I 'm planning to do the JMT in May. I would do like to know a good strategy to do this trail. Which direction I should start? What I should pack? I heard people saying to start with food just for few days, and them resupply. What is a good strategy?
Guiga
my wife and I did a 100 mile section of the JMT last summer. May really isn’t the ideal time to hike it. probably LOTS of snow. to see the most water July would probably be good but then you’d probably have more mosquitoes. we went in early September and had wonderful weather and practically no mosquitoes, but the waterfalls were smaller to non-existent in Yosemite valley. still there was more than enough water to drink.
it seems most people hike it southbound starting in Yosemite and work their way up to the long second half where you need to carry 6-8 days of food to reach Whitney. if you end up hiking south Muir Trail Ranch is the last resupply close to the trail before the long stretch. you could take a side trail to Bishop or Independence but I believe they are about 15 miles off the JMT so it’s probably not worth resupplying there. If I were to do the whole thing I’d probably resupply like this: Tuolumne Meadows, Red’s Meadow (or take the bus into Mammoth Lakes), Muir Trail Ranch.
oh, if you haven’t been to Yosemite Valley before give yourself a day or two to check it out. Good luck!
zacariah
According to their website, Muir Trail Ranch doesn’t open until early June. Your other resupply options, Tuolumne Meadows store, Vermillion Valley Resort, and Reds Meadow also won’t be open yet, so in order to resupply you’d have to hike out to Mammoth, Bishop, or Independence. In May, you will be hiking over snow for the majority of the trail even in a light snow year and it’s not unheard of for spring storms to occur. I was once caught in a snowstorm in Tuolumne Meadows in June, after the road opened. I would rethink your start time. If possible, wait until at least mid-June when the resupply places will most likely be open. July, August, September really is the best time of year for the JMT. It is an incredible trail though, never a dull moment and absolutely beautiful the entire way.
Ducky
I hiked the JMT in July, no trouble with snow the trail was incredible.
If you plan a May hike I suggest you read Nano’s trailjournal from 2008. He attempted a June hike and has some photos of the trail under at least 6 feet of snow.
In July I resupplied at Tuolumne, Mammouth and Muir. I carried 11 days of food out of Muir Trail Ranch. Most of the Hikers that I met carried less out of Muir and detoured over Kearsage Pass to Independence to resupply.
RichardD
The preferred direction for a JMT is SoBo. Each pass that you hike is higher than the previous passes so you get more acclimated to the elevation. Your hike finishes at Whitney when your pack is light without so much food. Imagine hauling a pack heavy with food up 14,000’ (actually, you drop the pack at 13,377’ with pockets open and pick it up after summiting.
On both our SoBo JMT’s we carried food from the Valley and resupplied at VVR only. A better on-trail strategy would be to pick up a box at Tuolumne (but not open in May) that would get you to VVR (the VVR ferry started operating June 9 in 2007). If you are set on a May hike be sure to carry and know hoe to use an ice ax and know how to navigate trail-less snow with Tom Harrison’s JMT map pack. Avalanche knowledge is good. We got along fine without the guide.
Watch Sierra snow levels on line so you know what you’re getting in to and then enjoy your hike!
…GottaWalk
Marcia
If it’s late May of an average or mid May of a low snow year, it’s not impossible and might actually has some advantages. This is assuming you can follow a map and are comfortable travelling on snow maybe 1/3 to 1/2 the time. The mosquitos are less, the streams aren’t as high as they are in June or sometimes early July, there are fewer people, and there is no horse poop on the trail yet. You could resupply in Mammoth (easy to get to from the trail) and Independence/Bishop (an extra day’s side-hike, but INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL side hike).
For me, it would all depend on when the first of that year’s PCT thru-hikers start through. Being one of the first, you’d have to know what you’re doing and you’d be breaking a lot of trail. But if there are 10-20 thru-hikers pushing through, you’ll have some tracks to follow. In 2008, the first few went through at the end of May, and by early June there were tracks almost everywhere there was snow. For this time of year, and for the reason of tracks, i’d go northbound.
If you’re rescheduling for non-snow season, i’d recommend late August. Fewer bugs.
markv
I did about 100 miles of the trail in early July of 2005. My memory is that the store at Tuolumne meadows had just opened the day before we got there. In May, resupply could be an issue.
In 2005, there was still plenty of snow in the passes and mazes of tracks - too dizzying to follow. Route finding skills were a must through the passes.
Good luck! The trail is amazing!
Tumblina
I would not hike the JMT in May the passes could be very dangerous. We hiked the entire JMT last summer in 16 days we had a resupply in a bear box at Tuolumne Meadows and then resupplied at Red’s Meadows and VVR. We hiked our hike in mid Sept. and it was great!! Pack light but make sure you are prepared for rain and cool nights.Read The John Muir Trail by Elizabeth Wenk It is going to blow you away!!
unbreakable
Here’s my 2007 JMT hike in a nut shell.
Start labor day in Yosemite. (Sept. was perfect for me)
Resupply at Reds and MTR, but visited VVR.
20 days including rest.
The best hike of my life thus far.
have fun
weez