Grant Breidenbach is our guest this week. Grant hiked the John Muir Trail in 2021, his longest backpacking trip to date. But, as you'll hear, his preparation and knowledge base is impressive from many perspectives. He is a consummate planner who considers the many factors that go into completing a long-distance hike.

He also has some insights into the weather patterns in the Sierras that culminated in a huge storm on his second day. His telling of that story is riveting.

Finally, Grant makes the case for bear canisters as a method of food storage to help protect bears.

Grant suggests the following two Facebook sites as valuable resources for the JMT https://www.facebook.com/groups/JohnMuirTrail

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2022jmt

If you'd like to learn more about Grant's preparations for the trail, and his attention to detail, check out his excellent website, at https://grantbreidenbach.wixsite.com/grantphotography. There, you'll see his pack breakdown, his food details, and his itinerary, along with a link to his Instagram account.

Also today, Dave Burge and Chuck Hayes–our first two Class of 2022 members–talk to me about their progress in the cold, early days of the year.

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