Nevada waterfalls and to the south of Half Dome to Sunrise High Sierra Camp and then north-eastwards over the Cathedral Range to reach a second roadhead at Tuolumne Meadows. A café/snack bar, store and post office here are useful to JMT walkers before the long journey south to Whitney begins.
From Tuolumne a long ascent up the wide and beautiful Lyell Valley leads to the first high pass of the JMT, the 11,056ft Donohue Pass, where the Trail leaves Yosemite National Park to enter the Ansel Adams Wilderness Area in Inyo National Forest. The route then heads south-eastwards across a landscape dotted with a multitude of mountain lakes and tarns – Thousand Island Lake, Emerald Lake, Garnet Lake and Shadow Lake – all beneath the dominating and shapely summits of Mount Ritter and Banner Peak.
A long descent southwards through woodland leads to the Devil’s Postpile National Monument, massive columnar blocks of basalt resembling those found at the Giant’s Causeway in Ireland. Nearby the wilderness walker can enjoy both the hot tubs at the thermal springs and Reds Meadow Resort, which offers the hungry hiker a restaurant/café and a store selling basic foodstuffs.
The trail now climbs through trees that were badly burned in a forest fire in the early 1990s to pass into the huge John Muir Wilderness to reach Deer Creek, before following a trail of volcanic dust along a ridge heading south-eastwards high above Cascade Valley. Duck Lake is by-passed, but the undulating JMT passes Purple Lake and Lake Virginia before dropping steeply down to Tully Hole. Lakes named after the Native American culture (Squaw Lake, Chief Lake, Papoose Lake) are passed on the ascent to the Trail’s second major pass, Silver Pass at 10,900ft. A long descent southwards follows, past Silver Pass Lake and Pocket Meadow to reach Quail Meadows, a short distance east of Edison Lake. Most JMT walkers will then want to take the ferry boat trip across this lake to spend a day or two relaxing at Vermilion Resort, where there is always a special welcome awaiting JMT and PCT Thru-Hikers.
Hikers on the JMT climbing towards the Pinchot Pass (Day 16)
After crossing Mono Creek the Trail rises steeply to attain Bear Ridge, which eventually drops to Bear Creek. This mountain stream is followed to Upper Bear Creek Meadows and then up to Rosemarie Meadows, past Marie Lake and over the Seldon Pass, which lies at the same altitude as its northern neighbour, at 10,900ft. The JMT descends past Heart Lake and Sallie Keyes Lake to reach Muir Trail Ranch, the last place en route where food caches may be collected.
From here on there is no compromise as the Trail enters a huge wilderness area between Muir Trail Ranch and the end of the Trail, climbing virtually every day over increasingly higher mountain passes. The Trail heads south-eastwards along the South Fork of the San Joaquin river to enter Kings Canyon National Park at Piute Creek. The San Joaquin river is left behind at Goddard Canyon as the JMT turns at first eastwards to head up Evolution Valley. Three lush meadows are passed on the way to Evolution Lake, from where a high alpine world is entered as the Trail passes Sapphire, Wanda (named after Muir’s daughter) and McDermand Lakes to climb to the pass named after the great man himself. Muir Pass, at 11,955ft, is the only col on the JMT to boast a man-made building, a stone shelter hut.
The descent on the far side of the pass leads past Helen Lake (named after Muir’s other daughter) before dropping down Le Conte Canyon, passing Big Pete and Little Pete Meadows. After Grouse Meadows the Trail turns eastwards to ascend alongside Palisade Creek to reach Deer Meadow. A sensational path, steep and terraced, then leads upwards to the Palisade Lakes, above which towers Mather Pass (12,100ft), the first pass above 12,000ft encountered on the Trail. The broad, desert-like Upper Basin leads down to the Kings river, after which another climb takes the hiker over the 12,130ft Pinchot Pass and so down to Woods Creek, which is spanned by a most impressive suspension footbridge.
The JMT follows the South Fork of Woods Creek, passing Dollar, Arrowhead and Rae Lakes before climbing to 11,978ft at Glen Pass. A descent follows to Bubbs Creek, the valley of which is then ascended into more and more rocky terrain beneath the dramatic Junction Peak. Forester Pass (13,180ft), the first time that the Trail climbs to over 13,000ft, is attained at the Kings Kern Divide, allowing entry into the Mount Whitney area of the High Sierras.
The JMT bids farewell to its big brother travel companion, the Pacific Crest Trail, a little before Crabtree Meadow. The appropriately shaped Guitar Lake lies below and to the west of the Whitney massif, and from here a zig-zagging climb leads to Trail Junction, where backpacks can be thankfully abandoned for a time while Mount Whitney (14,496ft) itself is climbed. The last pass of the journey is Trail Crest (13,600ft), which is easily attained before the seemingly never-ending descent leads out of the wilderness down to Whitney Portal.
Walking a Wilderness Trail
For British backpackers and long-distance path walkers, the major difference between the JMT and longdistance routes in Britain and western Europe is the large expanses of wilderness through which the JMT passes where there is no permanent human habitation and no basic facilities. The only possible form of accommodation is a backpacking tent, and the only food available is that carried in by walkers themselves. There are no cafés, restaurants, mountain huts or B&Bs – nothing whatsoever.
In Britain and much of Europe, should weather conditions take turn for the worse, or if you fancy a bit of luxury, it is nearly always possible to opt for a night in a hotel or have a meal in a restaurant. With one or two exceptions, you will generally not have such an option while on the JMT.
Again, there is little need in most parts of western Europe for backpackers to carry more than one or two day’s worth of food, because villages and towns with shops and restaurants are encountered fairly regularly. Nowhere would you be compelled to carry up to ten day’s worth of food, as on the southern section of the JMT. Careful planning is required to ensure that you have sufficient food while walking the Trail, and you must be completely self-reliant.
Walkers should also be aware that the national parks and official wilderness areas of the US are subject to a range of regulations designed to protect ecologically sensitive areas (see ‘Low impact trekking and national park/wilderness regulations’, in ‘Walking the Trail’, below).
While the JMT should present no real difficulties for the seasoned hill and long-distance walker, it is recommended that those undertaking it have previously walked at least one continuous route of more than 150 miles in length, preferably in the Scottish Highlands, Alps or Pyrenees, before attempting the JMT. Some experience at a reasonably high altitude would be an advantage.
If you are concerned that all the planning and physical effort required to walk the John Muir Trail is a little beyond you, then do consider the achievements of Al (Albert) Ansorge from Illinois, who in 2001, when over 80 years old, completed his tenth walk along the entire John Muir Trail. Al made his first JMT trek in 1981 when a mere youngster in his sixties. He reckons that the JMT is the best hike in the world, and this author could not disagree with that opinion.
John Muir
John Muir (1838–1914) is a household name in the US. This somewhat eccentric man – naturalist, conservationist, sage, explorer, mountaineer, inventor, writer and founding father of the national park movement – is alas largely unknown, except to outdoor enthusiasts, in the land where he was born and grew up, Scotland. It is hoped that this guidebook will in some small way help to make the name of John Muir, together with his philosophy, principles of conservation and respect for the wild places of this planet, better known to a wider audience.
John Muir was born on April 21st 1838 in Dunbar on the east coast of Scotland, in Lothian. He was the son of a strict Calvinist and tyrannical disciplinarian who worked his sons harshly. In 1849 the family decided to emigrate to the New World, and so at the age of eleven John left his homeland to make a new life in the United States of America. The family settled on Hickory Hill Farm, near Portage in Wisconsin. In his free time John learnt to wander the open, unfenced country of the neighbourhood, and at this early age developed the love of the outdoors that was to remain with him all his life. He was largely self-taught during these formative years, hiding his reading from his father, who disapproved of book learning. John discovered that he had a gift for invention as well as for geology and botany, and with these