View Full Version : John Muir trail
I am planninf a hike for next summer and would like some info from a local or someone familiar with the area. I am planning on doing the first part of the JMT and would like a good trail thet leads from somewhere in kings canyon national park to the area of the giant sequoia trees as an ending point any suggestions?
:sun
Helmuth.Fishmonger
10-20-2009, 17:37
that is a long walk to get to those trees from anywhere on the JMT - they are on the southwest end of Sequoia NP and the JMT ends in the center east part of that park.
There are plenty of trails that cross the Sierras in a east west fashion in that area. What you need to do, though, is plan on first getting some food on the east side, because once you get down there in the south of the JMT you usually are running on fumes and need to resupply badly. At that point you're pretty much finishing the JMT in the east and have to re-enter to start your hike to the big trees.
One should also read about the Foxtail Pine. You pass through a section of these trees near the southern end of the trail and could spend hours just photographing these unique pines and twisting trunks. They can live for thousands of years.
I think they are near or in the Bighorn Plateau between Tyndall Creek and the Kern River, Map #1 of the Harrison maps of the JMT.
They are relatives of the Bristletoe Pine that grow in a National Forest north of Lone Pine.
Before you go any further exactly where is it that you are planning to hike on the JMT? Where is your starting and expected ending pts on the JMT?
A good resource for you would be a book entitled Sierra South by Morey and White, 8th edition, Wilderness Press.
Get a road map of CA, (Yosemite and south), because the book is divided into sections according to which trailheads are reached from what highways both on the east and west sides of the Sierras.
When hiking the JMT I did not realize there were so many connecting trails.
The book provides you with the many trails, maps and descriptions. These connecting trails are not easy to reach via public transportation except for Yosemite and Red Meadows or Mammoth. You can get close at Bishop and Lone Pine, but they require hitching if you do not have a car. But, on the other hand, most of the roads dead end at trailheads, so most going that way are hikers who understand you are a hiker wanting a lift. On the trail you will meet plenty of people who are not thru-hiking who might be able to help you with a ride.
http://www.trails.com/catalog_product.aspx?productfamilyid=10874
Nicksaari
11-04-2009, 17:31
man i want to go out west and hike so bad.
does the west coast hate hikers like the east coast does?
does the west coast hate hikers like the east coast does?
????
Not sure what you mean by that. I've had wonderful experiences hiking both coasts and in between.
A smile, saying hello, and "please" and "thank you" help a lot, too. :)
Some JMT info that may help:
http://www.pcta.org/about_trail/muir/over.asp
http://johnmuirtrail.org/
We're having a slideshow at the Southern Ruck by someone that hiked the JMT recently. You should come.
Holy cr=p. The JMT was/is my fav trail ever. I do miss it so...
I'll do it again one day. If there's a heaven, i hope its like the JMT.
Cheers
TwoForty
11-06-2009, 22:17
It really depends on where you want to start in Kings, but you'll probably want to end in Lodgepole/Giant Forest or Grant Grove. You can start at Roads End and make a "c" (or backwards c?) to Lodgepole.