[pct-l] JMT heading South

[dude at fastmail.ca (dude)]

> How many hours of daylight can I expect second half of September?

I have done the JMT in the middle of September and recall that there 
was plenty of light.  I remember hiking from around 6am to 8pm.


> How easy is it to get a lift from the trailhead to Bakersfield on a
> Sunday afternoon (Oct. 2nd)?

This I have no idea.  I have hitched all up and down 395 between Lone 
Pine and Lake Tahoe, but never to Bakersfield.  its usually no porblem 
at all east of the Sierra, but there is a different attitude out 
there.  people realize that there is very little traffic and long 
distance between towns and no public transportation, plus there are 
lots of tourists.  but i dunno about hitching west of the sierra.


> -  I am debating if I should take my tarptent or my Sierra Design
> Ultra Lightyear with rainfly. Do I have to expect lots of rainstorms
> in the afternoon and below freezing temperatures at night?

I have been on the JMT 4x and all of the trips have been in August or 
September.  In September of 1998, I saw rain, sleet, snow, and a TINY 
bit of sun.  It rained 10 out of 12 days and snowed/sleeted one day.  
You may want to take note of this because 1998 was an "El Nino" year, 
just like this year.  This year (2005) has been very similar to 1998 
thus far.

Of the three other times that I was on the JMT, two were in august and 
one was in September.  It never rained on me in August, and rained one 
day on me in the other September trip.  In August, I camped at 8000ft 
and woke up to find my tent completely covered with a significant layer 
of ice.  I am not sure what the temp was, but you can pretty much 
guarantee that it was much lower than 32.  It was probably in the mid-
high 20's.  

It may also be worth noting that it has been known to snow in every 
month of the year on the JMT.  That being said, there are certainly 
people who have done the JMT with a tarp-tent and survived just fine 
through rain and/or snow.  its really up to you.

good luck.

peace,
dude

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