I have been thinking about and researching this July 2nd NOBO PCT section hike as far as Highway I-80. 3+ weeks. The dry winter has me pretty sure July 2nd from TM won't be a problem this year.
But I just got a July 25th permit from Whitney Portal in the lottery. That would likely be for a NOBO JMT trek.
3 weeks going from Tuolumne Meadows to Highway I-80 and then hightailing it down south to do the JMT NOBO trek would be an impressive feat for me (and probably impossible). Likewise, 6 weeks from Whitney to i-80 would be pretty hard for me.
I could shorten the PCT section hike to 2 weeks and stop at Echo Summit, spend a week recovering from that (maybe doing some work
), and then doing the JMT NOBO. I could always do the Desolation Wilderness to I-80 hike separately in the future since the start and exit are pretty easy to access. That's pretty aggressive for me, but I may be able to survive it and convince my boss for the time off.
Alternately, I can do the 3 weeks PCT section hike, then do Shepherds Pass (Williamson, Tyndall, Whitney, Muir (and maybe Russell)) mid-August. A little less extreme.
For those who've done that Tuolumne Meadows to I-80 part of the PCT and the JMT: Do have any opinions on which is the better hike? Granted, I did the JMT SOBO two years ago, so the scenery will be very familiar (although backward :) ), so the PCT section hike would be all new (mostly).
WanderingJim