Audacious! Employee Treks 222-mile Trail in 7 Days

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Eric Gerhardt had let himself down. He was falling behind in one of his goals: to hike the John Muir Trail straight through in just one week without re-stocking on his supplies.

To the average person, this goal might seem lofty, nearly unattainable. But to the Housing and Community Development IT analyst, the challenge of it is what’s so fun.

“Everyone approaches a long-distance hike for his or her own reasons, and with a different set of standards or personal rules,” Gerhardt said. “There is an acronym hikers often reference during long-distance hikes, HYOH (Hike Your Own Hike).”

So that’s what he did. After completing the John Muir Trail two years ago in 9.5 days, with a pit stop in Mammoth Lakes that included a night in a hotel, the avid hiker recently set out to achieve his original audacious goal – and did it. He trekked the 222-mile trail solo in just seven days. Or six days, 21 hours, if you want to get technical.

“The official JMT is 211 miles and runs from the Mt. Whitney Summit to Yosemite Valley,” he said. “However, the Whitney Summit is 10.5 miles from the Whitney Portal Trailhead so most people just include these miles in the JMT total – there is no tram to the top of Whitney.”

This time around, though, there was no resupplying and no hotel nights.

For those looking in, the most grueling part might seem like the 51-pound pack he carried (it weighed 30 pounds at the end of the trip). But for Gerhardt, the hardest part was actually the snow. In fact, it was so treacherous that the 11-year County employee almost turned back after the first day of his May 30-June 5 trip.

The Muir Hut, located on the John Muir Trail

The Muir Hut, located on the John Muir Trail

“Ideally, you would get over the pass just as the snow began to soften from the warming day,” Gerhardt said. ”Too early and it’s icy and dangerous. Too late and you’re post-holing (sinking into the snow with each step), sometimes up to your waist – post-holing is extremely tiring.”

Because of his aggressive schedule, Gerhardt needed to go over two passes on most days. This meant going over one in the morning, which was ideal, and one in the afternoon, which was not.

“These afternoon passes tested my physical stamina and mental drive to go on. The third and seventh days were probably the toughest. I would sink into the snow about six inches on good steps and three feet on bad ones – exhausting,” he said. “There were also sections of flat trail following the contour line along a mountain slope that was made much more difficult with continual snow drifts of three to six feet deep. Instead of walking a level path, I’d have to climb up and over these drifts while trying to avoid sliding down the slope.”

While the experienced hiker pushed through the snow, the solitude wasn’t lost on him. He was grateful for the quiet alone time and said it was a challenge to talk to other hikers when he came across them.

“Going alone, I get to make all decisions without compromise or collaboration… This level of independence really appeals to me in the outdoors,” Gerhardt said.

By night four of the journey, Gerhardt was starting to get behind schedule and knew he had to hike to make up some lost miles.

“As I lay in my tent that night, I wasn’t sure it was possible to cover the nearly 80 miles between me and Yosemite Valley in two days. But I found motivation in two places. One - I had worked really hard to cover the 140-plus miles behind me and didn’t want to waste that effort. And two - I was ready to get back home and eat some hot food.”

Gerhardt wound up waking at 3 a.m. and hiking 35 miles on day six. On day seven, he woke at 2 a.m. and hiked 43 miles. He finished the journey at 11 p.m. on day seven.

Though the short trip was “certainly an audacious goal” for Gerhardt, he said it came with years of careful planning and the ability to adapt – perhaps an insider tip for us and our own audacious goals.

“The process of achieving the goal started many years ago. I needed to develop the necessary skills and build a level of experience,” he said. “Once on the trail, I had to be adaptable… Finally, I had to motivate myself and really push my limits to stay within the timeframe I had set for myself.”

Gerhardt has more upcoming hiking challenges planned, including a long trail in New Zealand and hiking each of the 11 peaks in California over 14,000 feet.

Just for fun - records kept by Gerhardt during the hike:

Day 1 (May 30):

  • Started hiking at 1:40 a.m.; ended at 4:22 p.m.

  • Miles hiked: 21.8

  • Passes/summits: Whitney, Trail Crest

Day 2 (May 31):

  • Started hiking at 4:20 a.m.; ended at 8:35 p.m.

  • Miles hiked: 29

  • Passes/summits: Forester, Glen

Day 3 (June 1):

  • Started hiking at 4:33 a.m.; ended at 8:24 p.m.

  • Miles hiked: 27

  • Passes/summits: Pinchot, Mather

Day 4 (June 2):

  • Started hiking at 3:30 a.m.; ended 9:10 p.m.

  • Miles hiked: 35.5

  • Passes/summits: Muir

Day 5 (June 3):

  • Started hiking at 5:55 a.m.; ended at 7:47 p.m.

  • Miles hiked: 26.3

  • Passes/summits: Seldon, Bear Ridge, Silver

Day 6 (June 4):

  • Started hiking at 3:17 a.m.; ended hiking at 8:30 p.m.

  • Miles hiked: 34.7

  • Passes/summits: none

Day 7 (June 5):

  • Started hiking 2:13 a.m.; ended at 11 p.m.

  • Miles hiked: 43

  • Passes/summits: Island, Donohue, Cathedral