JMT with an 11yo in August - general advice?

[Dogwood]

Those were some great pics! Is that you Helmuth sporting the young Moses in the wilderness look?

If those pics don't stimulate people to take kids out on the trail and connect with wilderness I don't think they will ever get it!

[tuswm]

wow.

I'm sure there are lots of women and girls (god forbid) out there who could outhike you.

I have the same worries, My GF can out hike me any day of the week BUT she never wants to. she would be happy doing 5MPD while I like 20 MPD in the winter. She likes summer. I like UL. She like luxury. Its about how to compromise so that everyone enjoys the hike.

[Helmuth.Fishmonger]

Those were some great pics! Is that you Helmuth sporting the young Moses in the wilderness look?

negative - that's one of the many friends we made that year. I think his name was Abdul, "bouncing around on the PCT" for a few weeks.

And Helmuth isn't really my name, but then that's a long story.

[Helmuth.Fishmonger]

Is that you

the gang in 2009, now 11 years old, seeking exhileration and inspiration

[Helmuth.Fishmonger]

and 20 years earlier, on Mather Pass on my 2nd JMT

[jmtnewb]

Wow! A flood of info and encouragement and pictures!

@Dogwood - I think I took your original post the right away and it was much appreciated. Others in my party will be looking for different things than me, and I shouldn't forget that. In fact, I think I'll have them all, myself included, write down what it is we hope to get from the trip. It might get us through a rainy day or snowy pass - and make us more mindful of the others in our group.

@Helmuth - thanks for your continued posts. Those pictures are inspiring! Your kids (and you!) are inspiring! Please let them know that my daughter will soon be getting a copy of their (regrettably paperback) book real-soon-now, and I expect her to enjoy it even more than she did Zero Days (about a 10yo girl doing the PCT). (Though she'll have to fight me to read it ).

@skinewmexico @tuswm - Yes, lots of exit points early. That was definitely part of my planning. That generally translates into lots of re-supply points early also, which means less weight while we're getting our trail legs.

@fiddlehead @Jim Adams - I'll be working out where to put zero days. We were thinking in and out at Vermillion, but maybe we'll do two nights, or one of the earlier points -- or decide how we feel when we get there!

@Captain_Slo @bigcranky - good to know there are other "crazy" people out there like me who would even consider taking their young children on such a risky hike! (tongue in cheek - but its what I hear from others sometimes)

@anyone I missed - overwhelmed (in a good way!) by all this feedback. Thanks again!

[Dogwood]

I got one request Helmuth with a period Fishmonger - consider shortening your trail name! It's too damn long for me to continually type out! LOL For now, it's HF or Helmuth!

Again, good pics of your kids HF. You, I'm not so sure about. Your kids must get their good looks from their mom. LOL!

Good stuff HF!

[Captain_Slo]

@jmtnewb I take Other Peoples' young children I'm a Scout leader. So does that make me DOUBLE crazy? or only HALF as crazy?

[jmtnewb]

@jmtnewb I take Other Peoples' young children I'm a Scout leader. So does that make me DOUBLE crazy? or only HALF as crazy?

It makes you TWICE as VALUED! My sister is a Girl Guides leader (whatever they're called here in USA), and I get a sense from her just how much dedication is needed for that!

It was partly my experience in Scouts and Sea Scouts in Australia as a kid that got me hooked on hiking (tho I always had plenty of encouragement from home too). Hats off to you and your fellow leaders for the service you provide to the next generation of kids!

[Dogwood]

It took me a while to grasp, but HF you look like that Canadian professional poker player Daniel Negreanu.

Wait, I just did a player profile search. It says here that he also likes to backpack in the Sierras. Who knew? We have a professional poker player in our midst!

[ChinMusic]

It took me a while to grasp, but HF you look like that Canadian professional poker player Daniel Negreanu.

With the name of The Brat.......

[lori]

Several things to add:

Has she hit puberty yet? If not, that might ... remote chance... happen out there. If she has, gotta have supplies and figure out how to handle it, have some wet wipes handy, etc.

Start out slow - ascend a couple thousand feet and stay a night, do it again, get to TM and resupply, then stay a night in the backpacker camp (they are loose in that one - thru hikers often stay a night rather than just strictly the day before/day after type permitted backpackers) and walk around for a day, taking in the meadow, getting burgers at the grill. Get a good hearty breakfast at the grill before you get going the next day. Push on up Lyell and camp midway up to Donahue, somewhere in the neighborhood of the headwaters. By the time you hit 10,000 feet acclimation should be a cinch. Learn the symptoms of high altitude sickness and watch for it - better to know what to do and not have it happen, than not know and have a woman or a girl or you, suffering headaches, nausea, or worse and not understand that it could be serious and you need to descend.

After about 4-5 days on the trail you will be doing more miles and doing them easily. The body adjusts. Make sure you have all taken the gear you will use for overnight trips and worn the packs for some 8-10 mile days to make sure they will do the job. Shoes need to be comfy with mileage too - sometimes a problem doesn't make itself known until mile five or so (had that happen with gear).

[Helmuth.Fishmonger]

I got one request Helmuth with a period Fishmonger - consider shortening your trail name! It's too damn long for me to continually type out! LOL For now, it's HF or Helmuth!

Again, good pics of your kids HF. You, I'm not so sure about. Your kids must get their good looks from their mom. LOL!

Good stuff HF!

what is a trail name? purpose? I never understood that part of the long trail hiking crowd.

They do call me Fish around Lone Pine, though - guess that was easier, and since they didn't know the real name from the forums, oh well, I guess it stuck. Not that I care to fish at all - the kids do that. I used that name in a silly online game 10+ years ago for the first time. Now it probably already has a social scurity number

[Helmuth.Fishmonger]

It took me a while to grasp, but HF you look like that Canadian professional poker player Daniel Negreanu.

Wait, I just did a player profile search. It says here that he also likes to backpack in the Sierras. Who knew? We have a professional poker player in our midst!

I suck at poker

[jmtnewb]

Several things to add:
Learn the symptoms of high altitude sickness and watch for it - better to know what to do and not have it happen, than not know and have a woman or a girl or you, suffering headaches, nausea, or worse and not understand that it could be serious and you need to descend.
.

Lots of great advice in there Lori (apart from the quote above), thanks! IIRC, altitude sickness can happen to anyone, but tends to affect the same people repeatedly. Fingers crossed that there's a genetic component - so far I've always been ok, my daughter was ok last year at 12300 (after nights at 9k and 10k). The only truly unknown is my sister who doesn't get much chance to go to altitude in Australia (its a very flat country)! We'll definitely take it slow going up. A day of burgers at TM sounds good too! (Hmm, where is all that time budget going...)

thanks again!

[Buffalo Skipper]

I suck at poker

I've heard that from others before. Don't play with him, he's trying to hustle you!

[Helmuth.Fishmonger]

back to the subject - some moments from 2010, now "big kids" at age 11 going for a "yo-yo" of the JMT

Reds Meadow breakfast of champions



one of those moments with twins (he wasn't sharing the big old log he was throwing into the creek)



he's still dominating that log, typical "big" brother pose (he is 2 minutes older after all...)



in the evening, with mashed potatoes and a camp fire, everything was fine again



creepy discovery of some alien bones (at least that was their conclusion after seeing the "skull")




and the "skull"



"I dare you" games that get the hair washed




snapping photos of a discovery in Lake T Edison with his phone



Chasing and chatching a blue-bellied Western Fence Lizard while waiting for the ferry



and a boatride is always fun

[Helmuth.Fishmonger]

making more friend, this time at VVR



walking across a big dam at sunset is quite the adventure - I certainly never did that at that age, especially when it appears not to be allowed



on slow days you have time to practice how to skip stones across Bear Creek




then you pose as if you're scared to cross creeks on big logs



bringing their favorite foods always helps -



All she needs to be happy is a few horses nearby - "dad, can I get a summer job here?"



Later that day we fixed this sun dial



Collecting wild onion to kick up the ramen noodles a few notches later that evening (these are STRONG - if you use them, don't overdo it...)

[Helmuth.Fishmonger]

oops - here is the onion shot



and once in a while the hike itself becomes the most spectacular thing you can do



idle hands are the...



oh - and don't ever forget to bring their best buddies along - this is Mousie, and I have been to many places with Mousie by myself so that the kids have at least one of their best friends accompany me on my solo trips



Alfalfa, her small pony, also has been to many high places



And then there's the trip itself - places like this soon become their favorite memories



and a the end there's this waiting for them

[Helmuth.Fishmonger]

now some from 2010 - starting another yo-yo attemt with the hike to Yosemite Valley from Tuolumne and back up. Day one was perfect for the first camp fire:



then we met this teddy bear somewhere near Clouds Rest Trail turnoff



which was pretty exciting, but they've seen so many bears by now, they know they aren't really a big deal. The rattle snake lounging right on the trail a little higher up was a much bigger "woah!" moment

On their third JMT, they are now old pros with stuff like "douse it, stir it, touch it" - the rangers would be proud of them




How many kids their age already find it normal that deer walk past them on a daily basis, this close?




Her new friend Harley, working to clear the trail over Cathedral pass for the season



then they were building miniature shelters during a rain delay



now old enough to run the kitchen below Banner and Ritter



and you can't beat a cool camp site like Island Pass, even if it got freezing cold at night




and another root beer breakfast at Reds... now it's tradition