JMT thru-hike…which direction?

To quote directly from the 3rd edition of "Guide to the John Muir Trail" by Winnett and Morey, page 2-3:

"Gaining elevation, especially when you start at high altitude, is more difficult than travelling mere miles, and the faster you gain elevation, the tougher it is. That's why, although the classic trip is south to north – Whitney Portal to Happy Isles – a majority of today's hikers prefer to hike north to south.'

'To begin at Whitney Portal is to start with the most brutal, continuous elevation gain of the trip – 5239 feet spread over 8.2 miles, up the east face of Mt. Whitney, from 8361-foot Whitney Portal to 13,600-foot Trail Crest – when you are least acclimated, least conditioned, and probably carrying the trip's heaviest load. This leg is typically spread over 2-3 days. Also, permits for Whitney Portal are extremely hard to get."

I'd suggest you get a copy of this book ( $13.95 at http://www.wildernesspress.com/book83.htm) and read it. It also includes detailed route descriptions going both directions, and more information on alternate starting points both ways.

Wandering Bob

I'll have to pick up that book, Bob. A good friend of mine is talking about us doing it in 2008. Could be brutal fun!

Another benefit to hiking south to north is that the sun will be on your back. Coming south from the north will put the sun directly in your eyes all day long. It would seem that you would want to be able to see with comfort the most beautiful mountain scenery you might possibly ever hike through rather than peering at that scenery through the glaring sun for 200 miles as you would if you started in Yosemite.

The real question is… Do you want to hike with or against the flow of (northbound) PCT thruhikers? I found it quite entertaining to chat them up when southbound hiking the TYT and JMT ("how's it goin? how's the next pass?"). That is, assuming they were willing to stop for a minute. I saw as many as 25 some days, so there were usually a few that wanted to chat.

Hiking the JMT northbound, with the flow, would mean u could use em as pace setters…

I've already set the time aside to do it this coming summer and have been debating the same question. I'm not certain yet, but I want to do it relatively fast- probably starting at Whitney, heading from the portal to Guitar Lake (or further) on day one. Sure, it'll be one long day climbing/adjusting at elevation, etc., but one long day up there is better than any good one at work, right?
My personal pro/con list of a Northbound journey:

Pros-
1. I did a quickie from Kearsarge Pass to Whitney last summer- I'd like to finish somewhere different/not repeat the last ~30 miles.
2. After Whitney it's downhill.
3. Probably easier to hitch a ride/catch a bus home out of Yosemite (more traffic/YARTS) than at the Whitney Portal.
4. Cold beer is easily found in the valley.
5. Perhaps a bit more celebrity finishing in the valley- busloads of tourists snapping pictures and asking questions of a "real backpacker" and whatnot.

Cons-
1. Hard/long first day (But is it really that bad? A one day, UL packing, fair-weather hiking ascent of Whitney hardly puts one amongst the ranks of mountain hardmen.)
2. I'm assuming it might be harder to get a permit to enter through the circus that is the Whitney Zone in the summer (If I remember right, permits can't be requested until Jan/Feb '07 and are still on lottery?).
3. I'll be finishing in the circus that is Yosemite in the summer.
4. There's cold beer at Whitney Portal too.

If anyone has any better rational for going one way or the other, please share. I think it really comes down to aesthetics/personal issues.
If I'd never been to the top of Whitney, however, I think finishing there would probably be cool.
Cheers.

I would like to believe that more people would actually hike the JMT S. to N. if it wasn't nearly impossible to start at Whitney.

About the only way to do it simply either way would be to not stay a night on the Whitney trail.
You would have to go from Guitar Lake to the Portal or the other way to Guitar in one day. There is a separate and higher daily quota for hikers doing this.
On the down side, you can not reserve this type of day pass until the lottery is over.

You can however get a pass any where else that ends at the portal 6 months in advance that takes away from the earlier day pass quota. It seems confusing, because by doing this, you can almost guarantee a Whitney finish.

There must be a catch to this, but after reading everything about it, it only ends up contradicting the day pass and making it easier to stay over night.
If any one could shed some light on this, (not a link, I've read everything), I would like to know.

When I hike the JMT in 2007, according to the rules of passage on Whitney, I can start at Bubbs Creek at the end of Hwy 180, (I’ll reserve my pass 6 months in advance). I can then spend as much time as I want acclimatizing on Whitney as I want to , (doing most of it at Meyson Lake), and can then switch my pack out and start the JMT.
Because I am not finishing at Whiney, according to the rules, I can include Whitney in my trip, and it says nothing about the length of stay, (only that Whitney is included).

This big mess about Whitney is just another reason people go N. to S.
Reserved Whitney passes this year also have to be picked up by 12:00 pm the day before you start.

The crazy part about the JMT is that it starts/ends at the TOP of Mount Whitney. There might be another option in doing a south to north backpack. I would think that that the better the shape a person is in (make that acclimatized) I would do the south to north direction.
I have done the north to south direction and want to do the south to north at least once…………

I propose to start at Cottonwood Trailhead and hike over Cottonwood Pass (with a heavier pack and continue to Crabtree Meadows. You could get acclimatized gradually and do a day hike up to the top of Mt. Whitney and back. THIS part may alleviate the problem of permits on the east side. (I will have to take a closer look).

One nice thing that I like about hiking north to south is that when approaching passes in the morning any snow is firm and you can walk on the crust. Once over the passes there is less snow on the south facing slopes.

Just judging from the weather we have had in california this winter we may end up with an opposite problem of last season, too little snow.

• I agree with Randy’s comment [i.e. Starting @ Horseshoe Meadows.]  It does not require climbing Mt. Whitney, unless you choose to.
• But you can on the 2nd/3rd day [whatever your time is], then re-join the JMT Northbound.
• A Bonus:  You can ‘drive’ to Horseshoe Meadows, which is 10,000′ & they have great Camp Sites & Toilets for the initial night.  [The road is open until end of October – but check.]
• From Horseshoe Meadows join the trailhead for the PCT, which joins the JMT around Guitar Lake, which is about 35 miles.
• You do add some mileage to the trip, but it’s beautiful country.  Your permit will be issued by Inyo County – not Yosemite.  It ‘may’ or ‘maynot’ make a difference.
• Either way, the official ending/starting for the JMT is Mt. Whitney.  So, if you begin @ Whitney Portals, or descend from Mt. Whitney to the Portals, you’re adding 11+/- miles anyway.  Hence, the advertised 210 miles for the JMT does not take this into consideration.
• I’ve climbed Mt. Whitney from the East [i.e.  Whitney Portals] 9 times always up/down in 1 day – Tough Day!  Then did the 2-3 day trip from Horseshoe Meadows & climbed it my 10th time from the West.  I enjoyed the pristine hike on the PCT before joining the JMT a great deal more.
• I’m informed the more difficult permit to obtain is the North to South, which is what I’m planning to do in mid-September.  But, it took me 8+/- years to obtain a permit.
• Conversely, the other great comment is that going from North to South, the Sun is not as much of an issue, and you are acclimating at a more acceptable rate.
• Either way, it’s all good!  Great Country!

For me, the big advantage of going N to S is, you start off easy.***(if you start at Tuolumne Meadows, as is best.)  At least relative to starting at Whitney. Just as importantly, acclimation is easier this way. It takes a few days, and more, to really acclimate to elevation. N to S allows for a much longer and gentler period to get used to the O2 levels at altitude and lose some heavy weight from your pack before beginning the more arduous and higher elevation mid and southern sections. And don’t hesitate send resupplies to Reds Meadows, even though it’s only two or three days away. Start easy and gain your stride later on.

***for the life of me, I can’t understand starting at Happy Isles. Start at Tuolumne meadows to avoid a really brutal climb out of the valley through crowds with your heavy pack.

I did the Tuolumne meadows to Mt Whitney and would recommend doing that. In addition to building up elevation slowly, the beauty also increases as you go south towards harder and harder passes. And the grand finale of climbing Mt Whitney in the middle of the night to see the sunrise and finishing the hike on Mt Whitney should be a strong consideration. You want to finish on a high note. I mean the sunrise atop Mt Whitney is amazing….the golden color of the rocks are so beautiful. You want to end the hike with that memory I think. Rather than fighting the massive crowds in Happy Isles and wishing you were somewhere else…..

People I have met on the JMT going South to North have always told me it is harder……

As a different type of consideration … if you go the opposite direction as the crowds, you will be encountering people constantly. A few years ago, I did a loop where one section was on the Colorado Trail, and I accidentally did it in the wrong direction. It was awful. If you are hiking in the same direction as most people, you won’t experience the crowding nearly as much.

I’ve hiked it both directions and enjoyed it immensely both ways.  First time N to S.  Last time S to N.

Given the permit lottery system and the vast number of applications, my priority was just land a permit and not worry about direction.  I don’t have a huge amount of flexibility, but thought with 15 different start date options I would score a Happy Isles or a Mt Whitney permit.  No such luck.  So I ended up hiking in over Cottonwood Pass.  And that routing, turns out, was excellent.

I suggest trying to land both a Happy Isles AND a Whitney Portal permit, and then take the direction you score.  The scenery and views are outstanding both ways.  AND, you can (and should) always look back whenever you pause to see it all.  And the physical challenge?   If you are up to it, you are up to it.  Direction didn’t make a huge difference to me.

@jscott wrote:  “***for the life of me, I can’t understand starting at Happy Isles. Start at Tuolumne meadows to avoid a really brutal climb out of the valley through crowds with your heavy pack.”

Agree, this could be brutal, so plan smart with your food.  If starting at Happy Isles, leave yourself a cache in a bear box at Tuolumne and take only what you need.  And if starting at Cottonwood, leave your food in the bear box at Crabtree, and most of your gear wherever you camped, when you go to summit Whitney.  No need to haul everything with you.

I had planned a South to North JMT in 2022. Mudslides blocked access to Horseshoe meadows. I was able to obtain permits from Bishop pass and do a flip flop. First Bishop pass North to Happy Isles then Bishop pass to Whitney Portel.
It ended up being a great way to do the JMT.