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John Muir Trail, Class of 2010


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Viewing 25 posts - 26 through 50 (of 77 total)
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  • #1577161
    Philip Burton
    Member

    @philip13

    Locale: Southern California

    I just looked up permits for Half Dome. Permits are required for Friday, Saturday or Sunday only. July permits are available April 1, 2010 for $1.50.

    #1577166
    Lori P
    BPL Member

    @lori999

    Locale: Central Valley

    Backpackers don't need to worry about the permit reservation… when you pick up the wilderness permit, tell them you'll do Half Dome and they stamp it. No prob.

    #1578811
    bryan c.
    Member

    @bugsdad

    I'm planning on a JMT/HST hike starting at Tuolumne on Aug 29th and ending at the Wolverton Creek trailhead at the end of the High Sierra Trail on our about Sept. 18th. Planning on detouring and spending a night at Lake South America and heading down the Kern to the HST once I leave the JMT at the junction.
    Never done the JMT but have done Whitney several times so figured this trip would be a great way to see more of the Sierras and finish my aborted 2005 HST trip.
    I'd love any recommendations for favorite campspots along the JMT portion. My itinerary will be fairly loose with campspots in mind, but also with the idea that if I find a beautiful spot to camp or want to extend or shorten a day I will.
    Can't wait!!

    #1578814
    Brandon Sanchez
    Member

    @dharmabumpkin

    Locale: San Gabriel Mtns

    Favorite campsites along JMT: Evolution Lake, Upper Palisade Lake.

    #1588282
    Sharon Mason
    Member

    @onmyown

    Locale: bay area

    Hi everyone! This is my first post here, but I've been reading the forums for a while to get gear and trail tips. This summer, I'm stretching myself a little and doing the JMT mid-august as my first solo trip in the US. I hiked the GR20 alone last year in Corsica, but you're never all that alone on that trail – a refuge with a radio is always within 10 miles and the trails are more traveled.

    The first hitch I've hit has to do with permits: Happy Isles trailhead is full so I got a permit for a near-by trailhead – Mono. It was my understanding that the permit only constrained your first night, and after that you could go anywhere you wanted. However, the ranger told me that to avoid any trouble, I should hike Red Peak loop, up to Lake Mead and then I could pick up the JMT. That's an extra 2 days at my pace and I would miss almost all the JMT through the valley. (I'm still going to try the sleep-in-front-of-the-door-and-get-same-day-reservation thing, but I want a back-up plan.) My question is this: Is this ranger over-zealous or are they more serious than I thought about the trail head?

    I have considered mailing my pack to Tuolumne and doing Yosemite Valley to Tuolumne Meadows as a day hike. (Of course, there's still the problem of getting a permit up there.) It's 20+ miles and 5000+ ft elevation gain so I know I'd need to train pretty hard and I'm coming from sea level so there's that added problem. Do you know anyone that has done that as a day hike? I've looked online for trip reports but can't find any from people doing it in that direction.

    #1588288
    Jay Wilkerson
    BPL Member

    @creachen

    Locale: East Bay

    Try your starting point at Glacier Point-I ran into the same problem a while back and was able to start at Glacier Pt as a alternative to Happy Isle or Yosemite Valley — Goodluck

    P7310064
    View from Glacier Pt.

    #1588292
    Sharon Mason
    Member

    @onmyown

    Locale: bay area

    Thank you for an inspiring picture!

    Glacier trail head is full already for July and August, but it's interesting that you didn't have the same problem getting to the JMT from an alternative trail head.

    I think the goal is to reduce impact on Little Yosemite Valley campground and understandable and I guess they can't just accept my promise to avoid it.

    #1588295
    Hiking Malto
    BPL Member

    @gg-man

    I believe 40% of the permits are non-reservable. That combined with a bit of flexibility on trailhead (and possibly a slight detour from your permit :O) and you can make it work. I have had great luck with walkup permits especially when it just 1 person.

    #1588307
    Bob Gross
    BPL Member

    @b-g-2-2

    Locale: Silicon Valley

    "It's 20+ miles and 5000+ ft elevation gain so I know I'd need to train pretty hard and I'm coming from sea level so there's that added problem. Do you know anyone that has done that as a day hike?"

    I did that in 2008. Left Curry Village in the valley at 5:15 a.m. and finished in Tuolumne Meadows 12 hours later. It's quite a butt-kicker.
    –B.G.–

    #1588319
    Lori P
    BPL Member

    @lori999

    Locale: Central Valley

    Sharon, with the transportation available to you in the park and the ability to walk up to get a permit the day before your trip you should be okay.

    If you want to try for a permit from Happy Isles – get to the park the day BEFORE you want to start hiking. They release the first come/first serve permits when the office opens the day before, not the day of, a backpacking outing. Get there at 4-5 am and stand (they don't want you to sleep on the porch!) in line. I arrived around 5 am one morning and found three people sitting on foam pads waiting already. That didn't matter in the end, I got the permits for my party anyway from the Happy Isles trailhead.

    Go to the backpacker campground behind North Pines, set up camp, pay the five dollar fee, and when the ranger comes around that evening you show your wilderness permit for the next day and you're golden. You can spend the day roaming around the valley being a tourist, riding the free shuttles, eating pizza in Curry Village, and start hiking first thing in the morning.

    If despite this you don't get a permit, try for one of the alternate trailheads, and then check on how to get to them – there is a tour bus to Glacier Point from the valley and also one to Tioga Pass that will drop you at one of the trailheads at your request.

    Or – and people forget about this – you wait until the day you want to start hiking and be at the permit office after 10 am, when they release the permits that were reserved and went unclaimed. Which also happens.

    #1588341
    Sharon Mason
    Member

    @onmyown

    Locale: bay area

    Were you glad you did it? Is there a trip report anywhere?

    It's looking like an attractive challenge, but maybe not a practical way to start a long trip.

    After the trip, I should be pretty strong. Maybe I'll plan to start in Tuolumne and save the valley to meadow leg for a weekend soon after finishing.

    #1588346
    Jennifer W
    BPL Member

    @tothetrail

    Locale: So. Cal.

    Sharon, there are a ton of good trip reports on trailjournals.com. Just click on journals and then select the year and trail. I'm pretty sure there are several reports of folks doing the day hike from Happy Isles to Tuolumne Meadows, then start with the full pack from there.

    You could even do the first leg backwards, which is all down hill from TM to HI. Then take the bus back to TM and begin the hike with a full pack there. You would have to plan to get to Yosemite Valley before the last bus back to TM or make arrangements to stay in the Valley for the night.

    It's much easier to get a permit for a TM trailhead, there may even be some available now.

    #1588348
    Bob Gross
    BPL Member

    @b-g-2-2

    Locale: Silicon Valley

    "Were you glad you did it? Is there a trip report anywhere?
    It's looking like an attractive challenge, but maybe not a practical way to start a long trip."

    One guy had organized a small group of us hikers, so we all left Curry Village with our headlamps blazing. I tried to keep up the pace just behind the leader, but he seemed to go faster and faster, so I kept up. When I got up to Nevada Falls, I realized that they had turned to go up the Mist Trail, and I had been chasing a ghost. There was a huge crowd of hikers at the west end of Little Yosemite Valley getting staged to hike up Half Dome. The rough stretch was between there and Sunrise HSC, but I made it by noon. When Cathedral Peak comes into view, it requires some camera time. Then I weakened on the few miles of downhill getting to the west end of Tuolumne Meadows. It is still a few flat miles to get to the east end. I had started with 2.5 quarts of water, and I picked up one quart along the way. I finished with one quart remaining.
    –B.G.–

    #1588351
    Lori P
    BPL Member

    @lori999

    Locale: Central Valley

    I was getting permits for a different hike from HI – but I'm sure the JMT is very worth it, am doing it in sections. I was scheduled to do the TM to HI segment but could not due to road closures when a managed burn got out of hand last year. We did TM to Red's Meadow earlier in the year.

    FWIW, in my experience the most difficult trailheads to reserve permits for are the ones around TM and Happy Isles. We have found Sunrise, Cathedral and Rafferty to be consistently booked well in advance. And to walk up for a permit for them, it's better to be on the porch at the TM wilderness office, which has priority over the office in the valley.

    #1588374
    Hiking Malto
    BPL Member

    @gg-man

    "It's 20+ miles and 5000+ ft elevation gain so I know I'd need to train pretty hard and I'm coming from sea level so there's that added problem. Do you know anyone that has done that as a day hike?"

    Absolutely. In fact anyone who does the JMT in 10 days north to south will nearly average it for the ten days.

    Also, another advantage of doing TM to HI, bus back to TM is that if you are a strong hiker you can actually day hike from TM to HI and avoid having to carry everything up the hill. It also gives you some additional resupply options since you wont spend two days hitting TM.

    #1588375
    Matthew McCameron
    Member

    @imstukinabox

    I am in St. Louis and will be hiking across the united states starting april 14 and am looking for anyone who wants to hike to california i am going to be traveling light and have been wanting to do so for some time so it seems like this is the year anyone got any ideas on routes i was going to start at the onandaga trail near st. louis

    #1588855
    bryan c.
    Member

    @bugsdad

    Faxed in my permit this past Monday and had email confirmation by noon that day. Had the hard copy by Thursday. Now it's real!
    I'm doing a solo hybrid JMT/High Sierra Trail hike.
    The plan at this point is to leave from Tuolumne on Aug 30th. Resupply at MTR. Leave the JMT (Ive already done Whitney twice and will again in July) at the junction to Lake South America and spend the day and night there exploring the Upper Kern basin.
    Head down the now defunct Lake South America Trail to the High Sierra Trail junction and spend 4 or 5 days on the High Sierra Trail. Exit at Wolverton Creek via Panther Gap in SNP on or about September 18th.
    I'm keeping my intinerary pretty loose so I can shorten or extend days or stop at great campspots I find on the way. I'd love suggestions for favorite spots that are lesser known and have great views.
    I'm thinking this route should be a bigger slice of the Sierra than I would get on a traditional JMT hike.
    Can't wait!

    #1588862
    Ken Helwig
    BPL Member

    @kennyhel77

    Locale: Scotts Valley CA via San Jose, CA

    Brian, that sounds like a great trip. Have fun!

    #1588895
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    "I'd love suggestions for favorite spots that are lesser known and have great views."

    If you have the time, Bryan, a side trip up into Milestone Basin would be very much worth your while. Good camping spots and awesome views of Milestone, Midway, and Table Mountains, and also delightful close up scenery along Milestone Creek. A signed secondary trail leaves the Lake South America/Kern Canyon Trail you mentioned just before it drops into Kern Canyon. Rock hop/slab hop the Kern River and hike up into Milestone Basin a couple of miles, then start looking for campsites. Who knows, you might even spend two nights; the place can really grow on you.

    #1588909
    B. F.
    BPL Member

    @bradly

    I'll be going south-bound and solo sometime this summer. I'm new to backpacking, but excited for the experience. I've reading as much as I can to prepare. I've been wanting to do the John Muir Tail since I first read about it. I'll probably be going late July or early August and hoping to make it in 13 days. Look for my gear questions soon :)

    Thanks,
    Bradly

    #1588934
    bryan c.
    Member

    @bugsdad

    Milestone sounds great. This will be my first time on the JMT and I know I'm gonna suffer from "oooh look over there….wow I gotta explore over here" syndrome at every turn. It's great to know which of the "look over there" detours are proven winners.
    Bryan

    #1589071
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    "It's great to know which of the "look over there" detours are proven winners."

    If you're comfortable with easy off trail hiking where you basically can't get lost, here's a delightful alternative to following the old Lake South America trail down to Kern Canyon: From Lake South America traverse west along the King-Kern Divide, directly below Gregory's Monument and Mount Ericsson, over to the base of Mount Genevra. Along the way scramble up to either Lucy's Foot Pass or Milly's Foot Pass(or both) and treat yourself to spectacular views of Lake Reflection directlty below and on out over Kings Canyon to the north, peaks as far as the eye can see. From Milly's Foot Pass continue traversing over to the long unnamed lake below Mount Jordan. Follow the outlet stream down to the valley below, and head due south over a gentle ridge and on down to the large lake with 3 bays. There are a couple of good campsites there, one on the north side(a horse packer site) and a better one, IMO, on the east side of the lake that doesn't see much use. You will pick up a foot path that leads around the east side of the lake before it sort of peters out, but from there the route is obvious down over very gentle terrain to pick up the Lake South America Trail again at the S.E. corner of the next lake below. From there it is about 3/4 mile to the Milestone basin side trail. This is a far better way to enjoy the Upper Kern Basin than following the old Lake South America Trail, again with the caveat that you are comfortable with easy off trail hiking. I hope you have a great trip! You're going to be passing through some spectacular country. Oh, and don't forget to stop and enjoy the Kern Hot Springs, about 9 miles south of Junction Meadow. It is a sublime experience after a couple of hot dusty weeks on the move.

    #1589192
    bryan c.
    Member

    @bugsdad

    This sounds perfect! I was hoping to get off trail a bit. In fact I think the Sierra High Route will be next years trip. The next 5 months are going to be loooong.

    #1589194
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    "The next 5 months are going to be loooong."

    They'll go faster than you think, once you get into planning(and fantasizing) mode. I hope you have the time of your life.

    #1594136
    Fred Baldwin
    Member

    @baldy2020

    Hi! I am doing the same trip. I am leaveing on July 7- 22 days to Wolverton. Solo. Let me know if anyone is going my way. This is my second JMT trip. This is an awesome way to go! Super challenging exit! Where are you resupplying?
    Fred

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