LA II

Relaxing before the adventure.
Eitan recovers from his ACL tear and so unable to do the JMT with me as planned, post-GCSE and sweet 16 years of age. Madeleine fills the void without hesitation: she is 'all in', no coaxing nor suggestion from me. I sense she feels an opportunity to escape the shadows of her older brother.

We try our 65 litre Gregory back-packs for the first time: filled with food and equipment, each weighs about 25 kg. We shed unnecessary clothes, field books and accessories to drop the weight. Whatever goes in, goes in on our backs.
Our team includes Adam (clothing, poles and sleeping system), Peter (back pack and hydration); Ken (emergency extraction); Moe and Grace (food; Bay Area pre-JMT base camp) and Christian (LA pre-JMT base camp). Also included is Sonnet, who helps make the whole thing happen with her encouragement, patience and planning assistance. Without her it would have been nowhere.