JMT Guidebooks - John Muir Trail

imported
#1

Okay all you JMT graduates, what guidebook did you use, and where did you get it? It’s about time I got on the stick, if permits need to be gotten this early.

Jan LiteShoe

#2

You can get a guidebook and maps at the PCTA store - here is a link:

https://www.orderz.com/pcta/productdetail.asp?cat=156

The maps from Tom Harrison are very good. Useful and well done. We learned all we needed from journals and maps, so we did not use a guidebook.

Some other notes:

There is tons of water. We had only a 1 liter container each, and that is plenty. There are only one or two places on the trail where you go more than 4 miles without a good water source. Max distance between good water is about 6 miles. Most days you pass maybe 20 good water sources.

Watch out for bears in Yosemite. Can wreck your trip real fast. Best to hike through Lyell Canyon up to near Donhaue pass and avoid camping in Lyell Canyon. There is an awesome lake at 10,400 feet about 1.5 miles north of Donahue. Camp there, and lower your bear encounter likelihood.

Expect a huge climb in the beginning - 6,000 feet in the first 12 miles. Take it slow, enjoy the scenery.

Great food stop in Tuolomne. OK at Reds Meadow. Great at VVR. Then its 10 or so non-stop days to Whitney. Don’t be tempted to go out to Independence - its too close to the end and really breaks up the rhythm of the passes, at least for my taste. Savor the last week, climbing a pass every day.

Don Wilson

#3

Thanks for the great info Don. Ten days, really? Oooof! That’s alot of food for these wonky feet to carry. I love the idea of being out for that long, but carying an extra 20 pounds does tend to alter one’s viewpoint. And I’m not a Speedy Shoe like Skeemer. How many miles are those 10 days? Just trying to wrap my mind around that.

Jan LiteShoe

#4

Yeah, it is kinda far. From VVR, it is approx 125 miles to the top of Whitney, then another 9 or so to the trailhead, so the total is over 130 miles. It is a tough 130 miles too. We did it in 9 days last year, and we had food to spare. If you’ve never been to the Sierra, and you have the time, going slower and taking more time would be nice.

You can cut this by 20 miles if you resuply at Muir ranch, but this is only 20 miles past VVR.

If you really want to take your time you can go out to Independence, but this is 18 extra miles of hiking, plus a long hitch down into town. Nice town, though. Once back on the trail you will have only about 4 days to Whitney. So, its really a matter of your timetable. The majority of JMT hikers just live with the heavy load leaving VVR and go all the way to Whitney.

Another option is to go out to Bishop, over Bishop pass. This is really in the midpoint of the trail, but again adds 20+ miles of hiking and another long, but easy hitch into Bishop. It would take about 4 days to get to Bishop from VVR, then another 7 or 8 to Whitney from there. I think I would prefer going into Independence if I had to choose.

Don Wilson

#5

Don, you’re a wealth of info, very specific, and I thank you for sharing it. I went looking for that guidebook, and the URL you provided only pulls up half the page, so I’ll post the “way in” I used:
https://www.orderz.com/pcta/
That’s the main page, and then hit the JMT button on the left. Apparently their software wouldn’t let me in the direct way. I’ve ordered the book, so these towns and places will make geographic sense before long.

Jan LiteShoe

#6

I hiked the JMT in '97 and used the Harrison maps (very good), one of the guide books (Starrs?) and the little data book that Jimmy B published a few years before. Found that to be very useful. I think he donated the rights for the data book to the ATC so you might check there. Enjoy your hike, wish I had time to go back.

Bohemian

#7

When are you planning to do your JMT hike? Snow can be a major issue early in the season. After mid-July the snow is almost gone except on the north side of the highest passes. Be prepared for biblical-proportion mosquitos, however. You may get lucky, but don’t count on it. DEET and headnets are a must.

Also, are you going SOBO or NOBO? Most people start in Yosemite and end at Mt. Whitney for the JMT so you’ll be with the pack if you go SOBO. I’m planning a modified JMT trip, starting in Tuolumne and ending at Cottonwood Lakes, bypassing the Whitney parade. The plan is to start 8/21, exiting someting around 9/12. I’m still not sure about a Kearsage Pass/Onion Valley/Independence resupply. You’re right, 20# of food out of VVR is a hard thing to get my mind around. But adding 18+ miles and extra days for the additional resupply doesn’t sound too thrilling either.

By the way, I loved your AT journals last year. Thanks for sharing them with the rest of us.

Just Sit

#8

Thanks, JS, for the kind words.

The sked is not nailed down at this point, but sometime in mid-to-late August for a start. Perhaps our paths will cross. It’s kind of a group decision. The thought was to go SOBO, starting low and building in elevation. Having never hiked in CA, I’m duty-bound to do the tourist thing and climb Whitney, right?

I’m not so sure I mind the extra miles/days into Independence or not. I might enjoy the extra time “out there” on the adventure. I’ll have to see how my compadres feel. Not a speedy hiker, mostly the slow and steady type, with lots of rest and gazing breaks. Usually limping, cougar bait. How much ibuprofen can one hiker cram into a bear can? I guess that means earlier morning starts, to get off the high passes before afternoon thunderstorms?

Back to JMT Guidebooks, how useful is the one I ordered off the PTC site? Bohemian, is that Starr’s? I’ve heard the trail is very well marked. Does one need the maps? Is there a compact data book?

Really appreciate all this feedback.

Jan LiteShoe

#9

I used an earlier version of the Winnett guidebook. It was the size of the AT databook. You really don’t need anything else. The maps in the guidebook should do, unless you like to know what you are looking at when you are sitting on top of the pass. Then you might consider getting the national park maps. I personally like having the bigger view. But they aren’t really necessary for navigation.

Ginny

#10

Go with the Wiinnett guidebook. It’s more info than you’ll need, but he’s a decent writer, and the book is handy in that it gives you two completely sections for northbound and southbound. As far as maps go, most of the trail that I’ve seen is pretty easy to follow, so needing maps to find your way isn’t so much an issue. I don’t think I’ve ever used maps or guidebook to help with routefinding while on the JMT.

That said, I really like the Tom Harrison map series – they’re on waterproof paper and around 15-minute scale. There’s a JMT pack that sells for around $20, which is one option, but I went ahead and bought 5 larger maps individually (they’re $9 each, so $45 total):

  1. Yosemite National Park Recreation Map
  2. Mammoth High Country Trail Map
  3. Mono Divide High Country Trail Map
  4. Kings Canyon High Country Trail Map
  5. Mt. Whitney High Country Trail Map

The advantage of having these maps is that they give you a much better picture of what you’re looking at. I’m a big fan of reaching places with amazing vistas (there’s lots of them on the JMT), and pulling out a map to figure out what mountains, rivers, canyons, etc. I’m looking at, and the JMT pack maps are so small that most of what you see is off the edges of the map. Just my 2 cents.

fredalbaroad