One of my goals for 2010 is to backpack the entire John Muir Trail. The official JMT trail runs 211 miles from Yosemite Valley in the north to the peak of Mt. Whitney — the highest mountain in the lower 48 states at 14,505 ft. It’s a three week wilderness adventure that requires plenty of planning, preparation and training.
I’ve thru-hiked the JMT before back in August 1980. This August will mark the 30th anniversary of that first trip. I thought it a fitting milestone, and so I plan on hiking it every 3 decades.
This goal was one of the big reasons I got back into hiking and started SoCal Hiker. I’ve always enjoyed hiking, but having a significant goal like the JMT has motivated me to hike more.
I’ll be updating this section of the site with details on the planning, training, gear lists and more. Partly this is for my own selfish use; I need to do it, so why not do it here. But it’s also here to share with other hikers and backpackers who are thinking of hiking the JMT as well. If that includes you, please share your knowledge as well. That’s what comments are for!
After the trip, I’ll post a detailed trip report and photos.
Note that the bulk of the content on this page has yet to be written, but I’ll be fleshing it out soon. Here’s a rough outline of what you can look forward to:
- Overview of the John Muir Trail
- Planning
- Training
- Day-by-day itinerary
- Gear List
- Menus
- Resupply Addresses
- Post-trip report
- Photos
- Other useful JMT resources
Let me know if I left anything out!
Good luck to you. Browsing through your website made me itch to do JMT again. I did it in 2007 for 14 days. We planned on 17 days but after 5 days, we decided to cover more miles for more challenge. Luckily, we mailed our resupply earlier! Bring a lot of duct tape – you will be surprised on its many uses – we used it to cover blisters, cover seams of shirt (after days of walking with the heavy backpack, those seams digging against your shoulder can be painful). We took a dip in the lake every day at noon as soon as we are used with the weather.
Have fun!
Thanks, I! If SoCal Hiker gave you the itch to repeat the JMT, I feel I’ve achieved my objective. I’m really looking forward to it. Less than two months away now!