John Muir Trail in the Fall

[Ryan Commons]

Hey All, I thought some people might be curious about what the trail is like in the Fall. This is a video of a 7 day thru-hike from October 6-13th last Fall. I caught a winter storm during the last 24 hours.

WINTER IS COMING – Seven Days on the John Muir Trail

Description: This online video summarizes a trip across the John Muir Trail with imagery of the 200+ miles of mountains, valleys, bears, and passes:
John Muir Trail Documentary

Please let me know if you have any questions or want help planning a Fall Trip.

Please contact me via Facebook: Ryan Commons

Evening temperatures were below freezing each night and signs of winter were ever-present. I hope you enjoy the pictures and the story.

[Adan Lopez]

I enjoyed the video, thanks.

[Ryan Commons]

For sure Adan, glad you liked it.

[Andrew F]

Great video! Can't wait to get on the JMT next year. Thanks for sharing.

Andrew

[Nick Garner]

Forty miles on the seventh day? You're a machine! Thanks for sharing the great video.

Nick

[Ole Saether]

Great video! Thanks for sharing!

Nice music as well. Who is playing?

[Manfred]

Wow! My sons and I took three weeks this summer to hike the JMT. I can hardly imagine to do it in a week. Watching your video made me want to go back right away. But I will have to wait at least until next summer.

Thanks,

Manfred

[Frank Deland]

Wow, you are a pro with the video. What time was the average sunset? How many hours a day/night did you hike? Could you hike in the night with only moon light? Those passes must have been cold hiking in the dark!

Your Mt. Shasta video is amazing, too!

[Ryan Commons]

Thanks for the compliments.

Sunset was at about 6 each night. In the trees and in valleys definitely got dark fast. I tended to go from 3am until 10pm and then wore out.

The passes were great at night. You feel like you are in the stars. Definitely a lonesome feeling also.

Here's the Summiting the Volcano video if anyone wants to check it out.

[Mike M]

great video and an amazing hike! :)

my wife and I are planning on doing the JMT in 2012 (we're booked up w/ hikes already this coming year :))

after reading (and watching the video) I think I might change my time frame to early fall- looks like the folks really thin out and while the weather is a little more of a gamble- still relatively nice- my guess is not a biting bug to worry about either :)

[Mountain Warrior]

Wow! Watching your video made me feel as though I was with you on the trail, very moving!

Thanks for sharing!

[Ryan Commons]

Glad you enjoyed it MountainWarrior==that was exactly what I was going for…

[Andy Duncan]

Thanks for posting your amazing video. Facing the bears on the trail at night, making it through the snow storm, 40 miles the last day. . . this could be a feature film. For the past few weeks I have just let this video play in the background on one of the computers in my office during the work day. At times it really gives the feeling of being on the trail, very cool. I'm planning a JMT trip for my wife and I next summer and your video has provided some inspirational insight into the JMT. Nice music, too. I like the quirky song at about 9:38.

[Tom Clark]

Fantastic hike and trip. Hard to believe that you had time to take all of those great photos with the pace you kept.

Thanks for putting time into the report and sharing!
Tom

[Sid Riddle]

Wow, an amazing video by you, sir.

You have great talent. Is this what you do for a living, or is it just a hobby that you're a pro at?

Any one of your pictures could be a great desktop background.

[Jolly Green Giant]

Superb.

Unintentionally, you’ve likely just encouraged many and championed both the wild and the human spirit.

Nice work and check one of the bigger boxes on your life list.

[John Donewar]

Ryan,

You walked across God's palate of colors.

Your camera was the brush that produced the most amazing painting on the screen of my monitor.

The contrasts of barren starkness and explosions of color were just gorgeous.

Thanks for sharing your experiences and yourself with us.

Party On,

Newton

[Ryan Commons]

John and Jolly,

Thanks for all the encouraging comments. Can't wait to get back out.

Ryan

[Robert Justice]

All I can say is WOW! I really enjoyed your video! You really communicated the excitement, struggle, pain, relief, determination…everything through it! Also that's some kind of accomplishment! Congratulations on meeting such a goal!

[Ryan Commons]

Thanks Robert,

It was a great experience. Days on the JMT are unforgettable.

RSC

[Ryan Commons]

Is anyone planning on going out on the JMT from South to North this October?

[Tyler Fisher]

I'm planning on starting south bound on 9/30 from TM, but wouldn't mind going north. I don't think I could do it in 7 days though, I'm shooting for 10.

[Ryan Commons]

Good luck out there. Have a great trip.

[Author]

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