John's 2001 JMT Journal

1. Pre-Trip	2. Kennedy Meadows to Mt. Whitney	5. Onion Valley to VVR
	3. Mt. Whiney to Onion Valley	6. VVR to Yosemite Valley
	4. Independence	7. Epilogue

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Epilogue

7/5/01
Back at work. I was at the 4th of July gathering for all of 18 hours. It was a lot of extra driving, but I think it was worth it.
Enjoying the inpenetrability that such a long vacation can give while at work.

7/17/01
Running's been hard. Backpacking and running use different muscles. I'd also guess those different muscles have different amounts of capillaries. My cardiovascular system seems to need all the oxygen I can muster at first. I thought my runs would be like fast silk when I got back. Instead, I have no form, I feel like the rusty tin man, and I'm sucking wind. I'm just running through it.
My first run, even though it was short, reminded me of the parts of the hike that I didn't like: when it was dull or monotonous. That's my biggest obstacle to a longer hike: Could I put up with the dullness of rocks and trees, trees and rock? I can't imagine hiking the AT, AKA the green tunnel. I think I'd go bonkers. At least the PCT offers variety.

8/10/01
So many thoughts came and left about my hike since I last journaled. My mind is wrapped around my trip next year, the PCT, not what I did a month ago. The hike seems like a series of events and stops, and very short, but the experience (and days) were long.
I don't remember the bugs. Of course, in writing that sentence, I know I did remember the bugs, and can even remember the constant annoyance, but not of it is sticking in my head as a reason to hesitate. I guess the constant assault, bites, and itching are a given and the benefits outweigh the annoyances. My feet were not that big a problem in my memory, but the truth is that I was on 600mg of ibuprofen twice a day for the pain in my wrists and forearms. I would have had to stop for a few days without the pain meds. That has me concerned for next year, but I'm not going to let it stop me. It's just information.
I'm back to strong running, and enjoying it. When I got back, I got some 804s to replace my 803s, which gave me a numb right big toe. So here ends my JMT 2001 journal. Let the PCT 2002 journal begin!