The JMT 8’21 (Northbound) 

I used the Bearvault BV500 at a capacity of 700cubic inches and my buddy John used the Bearicade Blazer at a capacity of 750 cubic inches. My advice because the Bericade is so pricey is to buy the size you might use most often. For any overflow food that doesn’t fit in the canister I carry a dyneema bear bag and a Lopsak. Contrary to most of the fear about bears they don’t like us as much as we don’t like them. I feel comfortable storing the overflow food in the bear bag and Lopsak in my backpack stored in the tent vestibule. Never had a problem. Not a bear or mouse or squirrel. What dates are you doing the JMT? Envious! Your gonna have a great experience!

This was my second time doing the JMT and I think I have my gear dialed in. You’re going at the perfect time IMO. Weather/temps should be ideal. Daytime temps will probably be in the 60’s to 70’s but at altitude and in the sun it’ll seem like it’s in the 80’s. I hate sunscreen so I wear a lightweight sun hoody with thumb loops to protect my hands, also a wide brim hat! At night/early mornings it’s possible to get as low as the upper 20’s. My socks froze at McClure Meadow. We camped by the river and the cold air rolled down from Evolution Valley. Coldest morning by far. I brought long johns but never used them. I was more than warm enough in my 20 degree quilt. A new addition to my gear is an 11liter packable bucket (and a micro fiber washcloth), weighs only 3.6oz. We like to clean the days grime off our bodies and wash our feet. To grab a bucket of water from a lake or stream then find a sunny rock to clean up is quite nice. It beats an uncomfortable location in the shade (brrr) at the water source. You can also use the bucket to do your laundry in. The other nice thing about a bucket is you’re not throwing your dirty sudsy water back into the lake potentially contaminating it. Nothing better than getting in your sleeping bag with a clean body! I’ll also use the bucket to collect water that I’m going to filter… lots of uses for a bucket. What else? Oh if you’re prone to getting blisters I highly recommend Injinji socks. They are awesome. I bring 3 pairs of socks just in case. I like a clean pair every day. Bring a rain jacket but ditch the rain pants. The pants are overkill. Have a great time out there. We may run into you. We are doing the Kings Canyon High Basin Route which intersects the JMT at various points around the same time. Yew!

Also here’s my buddy’s video on the gear he takes… (he borrows my bucket constantly) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-V6bplkcB8-8.html

I keep it simple. I use an IPhone 11 Pro which takes terrific photos and the stabilization for videos is amazing. In addition I bring a Anker PowerCore 10,000mAh Portable Charger - 6.5oz. The charger combined with recharging at 2 resupply locations, MTR and Reds Meadow, gave me more than enough power. I occasionally play music but was leery of draining my power. Probably could have played much more music. Power was not a concern.