John Muir Trail
(California)
Stats
- Trail Dates: August 11-22, 2014
- Distance: 221 miles
- Days: 11 trail days + 1 zero day
Thousand Island Lake! An exclamation point is very necessary.
Description
The John Muir Trail in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains is the premiere hiking trail in the United States. I’ve previously hiked all but about 40 miles of the JMT and can attest that it lives up to the billing.
The trail, a segment of the much longer Pacific Crest Trail, runs from Yosemite in the north to its southern terminus at Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the continental United States (14,502 ft). Along the way, the JMT passes through the Ansel Adams Wilderness, John Muir Wilderness, Sequoia National Park, and King’s Canyon National Park.
This is the easy part.
I covered the 222 miles (211 from Yosemite to the peak of Mt. Whitney plus the descent to Whitney Portal) in 12 days. I averaged approximately 20 miles per day, a nice little walk in the park.
Posts
You can find more info and pictures from the hike in my posts on the JMT:
- Time for the John Muir Trail!
- What You Need to Know to Hike the JMT
- Part 1: Prettiest 400-Mile Long Chunk of Granite You’ll Ever See
- Part 2: Airlifts and Zero Days, the Yin and Yang of the JMT
- Part 3: Mile 211 Already
The JMT Gallery
That would be “Hike #2 of 7”. At the top of Forrester Pass.
Herd of deer in Tuolumne Meadow
Fin Dome
A beautiful sunset for those up late enough to see it.
Unnamed lake near Island Pass
Reflections below Mather Pass
Ussie with Taylor, post-food drop.
On the lookout.
Wanda Lake – Always one of my favorite spots on the JMT
Sunset near Charlotte Lake
Upper Palisade Lake
Some stellar patriotism at the highest point in the contiguous U.S.
Mt. Whitney
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