I honestly thought one 5-gallon bucket would be enough to resupply our 90-mile section of the John Muir Trail 😂 I calculated our daily macro requirements & quickly realized we needed a second bucket to hold 42,000 more calories.

#jmt #backpacking #backpackingwithkids

Today is critical food planning, as I need to ship our #jmt resupply bucket to Muir Trail Ranch. Daily mileage totals / route planning is crucial & #chatgpt has made many mistakes 🙅🏻‍♂️🤖. ALWAYS triple check #ai recommendations, especially re: health, safety, & survival. It misreads maps & trip reports.

We got our #jmt permits this morning at 7:01AM! All the wilderness #backpacking permits were grabbed up by 7:05AM. Decided to flip flop the plan & go south from Mono Pass. This is better for the kids since the first few days are easier than the nobo start I was planning. Our journey begins Jul 12!

I bought an #ultralight packraft + a #tenkara fishing rod that I thought would be fun for my kids & I to take on the #jmt. I’m testing both this week, as I’ve never rafted or fished in my life. In fact, I am watching YouTube vids on “how to catch a fish” & “what to do once you catch a fish” 😂

I’m making a list of “best case” vs. “worst case” #jmt scenarios & planning for both. Currently planning what to do if our freeze-dried meals arrive too late to be shipped to our resupply location! If I was alone, I’d carry all my food & not resupply, but +2 boys, that’s ~80lbs #backpacking meals 😵‍💫

This week is a critical week for #jmt planning and conditioning. I’m heading out to Horseshoe Meadows & Mt Whitney to scout our starting point & get in some high-altitude practice. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned over 44 years of life is that practice = preparation = better chance of success.

It’s kind of ironic that I’m using #ai to plan a tech-detox… 🏔️🤖🤷🏻‍♂️

The main reason I’m section #hiking the #jmt w/ my 16-year-old son this summer is b/c he’s struggling w/ mental resilience, structure & task completion. He’s also been vaping/smoking. My co #parent suggested wilderness boot camp… NO. My hypothesis is that #backpacking will help w/ these things.

I pressure-tested the #JohnMuirTrail itinerary that #chatgpt generated for our trip yesterday. The results were kinda scary. ChatGPT is great at lots of things, but def NOT #backcountry GPS coordinates. Day 1 alone had bad errors in our start and end point, despite the start being a busy trailhead.

I read this after #chatgpt built me a 14-day, 90-mile #thruhiking plan. Using #AI to generate an end-to-end 1st draft saved me so much time; however, it was just that—a 1st draft. I found errors & nonsense that, if followed, will lead to getting dead.

#backpacking #thruhike #jmt #pct #chatbot

🧵For our 14d #backpacking adventure, I have 3 challenges:

📍 1. Route + logistics for an experienced backpacker & 2 kids who have never backpacked

☠️ 2. Not getting dead by weather, mis-navigation, dehydration, injury, predators, or starvation

➕ 3. Making it a meaningful + positive trip

🧵Like many American kids, my urban sons have divorced parents. They are nature-phobic and addicted to devices, TikTok, Instagram & YouTube. My 16-year-old “G” is smoking/vaping tobacco, & my 12-year-old “J” is sedentary & overweight, with low self esteem. As their dad, I must guide a new direction.

Hello @bsky.app, 1st time posting, seems like the right place to be.

On Jul 12, my sons & I are starting a 14d wilderness adventure through the Sierra Nevada. I’m 44, G is 16, J is 12. Both need direction, discipline & structure. And I need to be a better dad.

#jmt #pct #backpacking #parenting