09 JMT thru hike

There is a 70+ mile route from Mt. Whitney to the western edge of Sequoia National Park called the High Sierra Trail (not to be confused with the Sierra High Route) but I'm not sure hiking another 3-4 days to save a day of hitching or shuttle costs makes a lot of sense. From a hiking perspective, it makes perfect sense.

You might also want to price 'open jaw' flight plans and fly into a northern city like San Fran or Sacramento and fly out from Fresno. Sometimes that's cheaper.

Oh well It looked like less than 72 miles on the tiny map I was looking at. I could probably do an extra 50 miles in the time that I have but not 72. I may order a map of sequoia though just for kicks though.

The Elizabeth Wenk book is great. Too big to take on the trail.

For my money the maps to use are Tom Harrison. He has a 13 sheet set that takes you from beginning to end. For my money they are the best most readable maps out there. You can buy online.

I just got those maps the other day. The material they are printed on is simply amazing. Try to rip the cover sheet you cant do it!

Richard Harrison has maps of 7-8 zones of the JMT. It also has all trails leading to the JMT also. I think it goes for around $13 or so

Here are the links that someone mentioned earlier regarding snow pack in the Sierra's. There are two, one by Yosemite and the other is the Sierra-Kings Canyon section.

http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/wildcond.htm

http://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/trailcond.htm

There are also some TOPO maps that can be viewed online or downloaded and printed from here: http://www.dascalos.net/Outdoors/ODC/jmtmaps.html

Lastly, I live in Fresno and actually plan to be go up to Yosemite around that time. Therefore if the dates work out I would be more than willing to take anybody up there that needs a ride. If you have any other questions about logistics around the Fresno area I will help as much as I can.

Enjoy your trip…

Thanks for the links and the offer of a ride. as of now I hope to fly on the 26th of june early in the morning. It's a year away so I will probably revive this thread in a few months or send you a pm to discuss specifics.

I didn't read all of this thread, but here are some random thoughts….

First, I would hold off on making a start date. Start watching the CDEC Water graphs in early 2009. My April 1st you will have a pretty good idea on what the snowpack is like. If it's a low snow year, you can go a few weeks early if you want to have a few less people.

The public transportation is all there, but it's never easy. I had to take a plane, taxi, greyhound, and shuttle bus just to get to the start of my hike! I would be willing to bet you could get from Reno to Happy Isles with just a plane flight, a CREST bus, and a YARTS bus. Getting back to Reno is straight forward. Hitch to Lone Pine (easiest hitch ever!) and hop on a CREST bus straight back to Reno.

Enjoy!

Well I need to choose a starting date or at least a rough start date. My boss will only let one mechanic go on vacation at a time. If I wait too long somebody else will snatch 4th of july week away from me and I won't have the 4th as part of my vacation ( an extra day off for free since we will be closed w/ pay).

Thanks for the info on reno I am starting to think it may be better to make it easier to get from the trail instead of to the trail. One way flights always have gotten me hassled at security.

One thing though looking at the snowpack reports for the past few years I can't find a year when my proposed start date would be a problem. When was the last big snowfall year where the passes were not semi clear by july?

Your start date would be fine pretty much any year, even in 2006. The advantage of using the CDEC snowpack graphs (you want % water content, by the way) is that you can see if it is a below average year and possibly go earlier. Most people know that July is typically the start of easy high elevation travel and thus won't expect the passes to be open earlier if it's a low snow year. If it's an average or above average year, they won't help you much. If it's a below average year, you can move a few weeks earlier in June and get less people, which I believe you said you wanted.

Either way, it's an awesome trip. Have fun! I hope I have enough vacation time, so maybe I'll pass you (going north).

Thanks Jeff. I have basically accepted the fact that I will be hiking with a big crowd so no worries there. It cant be any worse than the southern AT in the spring. Right? ; )