JMT advice - John Muir Trail

imported
#1

I am seriously considering hiking the John Muir trail and would appreciate a little advice. Such as…
• What airport should I use if I hike North to South and how do I get to the trial head?
• Resupply points?
• What type of bear canister should I use? (I’ve never hiked in bear country)
• Are there any issues with doing this hike solo?
• Is August the best time for this hike?
• How do I get from the end of the trail to the best or closest airport?

ALL advice is appreciated. Thank You!!

Low Life

#2
  1. we flew into Oakland. Took Greyhound south to Merced. At Merced, we got on the YARTS bus which took us to Yosemite. The bus dropped in the midst of the tourist area of Yosemeti, but there is an internal free bus system in Yosemite that dropped us off a short walk from the backpacker’s campsite. The next morning we went to the park HQ to pick up our permits. (If we had to do it over again, we would fly to Bakersfield, and take a bus north to Merced)
  2. We had drop boxes at Toulumne Meadows, Vermillion
    Valley Ranch, and Muir Trail Ranch. It is complex and expensive to get the drop boxes to the last two. In addition we got off the trail by a shuttle bus at the Devil Post pile ranger station. This bus took us to Mammouth Lakes which has all facilities. There is very minor resupply available at Toulumne, Reds Meadow Resort, and VVR. Resupply is a real problem on the JMT. There is no resupply between MTR and the south end of the JMT, so we had to our food for the last 115 miles of the JMT
  3. We used one of thos barrel type cannisters with a screw top lid. Names escapes me now. You can also rent them at Yosemite when you pick up your permit, for $5.
  4. You will find losts of company if you hike solo in August. We saw many soloist.
  5. We thought August was the best time to do the JMT. No snow. Adequate water and virtually no bugs. It was hot 90+ degrees, but could get down in the 30’s at nite. We had about 4 hours rain on one day. The only rain of our hike.
  6. We flew back from Bakersfield, but that is a long story in itself. Many people take the bus north from Lone Pine and get to Reno to fly home. That is probably the quickest and cheapest way to get to an airport.

See our 2007 JMT jounal for Rocky and Swamp Fox. You can email us directly for more info. It is a magnificent hike.
2.

swamp fox

#3

I resupplied via post office at Tolumne Meadows and Mammouth then a 11 day resupply at Muir Trail ranch. I used the Bearicade expedition and I was able to pack 11 days of food into it, I actually only needed 9 days to make it from Muir Trail Ranch to Whitney Portal. If I hike the trail again, which I likely will, I will skip the Tolumne resupply and carry enough food out of Happy Isles to make it to Reds Meadow, from which its an easy trip via shuttle and bus to Mammouth.
The 11 days of food out of Muir was a bit heavy but I was very glad that I did not have to leave the trail at Kearsage to hitch into and out of Independance as most hikers did.
I hiked in July, the mosquitos were quite active and if I had the choice I would hike later in the Summer.
I did not have the logistics of public transport to contend with as my wife drove me to the Happy Isles trailhead. Hikers I met toward the end of the hike offered me a ride to the bay area which saved my wife quite a drive.
A hitch would be needed from the portal to Lone Pine, there is a bus fom there to Mammouth. A YARTS bus goes from Mammouth to Yosemite Valley then another from the Valley to Merced and the Amtrac station. These buses require an overnight stay at Mammouth as the Crest bus arrives in Mammouth after the YARTS bus to Yosemite valley has long gone.
You are in for a real treat, the JMT is magnificent!

Richardd

#4

I resupplied at Muir Trail Ranch and Reds Meadow when I hiked NOBO last year. Late August or early September is when I’d recommend hiking this trail. I used the Bear Vault 400 which I picked up on this site for $35 shipped. There is a BV on Ebay right now and the current bid is $6.50.

No issues hiking this trail solo. I never passed less than 20 people per day on my hike and had several days in the excess of 75+ hikers.

The beauty on this trail is ridiculous… you’ll have a blast!

Phreak

#5

Your choice of airport depends on where you’re coming from. You can fly into Reno and catch the Crest bus from the airport down to Mammoth. The Yarts bus goes into Yosemite from there as Richardd stated. Coming out at Whitney Portal you will have no trouble catching a ride into Lone Pine. You can stay the night and can get bus service from there. There is also at least one private shuttle service available in the area. I stayed the night in Mammoth this year on my way to Yosemite. The overnight stay at Mammoth’s 8000 ft. provided me some elevation acclimation that really helped for the climb out of Yosemite. I resupplied at Tuolumne, Reds Meadow, Muir Trial Ranch and Onion Valley. Your resupply plan will depend on your speed and ability to carry weight. I used a BV-500 canister and found it to be OK with 6 days of food. Consider too that all your non food smelly items have to go in it also. I went in mid August and encountered very few mosquitoes which was a blessing. There are lots of people on the trail and you will only be solo if you hide–enjoy the trail and the comaraderie of those you meet. The JMT is not to be missed and planning for it is part of the adventure. If your interested more information regarding my equipment and planning can be found at www.trailjournals.com/don or feel free to contact me direct at amrowinc@hotmail.com

Don