John muir trail?

Question

Does anyone have any info about the JMT, me and my brothers want to do the whole thing at once. And if so any tips.

Answer 1

lots of training at high altitude (> 6000 feet). Make up a good food plan ahead of time.

Stock up at Vermillion Camp (4-6 days in depending on your speed/stamina and desire to hang out.)

I did it in 2004 in < 14 days, we were'nt exactly pushing it, but my partner and I have a good consistent pace. The best thing to do is get out and do lots of weekend / 2night 3 day trips in preparation. Semi-Long treks like the JMT (or even longer ones like PCT/AT/CDT) are more about the mental preparation then anything else. I just did 10 days in AK with borrowed gear (thank Alaska Airlines for losing my pack somewhere along the way), if it were'nt for the fact that I was more mentally prepared, then I may have bailed on the trip before I ever made it into the backcountry. I see thru hikers every year on the AT giving up before they hit the Smokies, the did'nt make the most important preparation of all, the mental one.



I suggest using the Michael Harrison maps that you can pick up from REI and other California sporting stores, his mileages are kinda off, but it's a good reference. I suggest coming up w/ two hiking plans though, one that encompasses 10 mile days, and one that encompasses ~15 mile days. The first day outta yosemite valley is a real bear since it's pretty much all climbing until you hit Long Meadow (just shy of Tuoloumne meadows).

Bear can is a must (even if your a lightweighter), in 2 weeks we did'nt lose ounce of food to wildlife, but everyone else we encountered lost some portion of thier food every night. Also they substitute well as a backcountry chair, yes a good one is 2 pounds, but it's a smart investment.

It's probably wisest to start in Yosemite and go south, I dunno trying to bag a 14k peak on day 1 just does not sound fun, plus the highlight of a cheeseburger at Dougs in the Whitney Portal Store is much more appealing then Camp Curry in the Valley.

I've pictures from my own hike..
http://meat.meatball.net/imagegallery/JohnMuirTrail

Good luck with your planning, we probably put about 6 months of planning the trip, with the last month being mostly about food plans etc...I've found that if you eat a decent breakfast, snack at 10ish etc..and then your "dinner" meal at like 2-3 pm in the afternoon, take a break and then carry on for a couple more miles then you are less likely to encounter bears as you have left your cooking scent an hour behind you etc..

July/Aug are probably the better months to do the trek as June will sometime have snow on the passes etc.

Anyway good luck to you, the JMT is quite fun, and you'll meet a wide assortment of people..