I want to hike the JMT, but don't know how to start – not an american

[Alon Bar]

HI! im having a few months vacation in USA, and i want to include in my vacation a long hike, i’ve heard about this trail, but it have no idea how to start preparing.
Is there any good guidebook?
How and where can i get the trail permit?
Are there any organized group, which i can join?
where can i get food supply?
how intense is the trail for non-professional hiker?
what is the overall cost for hiking (food,water,permit) (without gear costs)?

Thank you,
Alon

[Jeff Hester]

Alon,

Welcome to SoCalHiker! The JMT is one of my all-time favorite trips. I’ve hiked it twice (so far) and have collected some of my favorite resources, including books and other tools.

A good place to start is with this Overview of the JMT. Then in the sidebar on the right-side of that page you’ll find a LOT of additional JMT resources, including a suggested itinerary, books, maps and other resources that I recommend, as well as a day-by-day journal of my latest trek on the JMT in 2010.

I don’t know of any “professional hikers” so I can’t really answer the intensity question. Is it hard? Sure! But if you’re in decent physical condition and willing to train for it, you should be able to handle it. My girlfriend has asthma and she was able to complete it — but we trained for it!

As for the cost, it really depends on a lot of factors. What equipment do you already have or will you need to purchase, rent or borrow to supplement? Are you willing or able to prepare your own meals or will you buy more expensive pre-packaged dehydrated meals? How many days will you take to hike the trail? Where and how will you resupply? All of these factor into the total cost of the trip.

As for the permit costs, they are minimal. The biggest expenses (other than traveling to the trail) will likely be food and supplies, and possible equipment (depending on what you already have). For the four of us traveling on my latest JMT trip we spent over $400US in shipping and handling charges for our food drops. Most of this info can be found on the pages in our JMT section. In the end, we probably spent a bit over $1000 per person for the 22 day trip. It can be done for less — or for much more.

As for organized groups, I’m not aware of any. There may be guides that are available for hire, but the group size will always be limited by permits.

Take a look at the JMT resources I mentioned above, and let me know if you have other questions.

[alison savage]

Hey all,

(Rather than start a new post) i’m in the same boat! ….I want to experience some beauty here, but I’ll only be able to do it for 10-13 days and realistically I’m not sure where the best part to start for a trip for a short time on the trail.

Thanks 🙂 allie

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