Golite Breeze backpack Sierra Nevada scene - location of the John Muir Trail and the PCT - serviced by a backpacking shuttle serviceWe're in the Mountains - Not Over the Hill by Susan Alcorn cover - interviews hikers of the Pacific Crest Trail and John Muir Trail
The Path is the Goal - Camino de Santiago motto

John Muir Trail:

The last section was finished in 1938 and runs for 212 miles north south from Yosemite Valley to Mt. Whitney summit in Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park. Most people also add the miles down to the trailhead at Whitney Portal for a total of 221.

This is one of the more spectacular segments of the Pacific Crest Trail, and has many access points from the east and west sides – making for good loop trips of 3 to 15 days. High granite wilderness with stark blue lakes in glacier carved basins.  There are many potential loop trips and a backpacking shuttle service can pick you up or drop you if you are doing JMT segments.

John Muir Trail area Permits:

Required since the routes are thru National Parks or wilderness areas. Get the permit at the point of entry. East side permits are U.S. Forest Service. The Mt. Whitney end is thru the Forest Service by lottery, but there are nearby passes where you can get to the JMT and permits are usually available in advance or at the trailhead. Try to get them online as there is a daily quota at all trailheads. Forest Service Permits. Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park Service Permits. Yosemite National Park Permits. Starting from Yosemite on your online reservation request, entry trailhead will be Happy Isles-->Sunrise/Merced Lake (pass through) and exit trailhead will be Whitney Portal. If online reservations are full for your day and route, do not be discouraged. 40% of permits are reserved for walk ups either for same day or one day before. Go midweek, get in line at the wilderness permit office early, and have a day or two flexibility. If the Happy Isles->Sunrise/Merced Lake (pass through) is still full, ask for alternatives such as one leaving from Tuolumne Meadows or Glacier Point. If you are a southbound JMT hiker leaving from Tuolumne Meadows, your entry trailhead will be Lyell Canyon Trailhead.

Resupply - Food Drops:

The John Muir Trail is the longest stretch of the Pacific Crest trail with no towns or highway crossings, so food drops are a problem, particularly if you are not doing the 20+ miles per day of a PCT thru-hiker. I went from Yosemite south, so had a drop at Reds Meadows' Resort, one 4 days later at Vermillion Resort, and then had a friend with llamas do one in LeConte Canyon. Muir Trail Ranch is a couple of days south of Vermillion Resort and does hiker resupply. VVR is more hiker friendly. Cingular cell service works at VVR. They also have internet via satellite. I've heard rumors that a Pack Station at Bishop Pass will pack food in, and place it in a 50 gallon barrel at LeConte Ranger Station. Vermillion Resort is one of the highlights of the trip. They make a special effort to welcome both PCTers and JMTers - first beer and first night are free. Great pie. Muir Trail Ranch is a day or two south of Vermillion Resort and holds food drops, but caters to its guests, not hikers. If you don't want to carry a full load of food up from the valley floor, have a resupply at Tuolumne Meadows, two days away.

A 2005 backpacking forum message said
the packer from Onion Valley resupplied them at Charlotte Lake, over Kearsarge Pass. One packer and one horse, no extra mule cost $225.00. They have a sealed, buried 55 gal drum at Charlotte Lake Ranger Station, so you don't have to meet them. I've seen such a drum at Le Conte Ranger Station, but don't know rules for its use.

For horse or mule resupply from the east side of the Sierras check the pack station list at: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/inyo/recreation/packstations.shtml

John Muir Trail thru-hiker statistics:

I checked with Yosemite Assn, which issues the southbound permits. As of 29 July 04 they had issued 244 permits for the year and estimated a total of 600 for the season. 300 PCT thru-hikers start northbound, and about 180 of them get to Canada, so I estimate that at least 200 do the JMT.

Trail Conditions:

To check on snow and high water conditions in the Sequoia-Kings Canyon part of the JMT, look at www.nps.gov/seki/trailcdt.htm . Yosemite has a similar site but the information is not as good or as current: http://www.nps.gov/yose/wilderness/trailconditions.htm  . The US Forest Service has information on east side trailheads http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/inyo/conditions/index.shtml . If you are hiking when most of the trail is covered with snow, navigation is a problem. Have good map and compass or gps skills.

Early Season Fording Techniques:

If you are a PCTer, you will have a number of fast deep crossings requiring extreme caution.  Evolution Creek is the deepest, sometimes chest high at the normal crossing point, but not very fast. Others are not as deep but fast and dangerous. Cross in early morning - may be 12 inches lower than late afternoon. Tyndall Creek, Bear Creek, south fork of Kings River, Rush Creek, Kerrick Canyon (northern Yosemite) are some of the others. Consensus from PCT-L forum is to use hiking poles or sticks to get 4 points of contact, keep body facing the opposite shore, angle upstream to keep the force of water from collapsing your knees, wear synthetic fast drying clothes, take off long pants, unfasten waist belt. If shoes and boots are already wet leave them on. Walk between rocks, not on them. If wearing trail runners leave them on - some people take socks off. During dry weather if you have to cross in your boots, remove socks and boot liners, wipe out boots after crossing and reinsert liners.  You will walk dry quickly.  You need something to protect your feet (I have gone barefoot in midsummer and it is painful. I have carried lightweight kayak shoes for camp and river crossing - better than bare feet. I don't want the weight penalty of Tevas).   With normal sierra weather you will dry as you walk fairly soon.  If chilly, put on fleece after crossing.

Early season hint: Temperature Change with Elevation: If you carry a thermometer, it is sometimes useful to estimate expected temperatures at higher elevations. There is a normal temperature drop of 3.6° F for each 1000 feet increase in elevation. i.e. if you are at 10,000 feet, the temperature is 40° F and it is raining, expect snow at 13,000 feet.

Transportation and Backpacking Shuttle Service:

www.yarts.com is the regional Yosemite transportation service. It includes service to and from Merced to Yosemite, as well as from Yosemite to Mammoth and points in between.

here are shuttle services that would drop you at one trailhead and pick you up at another. We usually leave the vehicle at the trip end point and the shuttle takes us from there back to the start point. Haven't used one ourselves recently so don't have a personal recommendation.

Recommended by others:
http://www.mammothlakestransportation.com/
http://lomaprieta.sierraclub.org/pcs/info/shuttles.asp - in this Sierra Club link there is a reference to Skip - someone recently used and liked his service.
Wilder House B&B in Independence no longer runs a shuttle service http://www.wilderhouse.com

This service offers shuttles along the Eastern Sierra from Yosemite to Kennedy Meadows (south) http://www.mtwhitneyshuttle.com/

If you need public transportation to get to the Eastern Sierra or Yosemite, here is an excellent link, including some bus schedules: http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~rbell/JMTTransport.html.gz 

Another good source of shuttle info, shower locations, etc that is kept current: http://climber.org/data/index.html

A new shuttle service into Sequoia Kings Canyon from Visalia: http://www.sequoiashuttle.com/
 

John Muir Trail Maps:

Use the Tom Harrison JMT map pack to have good maps and keep the weight down at www.tomharrisonmaps.com . Peter Dascalos has put together a nice backpacking site including a set of JMT maps created from Topo - viewable online, and if you have highspeed internet, downloadable. They are sized for print on 8.5 by 11. www.dascalos.net/Outdoors/ODC/jmt.html . If you browse his site, you can also find maps and photos for sections A, B and C of the PCT.

The following elevation profile site does the entire Pacific Crest Trail, section by section, including an excellent JMT profile:
interactive - you select by section - very nice: http://www.bearcant.org/elevation.php

Brian from the Yahoo John Muir Trail forum has posted a good profile pdf: http://www.centralcoastvwclub.com/jmt_profile_pdf_21day.pdf

GPS Coordinates for Reds Meadow to Whitney Portal:

Kevin Aston has put a useful spreadsheet on his site, with elevations, mileages and distances http://www.kevinaston.com/JMTSpreadsheet.html

Bears:

You can encounter them anywhere on the JMT, but are most likely to see them where they have found food before: At the trailhead or a day or two out from it, examples: Kearsarge Pass or Little Yosemite. Anywhere there is a bear box. Bear canisters for food are required on parts of the JMT. For your sake and the bear's sake, we strongly urge you to use them. See gear page for details. You can rent them in Yosemite when you pick up your permit. Repackage your food so you can store more in the canister. Bear box locations cluster campers with resulting dust, dirt, noise. We try to avoid them. Locations in Sequoia-Kings Canyon: www.nps.gov/seki/bear_box.htm . In Yosemite bear boxes are only at Little Yosemite campground and the High Sierra Camps. Canisters are required in most other areas. For details see: http://www.nps.gov/yose/bears/  For Ansel Adams Wilderness and other east side Forest Service managed areas see link in Where to Camp below.

Water:

On the JMT you will find water several times a day. In August it will be dry on the the big passes, particularly on the south side so carry enough water for five or six hot miles. We use roughly three miles per liter per person when going up and get 4 or 5 miles per liter going down. Either pump or treat your water (see our gear page). If you want to get over a pass early, you may want to dry camp high on the ascent. Carry extra water to do this, even if you plan to have a cold breakfast.

Where to Camp:

Stay away from the bear box areas unless you have a craving to be around more people. If your requirements are an eight by ten flat spot, you will find spots frequently. Check out your map for water and start thinking about possibilities mid afternoon if you want to have water 100 feet away. There are a few spots along the JMT where no camping is allowed, so vegetation can recover. In Yosemite you need to be four miles away from a trailhead. This means Tuolumne Meadows as well as where you start in Yosemite Valley. Near Reds Meadows, no camping within 1/4 mile of outlet of Thousand Islands Lake, Garnet Lake, stay 300 feet from Shadow Lake - see http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/inyo/recreation/wild/sitespecific.shtml for full details including trails where bear canister is required. Just north of Rae Lakes there is a small lake with no camping.

Just Mount Whitney:

If you want climb Mt. Whitney from the east side, and return, you are talking about a 22 mile round trip, 6000 feet elevation gain, with about 12 hours one way up.  If you are a rock climber, there is a mountaineers route (not a trail) that is 3.4 miles to the top, still with the 6000 ft elevation gain, part of it a class 3 climb.  Don't try it unless you are an experienced mountaineer with excellent map reading skills and have thoroughly researched the route.  Guides are available if you contact the Bishop ranger station or Mt. Whitney store.  If you are thinking about either route, buy the Mount Whitney: Mountain Lore From The Whitney Store by Thompson and Newbold. From our link below, or Amazon or from the Whitney store website www.whitneyportalstore.com

The Whitney portal store is much more than just a place to buy a hamburger.  It is at the east side trailhead to Mt. Whitney.  The owner, Doug Thompson is an expert on Mt. Whitney, and has personally rescued many exhausted hikers. The store is the first place contacted when anyone is in trouble.

Current unsupported JMT hiking record: (resupply allowed)

Michael Popov - 4 days 5 hrs and 25 minutes in 2007 at age 29
http://mailman.hack.net/pipermail/pct-l/2007-August/009318.html

Catra Corbett (dirt diva) in 2004 yoyoed - one way  5 days, 15 hours, and 50 minutes. Her yo yo time was 12 days, 4 hours, and 58 minutes
http://www.mt-whitney.info/viewtopic.php?p=3919

Reinhold Metzger, 61, Point Loma, backpacked the 211-mile John Muir Trail from Mt. Whitney to Yosemite National Park's Happy Isles in five days, 10 hours in 2003.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/outdoors/20030929-9999_mz1s29outdor.html

Current supported JMT hiking record:

2007 Sue Johnston age 41 in 3 days 15 hours 32minutes  August
http://runsuerun.blogspot.com/
http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=40869#Post40869

2004 Kevin Sawchuck in 93 hours and 5 minutes
2003 Brian Robinson..........4 days......7hrs...2 minutes
2003 Peter Barkwin ...........3 days...22 hrs...4 minutes
http://friends.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/2006-September/001490.html

Guided Trips in JMT vicinity

Southern Yosemite Mountain Guides offers trips from guided backpacks, to climbing expeditions, to women's only trips, to day hikes up Half Dome. We have no personal experience with them, but their site lists mentions in many major outdoors publications as well as National Geographic Adventure, Sunset and Frommers 2008. http://www.symg.com/

Llama Packing Services:

Greg Harford of Potato Ranch Llama Packers rents llamas to JMT hikers. I haven't rented from them, but did go on a short trip with Greg, and was impressed with his llamas and methods. You can read my trip in my July 2007 newsletter. Check out Greg's website at www.llamapackers.com .

Classic Guide Books to JMT area:  Any PCT guide will include at least a brief guide to the JMT.

 

The original guide is Starr's Guide to the John Muir Trail and the High Sierra Region, written by Walter Starr Jr. in 1933 and published by the Sierra Club.  It is still available in revised form. Nicknamed Peter, the author vanished during a trip to the Minarets in 1933, his body was found after an intense search, and his book was published posthumously. See Missing in the Minarets further down this list for a good story.

 

The Wilderness Press publishes a number of excellent guides to this region including, Elizabeth Wenk and Kathy Morey's Guide to the John Muir Trail, photos, maps and route descriptions. 4th edition just out in 2007 now includes GPS waypoints.

 

Their series for shorter trips is based on the USGS map quadrangles and is pocket size.  Each book includes the map and the descriptions of routes within that map.

 

They also put out Sierra South which covers the John Muir Trail area, by Kathy Morey and Mike White, The 8th edition is an excellent guide, organized by access highways, and includes route elevation profiles

 

as well as Sierra North by Kathy Morey & Mike White, which covers the Sierra from Yosemite north.  Both of these are a good addition to your hiking bookshelf.

Mount Whitney: Mountain Lore From The Whitney Store by Thompson and Newbold. This is the definitive reference for anyone climbing Whitney, particularly from the east side.  If you are going to climb Whitney, read this book.  It could save your life.

A Hike for Mike by Jeff Alt. This journal of a couple's John Muir Trail walk is also a plea for depression awareness. Good armchair reading. See www.hikeformike.com for more about their campaign and hike.

The Last Season by Eric Blehm - This non-fiction mystery on the disappearance of a back-country ranger in Sequoia-Kings Canyon NP gives an insight into the daily lives of those with the unique experience of living and working in a National Park.
Missing in the Minarets - The Search for Walter A. Starr, Jr. by William Alsup. This is the story of the disappearance and search for Peter Starr, author of Starr's Guide above. Good reading and a good mystery, it gives a glimpse into a different era in the Sierras.
Laurence Gonzales's Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies and Why. This should be mandatory reading for anyone doing moderate risk activities, let alone thru-hikers, backpackers, mountain climbers, etc. It certainly made me rethink the things we do when backpacking. It makes fascinating reading, but to summarize what I got out of it: Be sure that what you are thinking of as many years of experience, is not really many years of being very lucky.

And a DVD

Bob Kenan was a backcountry ranger in Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park for 30 years. He has put together a DVD of his experiences, including interviews with other backcountry rangers, and some 50 interviews with backpackers and PCT thru-hikers. I haven't seen it, but sounds good. Order from his site at http://www.messagefromthemountains.net

Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada by John Muir Laws was published this year by one of my favorite publishers, Heydey Books in Berkeley, CA, in conjunction with the Cal Academy of Science.

Sierra Birds: A Hikers Guide also by John Muir Laws, and praised by Amazon reviewers, though I have not seen it.

Sierra Nevada Wildflowers by Elizabeth Horn. Descriptions and color photos of many of the wild flowers you will see on the JMT.

Fixing Your Feet - Jon Vonhof is the last word on foot care. He treats feet on ultra marathons and will give you more than you ever wanted to know on treating blisters and foot problems.

Gifts from the Mountain, Simple Truths for Life's Complexities by Eileen McDargh. Watercolors and wisdom drawn from backpacking inspiration. Not just JMT. Hard to classify, but I highly recommend it.

Classic Hikes of the World by Peter Potterfield - . A gorgeous book full of tempting hikes if the JMT experience has infected you. One of the featured hikes is the JMT.

Off topic, but if you fish the JMT, check this out: Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes of California by Samuel McGinnis, illustrated by Doris Alcorn - my ex. The illustrations are world class - a life's work.

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv. Not on JMT, but a strong case for getting children out into the wilderness.

 

 

JMT Links:

There is a Yahoo group called John Muir Trail that has a post every day or two, and some knowledgeable responders. The Pacific Crest Trail forum PCT-L has a lot of people who can answer JMT questions, though main purpose is supporting PCT thru-hikers.

We've put most of what we know on this web site, but if you have a question you can't get answered, you can email us at backpack45 at yahoo dot com - We are out on the trail a lot, so can't always give an immediate response.

The Official Inyo National Forest website is a good link - fire info, current info on Mt. Whitney permits left, etc.

www.jmthiker.com Good Story and Photos. They followed Ray Jardine's ultralight approach and used Golite® gear - my only negative comment is that they didn't use a bear container.  In the Sierras, that should be a must - protects the bears and you - recommend Bearikade® if you can afford it or rent it - half the weight of the Garcia, and wider mouth.

The Pacific Crest Trail site's page on JMT - lots of links, also PCT info.

www.gossamergear.com  - Mariposa - My most recent pack - I had their G4 but wore it out in about 3 years and wanted something that was more comfortable with larger loads.  Also have Golite Breeze, but the Mariposa and G4 have a minimal waist belt. Glen - the founder of Gossamer Gear -is a scoutmaster - essentially makes these as a service. Materials are lightweight, so expect more wear and tear.  At end of my JMT trip in 2002, mine needed some minor stitching, but that was after 200+ miles of rugged use. Also - his site has a very good set of backpack related links. More on packs in our Gear page.

www.trailcrew.org - Want to give back something to the trail system? This organization does volunteer trail work in the Sequoia-Kings Canyon area. A number of their trips go out of Florence Lake. See site for more info. I have no personal experience with them, but looks good.

Want to go with a group - this Elderhostel site does trips in the JMT area www.sierrapacktrip.com/elderhostel.html

Our gear list for JMT or PCT


The gear list is a google spreadsheet. To get an xls file you can save, click on  http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pPFto0EzOaDvrKYt_NSZZEg  - on the bottom right of the resulting google spreadsheet is an edit button. Click that, and you will be able to view it in a form that can be saved off to your hard drive as an xls file.

Emma Gatewood first hiked the entire 2160 mile Appalachian Trail at the age of 67. 
She last hiked it at the age of 76.

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