Length for JMT trip?

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#1

How long (days) does it take most people to hike the JMT?

I’ve been on multiple backpacking trips, but we mostly walked about 8 miles a day. We got done early (2:00 in the afternoon or earlier, most days) and took lots of rests. The one time we walked 15 miles (after a 2 week trip of 8 mile days) my feet were screaming… course I was maybe 16, and with no prior training.

Still, I can’t imagine planning to walk 15 miles a day, every day.

That being said, I am young (mid-20’s), and walk a bit already (6 miles a day – pavement – at least 3 days a week and 3 miles, 2 days a week, as my commute, plus any other walking that comes up).

With training (I have until August), is it reasonable to expect that I’ll be able to put in 15 mile days without a problem, with comfort? What are other’s experiences with doing ‘long’ (relative) miles?

Partly what it’s about is the timing, I am trying to figure out how much time to ask from work. Am thinking of hiking in 20 days, including 3 days for zero/surprise/resupply, so 17 days of hiking, divided by 220, is about 13 miles a day… reasonable? (I do like to be able to stop and absorb all of the pretty views too)

Thank you!

Sophie

#2

It sounds like you’re doing a good bit of walking to train. But keep in mind walking on pavement is different to walking on trail with 20-40 lbs on your back, climbing 4,000 feet of elevation a couple times a day, all at altitude. Nothing will get you in shape better than the trail itself. You might try a little running or more hillier hikes with a pack. It takes a week or so (depends on the person) to get used to the altitude. And physical fitness has nothing to do with getting used to altitude.

Last summer we hiked 15ish miles a day, took breaks, and had a blast. It doesn’t sound like you’ll have too much problem. 20 days would definitely be enough, but if I had it to do again, I’d hike 10 miles a day and soak it all up for even longer (or maybe explore more side trails). The JMT is a 216 mile long endless series of vistas; you’ll love it!

Enjoy!

Cap’n

#3

Cap’n – If stretching it out to 10 mile days (thus a >21 day trip), how would you handle the food situation as I understand coordinating food drops is a bit of a hassle. That is, starting with day 1, what days would be your food pick up days & from where? (and what would be your direction?) How many calories/food lbs per day would you assume? (We typically assume 100 cals/oz & 2 lbs/day, which only yields 3200 cals, but keeps food wt to 10 lbs for a 5-day trip before a food pickup.)

OregonHikerDave

#4

I’ve hiked twice, with 14-16 day itineraries. I think 13 miles per day is very reasonable if you are in good shape. I’m not sure if your daily commute includes hills, but I would definitely make sure that some of your hiking includes some serious elevation gain and loss, as that is what you will experience on the trail. And if you can get out backpacking on the weekend so you can get used to hiking more miles with a pack, all the better. The more hiking you get in prior to your trip, the more comfortable you’ll be on your trip so you’ll have that much more energy to enjoy all the views. And wow, are there views!!!

OregonHikerDave – I’ve never stretched it out quite that long, but I probably had more food drops than your average hiker on my last hike because we had the extra weight of my then 12 month old daughter (not to mention her dirty diapers!). We started in Yosemite Valley and picked up food at Tuolumne Meadows, Red’s Meadow, Muir Trail Ranch and near Kearsarge Pass (“Grandpa” hiked in and met us, so we did not have to hike out to pick up our food). Hiking out over Bishop Pass would also have been a possibility, but not really necessary if you are using Muir Trail Ranch as a food drop. We might have considered it if we were using VVR instead. Hiking out to the west side from the Wood’s Creek suspension bridge would also have been an option, but again, its a long hike out.

As I’m sure you know, unless you have someone who is willing to bring your resupplies to you, the downside of either Bishop Pass or Kearsarge Pass is that you end up adding miles (and days) to get out to the trailhead, and then you still have to hitchhike to town unless you dropped off your food cache yourself in one of the bear boxes at the trailhead. Or in the case of Kearsarge Pass, if you were CaliforniaHikerDave instead of OregonHikerDave;), you could probably hike in your food cache yourself earlier in the summer, and store it in the bear box at Kearsarge Pass lakes to save time and miles on your JMT hike. I haven’t tried that myself, but I know others have because I saw cached food in the box when I hiked in to support my brother’s JMT run.

I guess the other option would be just to carry more food and accept the trade off – heavier pack, but lower miles. On my last hike I met someone that was using that strategy (and perhaps supplementing his diet with fishing) to hike the trail on an 8 mile per day pace. He might have had a heavy pack, but he sure did have a big grin on his face thinking about all those days on the trail:happy

Kanga

#5

13-15 miles per day should not be a problem for someone young and in good shape. The key, I believe, is a light pack, light footwear and conditioning before the hike.

I hiked the trail last year and averaged 22-23 mile days with no layovers. My base pack weight was 12 pounds and I wore Montrail trail running shoes with Superfeet inserts. To prepare I worked up to running 6 days per week eventually training 70 minutes per day getting in about 7-8 miles on the treadmill. I also made numerous long hikes with a fully loaded pack averaging 12-14 miles. I was also able to take a couple short backpack trips in the mountains.

Comfortable shoes coupled with a light pack will really help your feet. Don’t be fooled by people who say you need boots to hike the JMT. I passed some hikers as I was heading up toward Forester Pass who were wearing sandals! My only foot problem was moisture due to the huge snowpack last summer and that was more of a nuisance than a problem. Just bring 3 pair of socks so you always have a dry pair.

You are not allowed to cache food in the bear boxes so be prepared for your food to be replaced by a note from the backcountry ranger.

Having said all that, if you can get 3 weeks off work, go for it. Enjoy your hike.

Dave

#6

I think Kanga explained it pretty well. Packing a fly rod is one way to supplement some protein if you have both the skill and patience (I’m not much of an angler).

I also met hikers who didn’t mind carrying more, some carrying TWO bear canisters, others who were having friends hike in over Bishop Pass to resupply them. Needless to say, you’ve got plenty of options.

Any way you slice it, you’ll have a blast.

Cap’n

#7

A heads-up regarding cached food:

I spent some time with Allison, the Tyndell Creek backcountry ranger last summer after the Napa Valley boy scout troop lightning strike. One of the actions they just initiated was regular removal of cached food from the bear boxes. She used one PCT example (forget the exact location north of Tyndell) where they removed over 100 pounds of cached food from a single bear box. The idea was to provide room for the folks actually on the trail, not someone showing up later. I had earlier run into a guy above the Pothole on the Shepherd Pass Trail who was in the food-begging mode because his cache had somehow gotten “lost”.

booger

#8

I hiked north along the JMT in 10 1/2 days last year. (You can read my Journal) When I started in Cottonwood Pass Trail Head, I had six days worth of food. I re-supplied at Muir Trail for another six days worth of food. If I would have ran behind, and needed food, I would have exited and re-supplied. There are several places along the trail that you could exit.

The key for hiking the 22 plus miles per day is being in tremendous shape along with starting early and finishing late. I started by 7:00 AM each day and made camp around 7:00 PM. And I did enjoy the views, but I worked very hard getting up the passes and did not rest every hour. I stopped and took my pack off only at lunch.

TRIHIKER

#9

Two years ago I solo hiked the JMT beginning in late June. The snow levels were managable, as were the creek crossings. It was my first really long solo hike and my daily mile goal was 10 miles. Over time I became better acclimated to the altitude, more used to the rhythm of the trail and found that I could easily walk 13 to 15 miles per day. I ended up my hike doing 17 mile days. For information purposes, I was 52 years old at the time and a bit overweight. My base weight was 12 pounds and I wore light hikers. I am sure I wouldn’t have been able to do the trail if I had been using my ancient backpacking gear or skills. Lightweight was the main reason I was able to do the trip with such comfort and speed. Good luck and have a blast. I’ll be out there myself in August!

shelly

#10

When I hiked the JMT in 1990 I did it in about 17 days, starting in early July. Most days I was finished early in the afternoon, which was good since we had thunderstorms almost every afternoon. It isn’t that difficult to do the longer miles, especially if you start your day early. If you are on the trail by 8:00, at 2 mph, you can hike 16 miles by 5:00, taking your time and with a long lunch. If you start earlier, you can hike farther. The JMT is beautiful. I didn’t intend to go that fast - since I had taken a full three weeks off work - but the miles came so easily, I just flew.

Ginny