I’m planning to do the last third of the JMT sobo this August/September. How safe do you think it is to hide my pack at the junction to the summit trail (taking just a day pack up) and picking it up on the same day on the way back?
I’m concerned about thieves. Have you done this and/or what stories have you heard about people’s experiences doing this?
Thanks, Doug
dougc
Many people leave their packs there at the junction in plain sight (there aren’t many hiding places). After all, if anyone wants to steal something from there, they’d have a long way to carry it to the TH. I don’t know about you, but carrying a couple of pounds of someone elses gear down that steep trail to the portal would act as a discouragement to me.
However, I would take any smaller valuables such as cameras and your wallet with you.
But, taking a day pack from there? The distance isn’t very far and the idea of backpacking with a daypack just to do this short stretch is something that I would never carry.
miner_49
I don’t think you’ll find too many people willing to climb 5000’ to steal your smelly gear. If you’re especially concerned, drop your stuff 50 yards on the west side of Trail Pass, since far fewer people come up from that side.
When i did it, i just unloaded my bear can and tent, and carried the rest to the top. It felt like i was carrying nothing by comparison to the rest of the JMT.
markv
You really dcan’t hide your pack at the trail junction. Its wide open, no trees. But we did it and I never heard of anyone else having a problem with thievery. Its a long two mile hike to the summit to carry the extra weight. Miner_49’s advice is good about taking valuables. A pack is too heavy to steal, but a camera and wallet are another story.
swamp fox
Great comments, everybody. I’ll probably take out the bear can and maybe a few other heavy items just west of the junction and take the lightened pack up. I wasn’t really thinking of taking an actual daypack, rather a jury-rigged fanny pack. Taking the real pack up will be more comfortable than that.
I’ll keep the marmot varmits in mind.
dougc
I was with a group in 2007 who camped at Guitar Lake the night before our climb up Mt. Whitney. We decided to lessen our loads by unloading our packs a mile or two beyond our campsite. We did this because we thought that our belongings would be safe from the marmots at a higher elevation. When we summited Mt. Whitney, we actually had lunch with marmots, laughing at ourselves for our decision-making. When we returned to our stash of gear, nothing was touched. No one ever considered that a human hiker would want our gear, but be forewarned about what a marmot might want.
Ladybug