I don’t know exactly how it came into my possession, but I do remember finding the US quarter in my foreign currency drawer and noticing for the first time the design stamped on its reverse face. The image was of legendary 19th century environmentalist and outdoorsman John Muir, posing manfully before Half Dome while a California condor wheeled overhead. I’d long wanted to add the John Muir Trail (JMT) to my hike collection, and this small coin seemed like a billboard from fate telling me to wait no longer. The time was now - 2023 would be my JMT year!
It was also, coincidentally, the year with the highest snowfall ever in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains.
Best foot forward
“You won’t be alone for long,” they said. “You’ll soon become part of a ‘Tramily’.” Come mid-July, I was standing at Happy Isles trailhead in Yosemite National Park, surveying my surroundings. The path was heaving with people, exactly none of whom resembled future Trail Family members. Every one was a day hiker, heading up to Nevada Falls or Half Dome. With my 15kg pack, trekking poles, and a posture befitting the seriousness of a 220-mile (352 km), 16-day wilderness hike, I stood out like a sore thumb. Nevertheless, I
