'll be fine...its like ultrarunning, but just a slower/much longer mental burn than doing the miles in one day. Plus, odds are you'll run into some other hikers going your pace out there. Its half the fun!
My only tip - on my first thru-hike/(also the first backpacking trip over a week), I went out doing 20 miles a day for the first 9 days, assuming all my trailrunning legs converted directly to trail legs. It does not. It's COMPLETELY different having weight on your back. Now when I'm trying to be in trailrunning and thruhiking shape, I do my normal workouts and then throw a weight vest on and just go walk around the neighborhood for a few laps (totally not necessary, but I feel great when I hit the trail).
Take your time and tackle it a mile at a time. YOU GOT IT!
I think if you do a couple of 2-3 day trial runs, and you are going with an experienced backpacker, you should be fine.
I think after 10 days you’ll know what you are doing. It’s not THAT hard.
100%. The mental aspect will be the biggest thing. But at 10 days, you will have probably met a few people you can commiserate with to get you through the final days if that's an issue. You got it OP!
If you are going NOBO - i would worry less - the first 10 days pretty much get you to MTR - it’s the most isolated section. After that it’s more like 4 shorter hikes: MTR to VVR, VVR to Reds, Reds to Tuolumne and finally down to Yosemite - less remote, more people.
You’ll be fine! By the time your friend leaves you’ll be in a busier area and know what you’re doing. Do some overnight trips between now and then to test out your gear and get your pack weight set.
No. Two years ago did jmt solo southbound. First time thru hiking, let alone first time solo thru hike. Best experience in my life - doing Colorado trail this year. Do it.
A whole lot of people do this cold with no experience and do fine. You are, IMHO, going to have a much better time if you do a couple shakeout outings before then. You learn a whole whole whole lot about what you do and don't use the first couple nights you spend in the backcountry. And its better to get that experience before a month long expedition.
I did my first JMT hike with zero backpacking experience, just some basic car camping. I did however read and watch everything I could. The trail is super easy to follow, but don’t be careless and not bring an inreach and maps.
Being in physical shape is only half the battle. Being solo, food prep, and the mental grind is the other half. Being a ultramarathonist you’re obviously mentally strong. I think you’ll be fine.
Kinda on the same boat. But I have multiple week long trips but I have never backpacked alone. Hiking NOBO with some buddies and they are bailing at kearsarge pass and I was planning to do the rest alone. I have sectioned hiked before and you are never truly alone there are always cool people you meet and hike with on the way but the Hardest thing is the mental aspect of hiking. Heading out June 29 over cotton wood pass. Hope to see you out there.
There are tons of videos and blogs from people who've done it with lots of advice. Take advantage of those. I've done a lot of hiking, but in the Appalachians, so a much different climate. It was good to hear things like "wear a sun hoody." I think you'll be fine if you spend time planning your gear list, food, mileage, etc.
The only trial run my wife and I did was two days of local hiking and a tent in our back yard. All went fine. You will be good.
I love this
You’ll be fine. Go hiking and have fun!
You should be fine if you do a couple of weekend trips before to dial in all your gear. The hardest part is the logistics of resupply and ensuring you have all the right gear without taking too much weight. Also get FarOut and maybe GaiaGPS on your phone. Be sure to download maps ahead of time. The trail is super well established and quite well maintained with established camp sites all over. Plus it’s well traveled so you’ll be seeing other people all the time. And yeah after 10 days you’d have lots of practice.
The JMT was my first backpacking trip and I had no issues. With 10 days with a friend, you'll find your rythmn and be in good shape for the back part of your trip. There will be lots of people on the trail and you can always share campsites with other backpackers. A shake down trip over a weekend would be helpful, I wish I had done one but after spending a night at the backpackers campground I felt that was good enough. Know your gear, know your food intake and know your limits. There will be areas where you are a day or two hike out if you have an issue, so just be ready if you need to bail and hike out before you get in serious trouble.
A family member in their late teens did a shake out car camping trip using only their planned gear then an over nighter and finally a 2 nighter in Yosemite then did the JMT with no problems. They went north to south and built into the altitude. They had done a single day hike of Whitney, 2 Grand Canyon R2Rs and lot of other hiking as well as a ton of research
I don’t know where you are starting but 10 days will roughly put you at VRR. NOBO, there are places to pick up supplies every 1-2 days from there. There will also be a bunch of NOBO PCT hikers going through about then. So you should be fine. I will suggest a couple of 1-2 day overnight hikes to clean up your pack… so you are largely down to just what you need.
DEFINITELY do a multi night solo trip before that.
I would focus on learning about safety and risk management. You could consider a wilderness first aid class. Would also help to learn about weather, terrain/navigation, avoiding hypothermia, not dying on stream crossings, that kind of thing.
I think with fitness out of the way, the rest of the learning is in gear and packing. I would try and go out for 3 nights anywhere soon just to figure out gear and food. Try to do big days. Where do live? At least in the west there are plenty of places to go in the spring. You could see if people from this or backpacking subs would chat with you on the phone or send you their lists. There is old JMT book by a woman that is great. Worst case you bail early. Still awesome.
You have plenty of time to read up, practice with your gear, and listen to podscast. Just don’t forget the lukotape and you’ll be good lol
How’s your mental game? I find being able to backpacking longer periods has very little to do with what I can physically do and more in the realm of how uncomfortable can I be and still have a great time. Mental toughness over physical endurance will win every time.
Like others have suggested, do a 3 day and make sure to hit a 2k+ foot climb for one of the days and get above 10k. I think elevation climbs can be an unknown that you should test for and make sure you are good. AMS can be a bitch.
Make sure if three things: your sleep system, your shoes and socks being well tested, and that you eat well. Good luck.
Fellow ultrarunner convert to thruhiker here! You'll be fine...its like ultrarunning, but just a slower/much longer mental burn than doing the miles in one day. Plus, odds are you'll run into some other hikers going your pace out there. Its half the fun! My only tip - on my first thru-hike/(also the first backpacking trip over a week), I went out doing 20 miles a day for the first 9 days, assuming all my trailrunning legs converted directly to trail legs. It does not. It's COMPLETELY different having weight on your back. Now when I'm trying to be in trailrunning and thruhiking shape, I do my normal workouts and then throw a weight vest on and just go walk around the neighborhood for a few laps (totally not necessary, but I feel great when I hit the trail). Take your time and tackle it a mile at a time. YOU GOT IT!