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  1. #1

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    Question Rain Man's John Muir Trail 2018 Thru-hike

    Well, we got a "golden ticket" (for 3) to hike the John Muir Trail, starting August 28 at Happy Isles in Yosemite and scheduled to finish Sept 20 at Whitney Portal. I have a hundred questions, but will start with this one:

    How hot/cold do I need to plan on? Am I going to have to take winter gear (extra pack weight) for bitter cold nights? I have a 20-degree sleeping bag and a 20-degree down top quilt (though I assume I can't hammock along the JMT?). Is 20 degrees sufficient?

    It appears to me that,-- similar to the AT,-- the JMT is a series of shorter hikes strung together, with places to resupply/ZERO along the way.

    I'll have more questions, but if any of you get inspired to share any hints, suggestions, warnings, or whatever, feel more than free to jump in. I've never hiked out west nor at those elevations.

    With a daughter and grandkids in Las Vegas now, I suspect my travel plans will go through there and probably involve being driven to Yosemite at start and picked up in Lone Pine at end. I've never been to Yosemite, but did spend a night in Lone Pine this January and drove up to Whitney Portal just to see it.
    [I]ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: ... Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit....[/I]. Numbers 35

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  2. #2

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    I will be following this thread closely as I am starting in mid August

    From what Ive heard day time temps are between 60-70 and night time temps 30-40

    I plan on using a 20 degree quilt. I wish I could use my hammock setup as Ive been dialing that in over the years. I do not have a good ground setup-up yet.

    For me, a concern is adjusting to the altitude and travel logistics

  3. #3
    imscotty's Avatar
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    My JMT hiking experience was the end of August. At that time a 20 degree bag seemed about right. The only night I was cold was the last night where I slept on the top of Whitney. Normally I hammock but that night I was on the rocks which were cold. I'm pretty sure that night dipped below 20, my water battle froze solid. Of course three weeks later could be much colder, but you can always control the elevation you sleep at.

    Beware the climb out of Yosemite Valley, it will be a long one. I would pace myself those first few days till you acclimate to the altitude.

    Muir Trail Ranch will be closed by the time you get there, I really enjoyed my stay there. Most hikers go to VVR anyway.

    You are going to love this hike.

    Did you get a permit for HalfDome? I did it, and I was scared, glad I did it, but never again
    “For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
    the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


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    Congrats rain man!! Should be an awesome hike. We were looking into the JMT and ended up going for the 2019 thru of the AT!!!!

  5. #5
    imscotty's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by blue indian View Post
    I will be following this thread closely as I am starting in mid August
    From what Ive heard day time temps are between 60-70 and night time temps 30-40
    I plan on using a 20 degree quilt. I wish I could use my hammock setup as Ive been dialing that in over the years. I do not have a good ground setup-up yet.
    For me, a concern is adjusting to the altitude and travel logistics
    Blue Indian, why not take your hammock. I did and it was fine. I maybe went to the ground a couple of nights, but that was because I chose to camp high, not because I absolutely had to.
    “For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
    the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


    John Greenleaf Whittier

  6. #6
    GSMNP 900 Miler
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    I had the golden ticket in 2016.

    1. The online places with the most JMT information are the JMT group on Facebook and the JMT group on Yahoo. There's also a few people here on WB that have done the JMT, and you know they will be happy to answer your questions.

    2. Since you're traveling from the East, there are no good plans to get you to Yosemite Valley in one day.
    What I did was to fly into Sacramento two days before the start of my hike. I had booked a room at the Vagabond Inn. The hotel has a shuttle that will pick you up from the airport saving you the cost of a taxi.
    The hotel is located directly across the street from the Amtrak Station. 2 years, a prepurchased Amtrak Ticket (for around $45) paid my way from Sacramento to Yosemite Valley. I caught the 6:00am train that took me to a train station where I transferred to a YARTS bus, and arrived in the valley a little after lunch time.
    Because I didn't know what it was like staying in the hiker camp ground, I sprung for the cost of a camp site (something like $22). That way I knew I would have me a reserved spot to setup my tent the night before my hike without being crowded. However, you have to check the rules for getting a campsite as they suddenly open all the sites on an online 1st come 1st serve basis at some designated time... and there will be lots of people trying to get camp sites (I snagged the campsite that was about 2nd or 3rd closest to Happy Isle).

    3. Getting home was pretty easy. Once I arrived at the Whitney Portal, I was able to hitch a ride to Lone Pine within an hour. Typically, the only people at WP are other hikers, and the only place to go leaving WP is Lone Pine. So it's a pretty simple hitch (though it might be a bit more difficult for a group of 3). When I went, there were shuttles services you could book, but the cost was astronomical for the 10 mile ride to Lone Pine. There are hotel and hostel options in Lone Pine... and for a small town otherwise in the middle of no-where, the rates are likely higher than what you would expect (but not outrageous). Not sure of the current schedule, but when I went, Eastern Sierra Transit has a bus that would take you from Lone Pine to Reno Airport. The shuttle picks you up at the McDonalds in Lone Pine around 6:00am and you get to Reno about 12:30pm.
    I unfortunately made the mistake of finishing my hike several days early. That meant I had to add $300 to the $225 perpurchased ticket I had to get home early, and the day I arrived at the airport, the afternoon flight home was booked. So I had to find a nearby hotel room in Reno for the night as well.

    4. You have to prepare for the altitude... medically speaking. If you have the time, you could try to spend a few days at Toulumne Meadows as a way of trying to acclimate to the altitude. But if you're like me, the trip was long enough as it was and I didn't have time to add extra days. So I got a prescription for Diamox from a "travel clinic". You can find some online groups devoted to the subject.

    5. Your resupply options are limited.
    a. Tuolumne Post Office - You should reach this on your 3rd day. A resupply from TPO means you don't have to carry those supplies on your climb from the Valley. I decided to forgo taking the time to make the brief detour on my trip... but if I did it again, I might add TPO to my resupply points.
    b. Red's Meadows - located about 1/4 the length of the JMT. There's a small store, and you can ship yourself a resupply bucket to the local post office, where for a reasonable fee, Red's picks it up holds it at there store for you until you arrive.
    This was my 1st resupply point.
    c. VVR (Vermillion Valley Resort) - located about 1/3 the length of the JMT. It's a bit of a detour as it requires a boat ride across a lake (if there is enough water) and about a 5 mile hike (one way) if not.
    I didn't use VVR, but I seem to hear a lot of good things about it on line.
    d. Muir Trail Ranch - located about 1/2 the length of the JMT. It's a very short detour reach with almost nothing for a store (except, if still in stock that time of year, you can buy canister fuel). Similar to Red's, you ship yourself a resupply bucket to the local post office, and MTR picks it up and brings it to their ranch for you. But because of the steps required to get the supplies to the ranch, it's not cheap (~$75 the year I used them). They seem to have a bad reputation on the trail... but that is because they have to keep moving those getting resupplies along to make room for all the hikers that use them, and you are kicked out by 5:00pm so that their employees can take care of the guests staying at the ranch. They seem to have a great reputation from those that have stayed at the ranch. {By the way, the cost to mail myself a 25# resupply bucket was an additional ~$75 I had to pay the post office to ship from Birmingham... a similar distance for you from Nashville}
    e. Packers - There are two areas where packers will bring a resupply bucket to you on the trail. However, packer costs about $600 (but for that $600, I think they can haul up to 150#... so some people try to get together online to share the cost of a packer).
    e1 - LeConte Canyon - located about 2/3 the length of the JMT, this is the 1st place packers can meet you with supplies.
    e2 - After Glen Pass - located near the end of the JMT, this is the 2nd place packers can meet you with supplies from Onion Valley via Kearsarge Pass. Given that you're likely only going to spend a few more nights on the JMT from this point, seems like a VERY expensive option for so little resupply.
    There are other ways besides packers to get supplies via Bishop Pass and Kearsarge Pass. For example, you can meet packers at the tops of these passes to reduce the cost (but it will cost you an extra day of hiking). There is also at least one hotel that will meet you at the trailhead beyond one of these passes, drive you to town where you can get supplies, and then spend a night in their hotel where they take you back to the trail head the next morning. But this type of option will add at least two days to your hike.

    6. Bear Canisters. Required. I recommend the Bearikade available at http://www.wild-ideas.net/. One of the lightest canisters available, the 'Expedition' model is big enough for 9 to 10 days of food for one person to get from MTR to WP without any further resupply. In addition to being light weight, they are also very easy to access your food compared to what it takes using the Bear Vaults that seem to be the 2nd most popular canister for a JMT thru hike. You can purchase one of these bad boys for $$$, but they also have JMT rentals that cost about as much as you would spend on a Bear Vault or similar canister. What I loved about the Berikade was that I was able to situate it vertically in the top of my pack (Osprey Volt), and access the contents of the canister during the day without having to remove it from my pack.

  7. #7
    GSMNP 900 Miler
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    Quote Originally Posted by imscotty View Post
    Muir Trail Ranch will be closed by the time you get there
    I don't see where MTR has their 2018 schedule posted yet, but I seem to recall the closing date was somewhere around September 15th in the past.
    If I'm correct, that would still make MTR a resupply option.

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by imscotty View Post
    Blue Indian, why not take your hammock. I did and it was fine. I maybe went to the ground a couple of nights, but that was because I chose to camp high, not because I absolutely had to.
    All accounts I have read and pictures I have seen make it appear that hanging options are far and few in between.

    Im nervous that I would have to plan my daily mileage just to be able to use the hammock and would therefore limit myself to where I can and cannot camp comfortably.

    I carry a torso length piece of CCF for pack structure. So if I needed to, I could go to the ground but the CCF is minimal and wouldnt be very comfy

    What was your experience??

  9. #9
    imscotty's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by blue indian View Post
    All accounts I have read and pictures I have seen make it appear that hanging options are far and few in between.
    Im nervous that I would have to plan my daily mileage just to be able to use the hammock and would therefore limit myself to where I can and cannot camp comfortably.
    I carry a torso length piece of CCF for pack structure. So if I needed to, I could go to the ground but the CCF is minimal and wouldnt be very comfy
    What was your experience??
    I was glad I had my hammock. Sometimes I would have to get creative, one night I hung between two boulders. If I went to the ground I did not find it particularly inconvenient. I did have a neoair for comfort. I would do it the same way again, hammock most nights, neoair cowboy camping for a few.
    “For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
    the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


    John Greenleaf Whittier

  10. #10
    GSMNP 900 Miler
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    All the major passes along the JMT are above tree-line, and even when you're below tree-line, the trees are more spartan compared to what I'm used to seeing in GSMNP. So unless doing some occasional cowboy camping appeals to you, I would suggest bringing a tent and leaving the hammock at home.

    For those thinking of hammock camping along the JMT, from what I understand, the mosquitoes and biting flies are not a problem in late summer. But I don't know how true that is. I was hiking from mid to late July where these bugs were a persistent issue. They were almost never an issue so long as you were hiking... but any time you stopped, you needed either a tent, bug repellent, or bug repellent clothing to get away from them. Having said that, I can say that I seemed to have been hiking during the worst part of they year as far as mosquitoes and biting flies are concerned... and while I did carry a small amount of deet along with me, I managed to avoid ever using it with the aid of my "bugs-away" long pants, long sleeve shirt, and head net. I learned to simply keep these cloths handy (like in the mesh pocket of my pack) and when ever I stopped for lunch or to setup camp, I would slip the long pants and shirt over my shorts and t-shirt.

  11. #11

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    So......where are the road crossings?
    "Maybe life isn't about avoiding the bruises. Maybe it's about collecting the scars to prove we showed up for it."

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Teacher & Snacktime View Post
    So......where are the road crossings?
    The only place you "might" say the JMT ever crosses a road is in Toulumne... and I say "might" because it depends upon where you define the JMT going thru that area.

    Some sources (such as the Nat Geo Map) indicates that the JMT crosses 120 (Tioga Road) and joins with the Pacific Crest Trail just after the trail crosses the Tuolumne River.
    Other sources, such as various Topo maps, indicate that the JMT remains on the South Side of 120 (Tioga Road) following a trail that marks the edge of the "Wilderness Boundary" and joins with the Pacific Creat Trail just before entering Lyell Canyon.

    Otherwise, the only other places the JMT ever even comes near a road (but doesn't cross it) is at Happy Isle, and Red's Meadow.

    The only other place I think you can even see a road from the JMT is from the Crest of Mount Whitney.

  13. #13

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    I have heard that people CAN hammock on the JMT but it doesnt seem convenient. It sounds like I would have to go out of my way to plan to find trees. And even then, they may be too large. I use an underquilt so I loose the flexibility to go to the ground

    I really love my hammock though...and Id rather not have to purchase a new shelter system.

    If I can find a duplex for sale here, I would might just go that route. I definitely sleep better in my hammock though

    ANyone thru the JMT with a hammock?

  14. #14

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    Also, as always, thanks hookoo for the detailed info.

    You have helped me plan many a trip into the Smokies and it looks like you will be very helpful for the JMT too!

  15. #15
    imscotty's Avatar
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    HooKooDooKu gives a good warning about the mosquitoes. Even in August they could be a nuisance. I have an integrated bug net with my hammock, so no problems there. Like I said, I would do this trail again with a hammock, but to each his own.

    The official JMT definitely does cross 120 at Tuolumne. Being a purist I made sure I crossed over there. Many hikers probably skip this part in a rush to get to the store, but that is a shame. That short section of trail contains several informative interpretive signs, Soda Springs and takes you around the edge of beautiful Tuolumne Meadow. Worth the extra 15 minutes of walking.
    “For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
    the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


    John Greenleaf Whittier

  16. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by HooKooDooKu View Post
    The only place you "might" say the JMT ever crosses a road is in Toulumne... and I say "might" because it depends upon where you define the JMT going thru that area.

    Some sources (such as the Nat Geo Map) indicates that the JMT crosses 120 (Tioga Road) and joins with the Pacific Crest Trail just after the trail crosses the Tuolumne River.
    Other sources, such as various Topo maps, indicate that the JMT remains on the South Side of 120 (Tioga Road) following a trail that marks the edge of the "Wilderness Boundary" and joins with the Pacific Creat Trail just before entering Lyell Canyon.

    Otherwise, the only other places the JMT ever even comes near a road (but doesn't cross it) is at Happy Isle, and Red's Meadow.

    The only other place I think you can even see a road from the JMT is from the Crest of Mount Whitney.
    So, Rain Man, your slackpacking options aren't looking too good!
    "Maybe life isn't about avoiding the bruises. Maybe it's about collecting the scars to prove we showed up for it."

  17. #17

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    I have a NOBO permit from Horseshoe Meadows to Happy Isles from Aug 1 thru Aug 18. It is a completely foreign hike from what I am familiar with. Lots to learn, but I can't wait for the endless eye candy that seems to be in the Sierra. I will probably bring along some Diamox, just in case the first two light days I plan before Whitney are not enough.

  18. #18
    LT '79; AT '73-'14 in sections; Donating Member Kerosene's Avatar
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    Congrats Rain Man. This will be a great experience.

    I snagged passes for a September 2016 JMT hike, but had to bail after 20 miles when the Bakers Cyst in my right knee grew beyond the size of a golf ball. My hiking buddy finished in 18 days and had a fantastic trek, but he did encounter 10-degree temps one night a few days north of Mt. Whitney in mid-September. He made it through with his 20-degree bag just fine, but I might have been a bit chilly under my little Zpacks tarp.

    Looks like HooKooDooku has you covered on logistics. I think I planned 8 months for this hike and had to cancel after two days. Maybe I'll try again once I get new knees.
    GA←↕→ME: 1973 to 2014

  19. #19
    GSMNP 900 Miler
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    Quote Originally Posted by imscotty View Post
    ...The official JMT definitely does cross 120 at Tuolumne. Being a purist I made sure I crossed over there. Many hikers probably skip this part in a rush to get to the store, but that is a shame. That short section of trail contains several informative interpretive signs, Soda Springs and takes you around the edge of beautiful Tuolumne Meadow. Worth the extra 15 minutes of walking.
    Because my primary map was the Nat Geo map, I followed the path across 120, and I must agree with how beautiful Tuolumne Meadow is.

  20. #20
    imscotty's Avatar
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    Rainman,

    One of the first thing you will need to decide is the ‘purity’ of your hike. Will you take the ‘official’ JMT or the Mist Trail out of Happy Isles? Almost everyone takes the Mist Trail, I think. I did. You don’t want to miss the waterfalls. If you are getting dropped off this is a nice place for your family to join you for a ways. It starts out paved, there are lots of stairs, a very popular hike. The stairs can be tough on the knees and it is a big climb out of the valley so I would plan on a low mileage first day.

    There are three routes you can take between Thousand Island and the Devil’s Postpile, the official JMT, the River Route, or the official PCT. I did all three (down and up and back down again). One of the reasons I did this was my JMT hike was also my first PCT section hike and I did not want to miss any of the PCT. I am glad I did. Most people take the JMT, which passes by some beautiful lakes, but the PCT ‘High Route’ was my favorite. It was high and dry, a change of scenery, I had it to myself and there was lots of wildlife.

    I took a ‘zero’ day at Thousand Island Lake. It is drop dead gorgeous there. Not really a zero, I hiked around Mount Banner, just camped at the same place for two nights. I was very glad I built that into my schedule.

    At the DPNM the official JMT does not actually go by the Devil’s Postpile (where horses are not allowed), yet almost all JMT hikers go that route. The signs and trail markings have been changed (I think by the local establishments) to direct hikers through the postpile and to Red’s Meadow. I went both ways. The official route has nothing to recommend it and I believe the horse outfitters want it for themselves. I would go with the flow here and follow the signs directing you to Red’s Meadow.

    Somewhere before Guitar Lake you are suppose to start using your ‘Wag Bag.’ That said, based on what I saw, I would not trust the water out of Guitar Lake. I ran out of food the last days so lucky for me the Wag Bag was never put to use. I was disgusted to see used wag bags left trailside on Mount Whitney. I think they were mostly from day hikers from Whitney Portal who were struggling (you will see what I mean), but what is wrong with some people?

    I loved sleeping at the top of Mount Whitney. I had the summit to myself that night. Got up and watched the sunrise with a few early birds who hiked up. It was awesome. I was freezing that night, however, and I don’t think I would try that with a 20 degree bag in late September.

    Coming from the East Coast the thing I loved about the JMT was the difference in scenery. All the wildflowers, trees, birds and other animals were new to me. Bring a wildflower identification book if you are interested. The views are open and the rocks are laid bare. This is a great place for anyone interested in geology. I was glad I brought Elizabeth Wenk’s guide along with me for the geology descriptions.

    And finally this must be one of the top trout fishing locations in the world. I never fished any place better in my life. I would recommend getting a license and bringing a small fly rod. I brought a Tekera rod for the trip and was so glad I did.
    Last edited by imscotty; 04-03-2018 at 09:52.
    “For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
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