JMT18: The Last Dance

And with that, my friends, the JMT saga has officially drawn to a close.

To celebrate a great few weeks on the mountain and to finish things off right, I set out from the good ol’ Railroad Grade gate, up to Hoo-Koo-e-Koo Trail, and over to Matt Davis, which I would carry for its duration, all the way to Stinson Beach. Coming off a quarantine-style home haircut, I felt like I could see everything just a little better without all that hair in my eyes.

The traverse to Bootjack was really cool: it was a pleasantly hot day in Mill Valley, but the further I traveled the more evident it became that I would soon be descending into the clouds that, for the moment, I was comfortably above.

I’m extremely familiar with this stretch between Hogsback and Bootjack, so I had time for my mind to roam free, as it often does out here. Here is today’s edition of Jonathan’s Thoughts, and I’m sorry in advance:

Today’s run was like that episode of The Office where they just use scenes from previous episodes, but with JMT runs. I felt like I was recapping the past three weeks in a single run.

Even though I have no need for a headband anymore, I can’t bring myself to run without my trusty headband, 99.

I’m really not that different from Michael Jordan in the ‘98 Finals against the Jazz.

Alright, let’s move on. While the journey to Bootjack was, in fact, an Office-style review of what had already been done, the moment I passed the turn up to Easy Grade Trail and continued on Matt Davis marked the beginning of the new terrain that I had come all this way for. I emerged onto the first few feet of East Ridgecrest Boulevard by Pantoll Station, where I saw a group of bikers gawking hilariously at a group of turkeys blocking the road, and continued on Matt Davis Trail.

Matt Davis stays concealed in the woods for about a mile before emerging into a beautiful, seemingly infinite meadow that winds down towards the beach. It is, for my money, the most breathtaking stretch of trail on the mountain, which is saying a lot. If not for the shelter-in-place guidelines during my project, I would have spent a lot more time out here and along the rest of Bolinas Ridge these past few weeks.

The conclusion of “the meadow stretch” brings us back to the Matt Davis that we all know and love, as the trail suddenly returns to the woods, this time with steep switchbacks for the remaining few miles to the beach. Lowering myself into the fog during this part was really fun, and it felt very fitting to be ending my project, which began in the mist and rain, in the same conditions under which I began not so long ago.

On a slightly less nostalgic note, I really had to poop during this part. Luckily, having been at Stinson just a few days ago for my Dipsea hike, I knew that there was a full row of porta potties open for business right outside Parkside Cafe, which is one of the first establishments one sees after exiting Matt Davis onto the road. To make a long story short, I ended up sprinting the quarter mile along the road to Parkside like I was Eliud Kipchoge about to break the two hour marathon barrier, and with determination like I really was Michael Jordan, rising up to hit the ultimate game winner over Byron Russell.

When I originally set out over the hill, I envisioned myself sprinting straight into the ocean water to celebrate the end of my three week long adventure, Rocky III style. In the end, I had to stop to poop, it was far too cold to jump in, and only one of my amigo’s - shoutout to my final JMT guest star, the legendary Catie Scannell - made it out to the beach to meet me, but it was still epic. This is why I love running Mount Tam: hardly anything goes as planned, and it still never disappoints.

Of the many things on my mind today, the one thought that really stuck out was the idea of today as “The Last Dance.” Yes, that is the reason for all the Michael Jordan references, but it’s also an appreciation for the mountain that has given me so much over the past four years. This is my last dance on this mountain for some time, and these last three weeks have been nothing short of a blast. I hope that I’ve inspired at least some of you to start exploring in your very own ways.

Thank you to everybody who supported me in this project, most notably my project advisor, Lynne Hansen, informal project advisor Jon Bretan, my small but mighty Strava following and all the JMT guest stars along the way. Keep an eye out for the trail guide and my favorite routes on the website in the coming days. Get out there, and see you soon!

👊✌️

Jonathan