JMT Maps and Guide

You may have seen this thread. The maps look pretty good and they’re free. I have this guide book and its pretty good.

I used the Tom Harrison JMT map pack on my JMT hike this past summer. High quality maps printed on good waterproof paper. http://www.tomharrisonmaps.com/

I got the book mentioned above but didn't bring it on the hike. However, the most valuable part of the book is the databook and list of campsites. She offers that as a free PDF download on her website I believe. It was nice to have a description of the campsites to see which ones looked good.

The Postholer maps look good. Also check out halfmile's maps. Would be CA Section H. Although I don't think that would cover the ~20 miles from Yosemite Valley to Tuolumne Meadows. pctmap.net

Used the TM JMT maps and corresponding pages of "The John Muir Trail: Through the Californian Sierra Nevada" (Cicerone Guide). Together they allowed for some flexability. Pack the pages of what you need with each of your food drops.
Cheers!

Tom Harrison JMT map pack. It covers the trail and and parts of trails heading off in different directions off of the JMT.

+1 on the Tom Harrison JMT map set.
Each one is nice and small to fit in your pants or shirt pocket, covers a day or two of hiking, and is sturdy enough that I still have mine intact after two JMT trips.

Read all the guidebooks (that's what your library is for,) the trail journals and the trip reports. Read, dream and plan, but there is no need to actually bring the books on your trip.

The one important piece of information to copy down from the guidebooks is all your possible exit routes. Mark the exit routes on your maps. If you need to get out because of an emergency you will know which trail to follow and how far it is to the trail head.

I would not follow a guidebook's suggestion for camping locations right on the trail unless I was hiking alone and really starving for some company.
The beauty of the Sierra is that with a few exceptions you can pretty much camp anywhere you choose and as long as you are willing to scamper a little bit off the trail you can have it all to yourself. Find your own fabulous spot, one with a view, a swimming hole, nice shade trees, or whatever strikes your fancy. Hike the longest day you can manage and then just plop down at sunset. Then the next day just a couple of miles and spend the rest of the time fishing at a beautiful lake. Not planning on set camping locations makes it possible to have a much more spontaneous kind of experience.

+1 more for the Harrison maps. They were all I needed to navigate the JMT in June when there was a lot of snow on the trail.

BTW, you can have a free set of Harrison's maps if you find the ziploc that I lost at the upper end of Evolution Valley in June of 2009.

Last year we used the Harrison Map Pack, along with Erik the Black's JMT Atlas Pocket Guide.

The map set was great for an overall view but the talk of the trail was that Atlas, it was great. It made it really easy to plan for water, campsites, and just get a feel for what was ahead.