Day 3 on the John Muir Trail and we were starting a long way from where we originally planned to camp. Our unauthorized off-trail camp dubbed The Middle of Somewhere was beautiful and quiet, but we had 3.5 miles to hike just to get to Sunrise High Sierra Camp, where we should’ve been starting. If […]
Thru-Hiking the JMT: Little Yosemite Valley to Sunrise Camp
It’s day two on the John Muir Trail. We woke up feeling creaky but confident. Hiking up Half Dome on day one tested our mettle. Today, we planned to hike 10.4 miles to the Sunrise High Sierra Camp. We ate our super-charged oatmeal breakfast and broke camp. As we were getting ready to leave, we saw a […]
Thru-Hiking the JMT: Happy Isles to Little Yosemite Valley, Plus Half Dome
The night is fading as we awaken, excited to finally start hiking the John Muir Trail. I slept like a log at the backpacker’s campground, but Jeffrey and Hari heard people chasing a bear away from the car campground. We eat a quick breakfast, break camp, don our backpacks and walk along the road to […]
Thru-Hiking the JMT: Lone Pine to Yosemite Valley
This day, three years ago… We woke up early and at 6am, were the first customers at the Alabama Hills Cafe. There’s something great about guilt-free eating, knowing that you’ll be running a caloric deficit for three weeks and, why yes you can have the pancakes and an omelet. What the heck! We gorged ourselves to the […]
Thru-Hiking the JMT, Day-by-Day
Precisely three years ago this day, my girlfriend and I and two hiking friends were driving up to Lone Pine, getting ready for a 22-day thru-hike of the epic 211-mile John Muir Trail. Over the next three weeks, I’ll be sharing a day-by-day guide to our JMT backpacking trek, with each day covered exactly on […]
Hiking the John Muir Trail: What to Wear
One of the questions everyone asks me about hiking the John Muir Trail is “What should I wear?” It’s not usually phrased so bluntly. Sometimes it’s couched in more specific terms, like “Should I wear down or fleece?” or “trail shoes vs. boots?” While I can’t tell you what’s right for you, Â I will share […]
The Muir Project
This past summer a team of multimedia artists hiked the John Muir Trail over 25 days. Their plan is create a hands-on gallery exhibit and companion documentary that chronicles their adventure on this epic trail. This video is the first glimpse into the project. If the video is any indication, this is going to be […]
Hiking the John Muir Trail in 21 Days
Back in 1980 I hiked the John Muir Trail with a group of four friends from church. I was 18 years old, but our group ranged in age from 13 to 50-ish. Thirty years ago I had just graduated high school, time was not an issue, and we spread the journey over 25 memorable days. […]
