JMT Planning 6 – The worries, stresses, and what I will miss

Yes I get a lot of questions when I say I am going solo… mostly am I taking a gun or some short of protection and what am I doing about bears?!

I will be heading out on my 3 week(ish) journey there are a few things that scare me.  First there is the weather!  Will I be able to read it, predict it, stay away from threating storms, stay warm and stay cool?  These questions are often on my mind.  Living in southern California for the past 10 years has spoiled me with only knowing sunny skies or gloomy skies that typically do not mean storms.  I feel like I have a huge disadvantage to knowing weather changes and how to deal with them.  I have NEVER set my tent up in rain or high winds.  

 

The next would be fires.  I do not think I would get trapped or stuck in a place I can’t escape but the possible smoke making it harder to breath, a trail or section being close, or having to be evacuated all together.   UPDATE ON THIS ONE!!!  Tuesday evening, one week before I am supposed to drive up, and there is a fire at the Trailhead where I am supposed to start.  I have 8 days until I pick up my permit and they have stopped issuing permits for the trailhead.  I know that it is a little selfish to already be thinking about my trip but it is very hard not to wonder what will happen for me.   My plan is to give it a week to work it out before I call the ranger station and try to figure my situation out. 

And the 3^rd is missing my sister.  I know I will miss my parents, family, friends, and animals as well and I can deal with loneliness.  But I worry about not being able to talk to her.  I know there are going to be hard days, days I will likely want to quit, days I feel amazing, days I see something incredible, days I am proud of what I have accomplished and all of those days I will want to share with her.  We talk a lot!  Some times it’s only few times a week and others a couple times a day.  Our conversations can go on for hours or can just be a couple minutes checking in on each other.  We can talk about the most minor things, to what really stresses us out, to religion and politics, to kangaroo pockets and laugh until we cry.   I worry about not really being able to talk to her.  Thankfully I will have my inReach and can text her when I really need/want to!