Hello - John Muir Trail

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#1

hi there fellow hikers! (excuse me for my poor english cause its not my native language ) my name is Afek and I’m 22 years old. I live in israel and i just finished with my army period (3 years). i am planning to start the trail in early july alone. the fact that many hikers will be there cheers me up! although im quite experienced i do have some questions and ill be happy getting some answers:

  1. permit-because i dont know exactly the date ill start will it work to get a permit when ill come? 2. resupply- my time is flexible and sending packages is quite difficult because im far away and all sorts of other problems (language- its one thing to talk or write to someone but plannig the packages is difficult). so i think ill manage somehow to get to towns or stuff like that. is it possible? 3. i guess that from the airport ill visit rei or someting alike and then start the trail is it complicated (transportation)?

looking forward to meet nice people on the trail (:

Afek

#2

Afek,

Because you are traveling alone getting a single permit is usually not a problem although you will have to be in line early in the morning to get one of the walk in permits or one of the last minute cancellation permits. Be flexible on which trail head you will start at.

You can resupply as you go but it will involve a couple of long hikes down side trails to get to a place where you can hitchhike into town. If you could send a bucket of food to the Muir Trail Ranch (MTR) it would help. Look up their web page for information on how to do this. After MTR there is a long stretch without easy resupply.

If you fly into San Francisco you take a BART train to the AMTRAK station then an AMTRAK train to Merced where you can pick up a bus to Yosemite park. The times for these three carriers rarely synch up so you will most likely have to spend a night in Merced.

Just be very flexible and adjust your plans as you go along. Good Luck

Big B

#3

Hi Afek,
I did the trail in 2012, It is awesome. at 22 you will have no problems.
I got in line in Yosemite at 5 am there were people ahead of me and I got a ticket no problem (it’s happened twice) you may have to start at a different (nearby) trail head than happy isles. Traveling solo has it’s benefits.

I think you could send a package but if you did it from , say, San Franciso you might get to your resupply spot before your package!
There is easy resupply (small stores,etc) until you get halfway. I would suggest VVR because they have a pretty good little store and the other thing that can save you is the ‘hiker boxes’ people discard food they don’t want.

you will need a bear can but I think you’ll be able to rent one.

coming back from lonepine can be a pain. 1 bus a day or hitch to mammoth lakes then YARTS to yosemite and then bus/train to Bay Area.

Big B’s advice is solid and I would add the most important thing is to lighten your load. I saw many people carrying too heavy a pack; some got injured some left the trail. I went ultralight, all gear + 6 days food= 23lbs. Go as light as you safely can and you’ll be happier.

cheers

splob

#4

Afek, the advice already given is good, but if you are sure you would rather NOT send a resupply box:

  1. Buy 2-3 days of food at Tuolumne Meadows store. This is near the beginning of the trail.

  2. At Red’s Meadow, about ~40 miles past Tuolumne Meadows, you can take 2 busses that get you into the town of Mammoth Lakes. There are full stores, restaurants, motels, campground, everything is there. You’ll need at least a week of food from there to…

  3. Kearsarge Pass Trail, perhaps another 125 or so miles further. This looks like a long side trip to leave the trail, but it is very beautiful and not too hard. That trail ends at a campground where you will probably have no problem getting a ride from someone into town. There you can buy food for the last few days to the end of the trail.

Sending a box to VVR or MTR (or Mono Hot Springs, or Bishop Resort) is nice, but it’s possible to do the trail just fine with buying in the towns i listed instead.

:cheers

markv