I’m leaving in a few days for a northbound hike of the John Muir Trail. I’m starting at the Cottonwood Pass trailhead and am planning for 23 days on the trail.

I am posting an account of my hike on Trail Journals at http://www.trailjournals.com/journal/22515 just in case you are interested in reading about my trip. Sign the guest book if the mood strikes you.

At present, all the journal contains is accounts of my efforts to get ready. I will not be posting while I am on the trail, rather, I will keep a written journal while hiking and then transcribe it, with embellishments and photos, to Trail Journals when I get back.

I’m feeling a bit less sanguine about this trip than I have in the past; I’m 80 this year and certainly don’t feel as strong as I did on my last JMT walk four years ago. I plan to keep my pace slow and my daily mileage to an average of about 10 miles per day. Still, I’m excited to be going and optimistic that it will go just fine.