JMT questions - John Muir Trail

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#1

I’m planning a JMT hike this September. I have a few questions. How will the streams be as far as drying up this year? My hike is for the month of September starting at Tuolumne Meadows on the second and ending about the 27th.

I’m sort of assuming that I won’t need the ice axe?

I’m trying to avoid Muir Trail Ranch as a re-supply. How difficult is it to hitch from the Onion Valley TH to Independence in late September? Would going over Bishop Pass to Bishop be a viable option?

According to my permit e-mail confirmation I don’t need a “Whitney Stamp.” Does this mean I can summit Whitney or just hike out to the Portal?

What kind of overnight temps can I expect particularly on the last 100 miles or so with the higher elevation?

Thanks for your time.

GeneWawkz

#2

I hiked the JMT in mid-September to early October in '05 (finishing up a flip-flop PCT thru-hike). Specifically: Happy Isles 9/17 & finishing atop Whitney on 10/9.

(1) Water: don’t know, but many of the water sources are large streams, small rivers & lakes, so I don’t think you’ll have a problem with the larger sources.

(2) Ice axe: Shouldn’t be necessary at all, unless there is an early season snow storm (unlikely) which might make the switchbacks coming down off Whitney tricky (wished I had one for that section, but obviously I survived)

(3) I’ve had no problem hitching out of Onion Valley to Independence. There’s usually quite a bit of traffic - and hikers almost always give rides to fellow hikers… I’ve never hiked over Bishop Pass.

(4) Maybe your JMT permit covers Whitney already? Dunno… but I’ve never seen Rangers patrol the summit - just down below, closer to Whitney Portal.

(5) In '05 in September, daytime temps were delightful (60’s to low 70’s) & nighttime temps often dipped down near freezing. I only had one brutally cold night (in October) which was due to freezing temps & high winds.

Have a great hike. Happy Trails!

freebird

#3

Your TM start location & dates sound good - we started at TM last year on 8/30, finished about 9/16 (see my journal).

Last year was an unusually late snow year and even then no need for an ice axe; however, I did wish I had packed my YakTrax coming down from Whitney, but survived (with hiking poles).

We had a most excellent 2-night stay at MTR and we would do it again in a heartbeat. Very relaxing, met a lot of nice people, ate lots of great home-cooked food, and even entertained with a guitar I found there at the nightly campfire. Their outdoor hot-tub is wonderful! (We picked up our 2nd & final food supply there, with the first at Red’s Meadow.)

We submitted our application for the “reservation” to be picked up at TM and it/actual permit included our exit point of Whitney Portal (when you make the exchange at TM you’ll talk to real Ranger to verify your coverage).

The last week we experienced afternoon showers & dropping temps. Our last night we camped at the ponds just above Guitar Lake & awoke to 24 degs and I could make it snow in my tent (condensation). My 20 deg bag & non-insulated air core BA pad (with all clothing layers) were barely enough (but I tend to be a cold sleeper in my 1-man tent).

Have a great trip - the JMT is the closest I’ve been to heaven on Earth!

trek-or

#4

I doubt an Ice Ax would be necessary–baring unforeseen extreme weather. You’re allowed to Summit Whitney and then hike out with your pass through permit.
Bishop pass is a longer hike out than Onion Valley for resupply but doable. Usually rides are easy to get from the South Lake trailhead down to Parchers Resort or to Bishop. Parchers offers a resupply service, showers, food etc.
You can make arrangements to pickup a resupply at Onion Valley through Sequoia Kings packers or have them pack in a resupply to you at the Charlotte Lake area. For that matter you could arrange a food drop over Bishop Pass using the Rainbow Pack Outfitters who service that area.
There are lots of options involving varying costs. Have a great trip.

Still Lookin’

#5

Pretty much the same as what everyone else said, but a couple of thoughts on resupply not mentioned yet here:

Muir Trail Ranch in late season can have some amazingly great things in the unclaimed hiker buckets. We stopped by to resupply once in the very end of August, and realized that we could have resupplied for FREE just with all the stuff left there by hikers who didn’t need extra food or who cancelled their trip after already sending the bucket. So you might consider stopping by and just checking. You could find enough stuff that you don’t have to do an exit trail at all. And if not, then you exit.

I haven’t done Bishop Pass Trail, but if you don’t mind the time, it’s supposed to be a beautiful trail. For that matter, the trail to Onion Valley is as stunningly beautiful as anything on the JMT, so i always feel like people shouldn’t shy away from exiting for resupply since it’s such great scenery.

I can’t speak to the hitching that time of year, since we went straight from MTR. The rest of your questions have been thoroughly answered. Have a great time!

markv

#6

Hey, thanks everyone for the excellent replies. The trail over Kearsage Pass in '04 was one of the nicest sections on the trail. Then I was traveling with the hiker herd in June and hitching was expected. I’ll probably carry some sort of foam pad to supplement the NeoAir, I tend to sleep cold. Maybe one of the Gossamer Gear thin pads. Hopefully I get to summit Whitney for a second time; if not, oh well.:slight_smile:

GeneWawkz

#7

Hi me and some friend are considering hiking the JMT in augost-september. i have some questions it will be helpfull if you can answer me:
1.how long does it take to walk the whole trail ?
2.what are the arangments for sleeping on the trail(tent,shelters)? do you need any permits for outdoor camping?
3.how often can you get water and food on the trail(and how much do i need to carry on me)?
4.do you need any permits to enter the national parks and how much it cost?
5.how can you get to the begining of the trail?
thank you

p.s
sorry for the bad English i’m a tourist

hadar

#8

Hi. I tried to answer your questions all on your other, new thread. Some of the spacing didn’t work, so it might be hard to read, but start with that and maybe do some more online reading. Then ask if you have more questions.

markv