John Muir Trail Day 8 & 9: The Joy/Anxiety of Our First Resupply and Zero Day

After seven days on the John Muir Trail, waking up in Independence, California, in a real bed felt absolutely disorienting. The lack of an air mattress that complained loudly every single time I moved, the missing struggle of my inflatable pillow being anywhere except under my head, and the absence of side-sleeper hip soreness from camping on the ground had me wallowing in the luxurious comfort. I wanted nothing more than to burrow into all the squishiness and not surface for many more hours. 

I mean, what was the rush? We would not be hiking today.

(Want to see the people, places and all-around mayhem mentioned in this post? Here’s the Instagram Reel I might regret posting…)

Our First Full Zero Day

After my husband Cliff and I hiked up and over Kearsarge Pass to the Onion Valley trailhead and hitched a ride into Independence the day before, we had decided to take a full Zero Day. We used the time to buy a few much needed items like toothbrushes and to sort through our gear and the full seven days worth of food and other necessities from our resupply bucket. 

We were lucky enough to snag a last minute reservation with Mt. Williamson Motel and Basecamp but they had no availability of another night for us. They recommended a motel a few blocks away and we were able to secure a second night’s stay there. 

Weeding Out Our Resupply

Before checking out from Mt. Williamson, we lugged our completely full resupply bucket outside and commandeered a nearby picnic table. We dumped the entire contents out and got to work on sorting through it all.Cliff and I weeded out everything we knew we would not eat on the trail and ruthlessly cut it from the menu. If we weren’t going to eat it, there was no reason to carry around the extra weight. We took everything we would not be using and added it all to the significant piles of thru-hiker donations located in the front office of the motel.

While I was there, I rooted around in all the organized donation bins for a travel-sized deodorant that I could claim. I made the mistake of thinking I would not need deodorant on the trail and, of all the wrong decisions I’ve made, this one had a ripple effect that started small on this day and grew to become unbearable.After weeding out the resupply items we would not need and did not want to use, we got to work on organizing what remained. We created piles for each day until our next resupply at Muir Trail Ranch, seven days down the dirt path.

We packed everything Tetris-style back into our bear can and bag, paying close attention to the rules/regulations of the different parks and national forest land we would be hiking through and felt relief that our first resupply was complete with no mishaps.

Switching Motels

We stuffed our backpacks full of our meager possessions, crammed our bear bag and can into our packs, and checked out of Mt. Williamson Motel and Basecamp. We ambled down the main thoroughfare of Independence and took stock of the tiny town around us, looking for any open restaurants, thinking always about our next meal. 

We stopped in at a questionable sandwich shop attached to a gas station and, ten minutes later, we emerged with subs in hand and a side of possible food poisoning. My hiker hunger was in full force, though, and I ate the sandwich without hesitation, praying to the hiker gods that it would be fine.

We arrived at the Courthouse Motel and were able to check in early. First order of business? A nap. I slept until late afternoon and immediately started to look up restaurants for dinner and an ice-cream shop.Food, Food and MORE FOOD

We hit up the ice-cream shop first and took our scoops to go. We stashed the half pints in our motel room fridge to be eaten after dinner.  We hustled back out the door and down the street to the Still Life Cafe where we were greeted by a charming Akita Dachshund-mixed pooch named Carlos. 

As we sat waiting for our dinner, I could feel myself becoming anxious for the next day. We would be heading back to the JMT, with our starting point being the Onion Valley trailhead. We would immediately start the climb all the way up to Kearsarge Pass and we would be doing so with a full-food carry for seven days. We would also be hauling enough water to get us up and over the pass and several miles down the other side.  

The Anxiety/Anticipation of Going Back on Trail

I tried, failed and tried again to tell myself that whatever it was I had to do to successfully complete the JMT, no matter how hard, I would get it done. Yes, but how much suffering is going to be involved? I wondered silently. Did it matter, though? One way or another, I would handle it. I felt myself come back into the here and now and saw that Carlos had made his way back to our table. He was peering at me with sweet eyes and I decided I would stop wasting this moment by worrying about the next. Carlos seemed to sigh at me, confirming that, yes, I should focus on this moment and get busy scratching his fluffy head.

Headed Back to the Trail

I was awake long before my alarm went off, thanks to anxiety actually working in my favor for once. I climbed out of the motel bed and took a shower, relishing the hot water one last time, wishing the clean-smelling soap would last. I scrubbed myself violently as if it would somehow combat the Sierra Nevada trail dust that would be attaching itself to us upon our arrival, in a few hours, at the Onion Valley Trailhead.

I stepped out of the shower and quickly put on my hiking clothes, appreciating their clean smell, as well. My husband/hiking partner, Cliff, was making quick work of getting packed up and my anxiety ratcheted up at the thought that we were rushing too fast towards a big dose of inevitable suffering. 

We were headed back to the John Muir Trail and the thought made me honestly happy. I was ready to get going but I was stressing over what I remembered to be a long climb up to Kearsarge Pass and down the other side before ever setting foot on the official JMT. We had just descended from Kearsarge Pass down to the Onion Valley TH the day before yesterday, and it seemed to have taken us so long to complete that part of the trail. When we had finally arrived at the trailhead parking lot, I filed that dread away to deal with today.  

A Full Food and Water Carry and First Whiff of Hiker Trash

I stuffed the last of my things into my backpack, took one last look around. I hoisted my pack up, not quite making it before gravity took hold and I dropped it back onto the bed. Holy hell, this is damned heavy, I said to myself, compounding my already growing dread. I felt my nerves kick up and, with it, a perfectly oniony sweat smell wafted from my armpits. I still hadn’t found a travel-sized deodorant option and I was regretting it by the minute. 

I wrenched my pack up again, this time making it to my shoulder and moving my body into position to buckle it around my waist. I shook my head as the doubt, worry and concern rattled around inside it and walked out the motel room door Cliff held open for me. I thought I heard him sniff at me as I passed and I turned to see him actually smelling his own armpits. “No, it’s officially me. I smell like an onion roll and it’s only going to get worse.”

If there is anything I can count on in this world, it’s my unshakable husband and his quick-witted humor…and he did not fail me in that moment: “Yummm, onion rolls! I’m hungry…”

I laughed at the ridiculousness of it all, glad to have him with me through this adventure called life.

We walked down the main street of Independence, CA and arrived a few minutes later at a different motel, where we had struck a deal to secure breakfast and a ride to the trailhead. We walked into the courtyard where picnic benches were occupied by other hikers waiting for food to be served. Conversations seemed to have an undertone of nervous energy as the topic switched to backpack-weight comparisons.

Cliff perked up and immediately went to weigh both of our packs from a heavy-duty scale hanging from a tree nearby. I called after him that I did NOT want to know how heavy mine actually was. I was committed to playing mind games with myself, in an effort to convince my brain that it was not that heavy. Cliff weighed his first, then my own, then shot me an alarmed look. I groaned an inwardly with primal dread and looked back up as he made his way back to the table. 

As soon as he sat down, Cliff said, “Ummm, we need to take some weight out of your pack…” 

“And do what with it? Make you carry it? No way. I’ve got it. I trained for this.” It was true – I had trained for months, rucking a sandbag and water bladders (and anything else that would bring the total to 30 pounds) up steep ascents for hours upon hours, knocking out my minimum 10-mile goal each time. I’ve got this…and it’s time to lead with that instead of self doubt, I decided silently.

We scarfed breakfast down and drank the last of our coffee before gathering up our packs. Our shuttle driver was a jovial retired airline pilot who chatted with my husband (a current airline pilot) the whole way to the trailhead. 

We were dropped off near the pit-toilet buildings, and after receiving well wishes from the kind driver, we were left to face the mountain we would be climbing. 

Stats for us hiker nerds

Day 8 & 9- August 24, 2024

Resupply #1 / ZERO DAY in Independence, CA

Mileage: Town walking. Didn’t track the mileage.

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