Lorraine Stiles

The JMT and Me Lorraine Stiles

After years of yearning to backpack the entire John Muir Trail, it is finally about to happen for Lorraine and her reluctant husband Geoff. Lorraine and Geoff opt to join a stock animal company backpacking trip and thus enjoy the support of mules and crew to assist them over 28 days of ups and downs with unexpected hardships and unsurpassed beauty they encounter along the way. The John Muir Trail is a rugged 211 miles extending from Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley to the top of Mt. Whitney. It takes hikers up and down 9 passes above 10,000 feet and then to the Mt. Whitney summit at 14,495 feet. Unfortunately for Lorraine, things have not gone well in the months leading up to this amazing adventure. Injuries, illness and a tremendous snowfall in the Sierra Nevada winter season preceding the trip all contribute to the daily challenges encountered on this magnificent journey.