I haven’t hiked the John Muir Trail (JMT), at least not yet. But if all goes as planned, Stan and I will spend three and a half to four weeks next summer doing just that in the wilderness of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
http://www.parkreports.com/gallery/image.php?park=Killarney&id=1373
Before we complicated our lives by switching careers, going back to school, finding new jobs and buying a house, we spent a fair bit of time backpacking. Most of our trips involved hiking up and around the mountains in the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks, but we also took one especially memorably canoe trip to Killarney, a very, very old mountain range in Ontario, north of Toronto. We’ve backpacked and camped during all four seasons, and while I’m not crazy about the amount of gear I have to haul around in the winter, I love the feeling that we have the whole Adirondack mountain range to ourselves. In spite of all this, we have never done any backpacking that comes remotely close to being as challenging as the John Muir Trail.
The JMT runs 211 miles north/south along the crest of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, starting at Yosemite Valley and ending atop the 14,494′ peak of Mt. Whitney. (Yes, that’s the highest peak in the continental U.S.! How hardcore is that?) Hiked from the north, the trail gradually gains elevation, so the hikes gradually increase in difficulty. I’m in favor of taking this route, because while I hope to start the hike in good shape, I know I’ll be in better shape by the end.
Mt. Whitney, one end of the John Muir Trail!
Hikers who plan to hike the length of the trail in one trip are known as “through hikers” and there are essentially two ways to hike the trail as a through hiker. The first involves carrying all the food and supplies necessary for the hike on your back from start to finish. I shudder to think what that pack might way, but I would guess that Stan’s would be upwards of sixty pounds and mine might weigh in around forty. I suspect this would take away from the experience significantly! In fact, it might not realistically be possible for me to make it over all those mountain passes carrying so much weight. The second option involves utilizing the various resupply stations along the trail, allowing you to carry food and supplies necessary for six or seven days. Either way, the trip involves a lot of planning, which is why we’ve started thinking about this now.
Where did this idea come from? I’ve always wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail, but this particular hike was the brainchild of Andy, a classmate Stan spent a lot of time with during his two-week field trip out West for a geology class, Geology of the West. Andy has hiked the Appalachian Trail, and is jonesing to hike the whole Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), but suggested that the JMT (actually a section of the PCT) might be a good place us to begin. Hopefully, he’ll join us next summer too!
Naturally I’ve already read a book on the subject, The Getaway Guide To The John Muir Trail by Guy Saperstein and a lot of the factual information I related above came from this source. In it, Saperstein describes both the planning and hiking portions of his trip. He’s what Stan calls a weight weenie, choosing or rejecting various items based on the number of ounces he won’t have to carry, but I’m all for his methods since I’m not really equipped to haul around a huge pack! Overall, I found it an interesting, informative, and easy to read book.
Sources: The picture of Killarney comes from the Ontario Parks website, the picture of Mt. Whitney from Destination 360, and the jacket cover of Saperstein’s book from Amazon.
August 23, 2007 at 7:31 pm
Wow! Mt. Whitney looks like it walked right out of The Sound of Music. Hiking this train would be like walking through a dream.
August 24, 2007 at 3:24 pm
How right you are! Looking at this picture certainly puts the whole hike in an entirely different perspective. The funny thing is virtually every other peak we have to cross is this high too.
September 17, 2007 at 9:03 pm
You dont know how much I envy that. I hiked the lower edge of the San De Christo Mt range in Philmont New Mexico. The largest boy scout camp in the US, and the largest youth camp in the entire world. I still have to explain that on my own blog, but as I said before, its a pain and I’m trying to find time between school and work. I have all the maps and things, maybe I’ll bring them in to show you.
September 17, 2007 at 9:34 pm
I’d love to see the maps (and any pictures), though I confess that Stan is more the map boy than I am. I bought him this monster of a watch (Suunto) for his birthday that does everything but the dishes so he could happily obsess away about altitude gained or lost, distance covered and even barometric pressure. Finally, I’d would also be checking out your blog right now if I didn’t leave your user name at work…
September 24, 2007 at 10:22 am
ok, well i also have a hiking experience when i went on a vacation,and oh boy it was a good one. We were camping in the Applaciation Mts. we walked it several times and all different Mts. and just looked over the edge it was very scary, but it justr felt so good just to look over the land. On the way back was even better because it was slippery going down and we all fell into a mud pit. But i would go climbing again without a doubt. It was great
September 25, 2007 at 11:47 am
I think to hike the Applaciation Mts. would be so cool. I have been camping there before. I was about 12 years old. We went tent camping, that was a little rough for my parents but I was just fine. We never really went hiking in the mountains but that would have been super. Good luck when you go hiking and that heavy backpack.
September 25, 2007 at 5:03 pm
I have never been to the Appalaction Mts. I’ve always wanted to go there and go camping and hiking. However I have been to the Grand Canyon to go hiking and let me tell you it is beautiful. If there is anyplace that a person should go hiking its there.
September 26, 2007 at 10:12 am
hiking is awesome, and backpacking is even better. ive done a backpacking trip in pensylvania a few years ago, and it was pretty fun.
September 26, 2007 at 6:35 pm
mmmmreef, Where did you go backpacking in PA?
September 26, 2007 at 6:37 pm
chosimboane, I’m jealous that you’ve been to the Grand Canyon. And, I must admit that never gave it much thought until this summer when my husband got to go and I didn’t! The pictures he came back with just blew me away. I also could not believe that it took TWO days to hike all the way to the bottom! That’s insane!
September 27, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Wow! I am so jealous that you have spent time to travel and backpack. I am even more jealous that you have planned a trip to backpack through the John Muir Trail. It looks beautiful. I went to stay with family in Washington for spring break of ’06. We took a few ferrys and drove up a few mountains (I know, not the same as hiking but not everyone on the trip was that adventurous) and the view was unbelievable. I can’t even imagine the feeling once you have climbed to the top of a mountain and experienced the scenery on a more personal level with the environment. Another reason why I can’t wait to go to college in Maine… I have the choice of mountains or the ocean to explore.