Finding Freedom on the Japhy Rhyder Route

“Last winter as I was finishing up the AT, I had grown tired of being told where to go. Every other snow coated tree had a white blaze on it, which during blizzards and late night headlamp lit hikes I found reassuring, but for the most part regarded as if I was a teenager & they were the overbearing parent. I usually hike to feel free, to have unpredictable adventure, to see new places & to push myself beyond what I thought I was capable of. The AT certainly met the later two expectations. I had never seen any of the amazing nooks & crannies of the east coast & the wintery trail was more challenging than anything I had ever done in my previous 31 years of living or 7000 miles of thru hiking. But I wanted my freedom back.

The Japhy Ryder Route was born from that need for anarchy, challenge, & true wildness, all tempered by homesickness. I grew up in California’s Mendocino county & wanted to connect my home with the Sierras. I pulled out the maps, drove a bazillion back roads & spent the winter planning. Now my dream is taking shape in the form of the 1000ish mile route called the Japhy Ryder, named after Gary Snyder’s character in Kerouac’s “Dharma Bums”.

Traveling with me on this experimental route is Adam Drummer, an outdoor educator & field biologist who decided to give thru hiking a try. So far he has risen to the challenge of 20 mile days through unknown marijuana and poison oak infested hills like a duck taking to water. I found a hiking partner!

At the moment Adam & I are returning to the trail after a week of logistics via our thumbs. Today’s hitch has included two different tricked out climber vans, a long stint in a highway patrol SUV & now the open air of the back of a pickup. We are watching the late day sun turn the Sierras golden & I’m beginning to feel the distance we have covered over the past month. We are far from the overwhelming heat of the Sacramento river valley, the black hawk helicopter scoured marijuana fields of the emerald triangle, and even further from the crashing waves & thick salty air of the Lost Coast. Finally, we have hiked up to the spine of the Sierras &after 500 miles on the Japhy, we find ourselves on the northern edge of Lake Tahoe following a well maintained Tahoe Rim Trail. Walking on this beautiful path, it is hard to imagine the days when we were wandering dense hillsides of chaparral searching for ancient long forgotten trails, drenched in our own sweat during the mid July heat. Soon we will leave the Tahoe Rim Trail and continue south towards Whitney. Ahead looms the infamous Sierra High Route and it’s navigation challenges & unsurpassed beauty. We are hoping that waiting until mid August to hit the higher passes and peaks will have given last winter’s monumental snow pack enough time to melt off & make the rest of the Japhy a joy to complete.

The hitch is over and I’m standing on the side of the road again already missing the back of that truck- what a great way to travel bouncing along with coolers & fly rods in the wind eddy behind the cab! Tomorrow we will hit the trail again & see where it takes us!

-Sage”