JMT permit strategy

[Aaron Madsen]

I am hoping to hike the full JMT this summer with my two sons and my father-in-law. I have about a 7 to 10 day window  in mid to late August where I will need to start the trip.  I really don’t want to deal with trying to get walk up permits for four people. My first choice is to start in Yosemite and hike south. Second choice is to start at Whitney portal and go north. Final choice is to start at Horseshoe meadow and go over Cottonwood Pass.  As of right now, my plan is to reserve the Cottonwood Pass permit here in a week or so when I can do so, then apply for Yosemite permit at the end of the month, and then apply for the Whitney lottery should I not get the Yosemite permit. I would really like to hike the full JMT. Does anyone have any other recommendations? Is my strategy sound?

I would also like to hear people’s thoughts on resupply at the VVR vs. the MTR.  We are just looking for a nice place to relax for a day, recharge, enjoy some good food, and then get back on the trail. Location wise, the Muir Trail ranch fits better, and is less of a detour off trail, but most people seem to have enjoyed VVR better.

[Lester Moore]

Your permit strategy is sound, provided that you are fine with a NOBO hike. We secured a backup permit starting at Rush Creek heading south which we canceled as soon as we received a Yosemite Valley permit (starting at Pohono tunnel trailhead, not Happy Isles) and exiting Yosemite over Koip pass (not Doahue). If I could do it again, I’d try for Glacier Point trailhead and skip the Pohono trail, but Koip Pass was very scenic and not to be missed IMHO.

Another possible NOBO permit option, I believe that Kennedy Meadows has no quotas, so if you can add three days to your hike, you could go any day you want with no limitations. Starting at Kennedy Meadows would also be a great way to acclimatize slowly, which is one of the drawbacks of most NOBO JMT hikes (most other NOBO trailheads start at high altitudes).

As for resupply, MTR is not a good place to relax, recharge and enjoy good food. MTR has very limited services (resupply and hiker buckets and VERY small store only) – they don’t even have a toilet or bathroom for hikers to use (you have to run into the woods and find a tree). I’ve also heard some questions about MTR’s resupply service availability this year, so be sure to contact them if you really want to resupply there. While I’ve never been to VVR, the consensus is that they do a great job of catering to hikers and provide many more services, including food.

[Aaron Madsen]

Thanks for the heads up on MTR. I’d definitely prefer to hike southbound, but I’m concerned about our ability to secure a walk up permit for 4. I have 4 weeks, which should be plenty of time, even with a couple of zero days, but getting stranded in Tuolumne Meadows waiting for a permit might stress me out a bit.

[Cameron M]

MTR is oriented towards people who spend the night there using their facilities, and is a unique and positive experience if you do so. VVR offers more for campers and hikers passing through. In recent years the hike off the JMT to VVR has been a bit depressing as Edison Lake looks very sad emptied of water, but that may be different this year. If you climb the hill at the east end of Edison, you can get a good mobile signal.

[Aaron Madsen]

My initial thought was to skip VVR and just trudge on to MTR as we will have just resupplied at Reds. I’d like to resupply at MTR, and then plan to have a pack company resupply us over Kearsarge, and then finish. I’m trying to limit the number of 10+ mile days as I don’t want to hammer my boys and father-in-law, and we plan on fishing a lot.

[Matthew / BPL]

It’s tempting to want to do the traditional HI to WP hike but I can say I honestly did not enjoy the JMT until I got into Lyell Canyon. If you can get a TM entry, do it!

WP to HI would be a brutal start. I’d strongly prefer Horseshoe Meadow over the Portal. I’ll add that the trail from the Portal to Whitney is overcrowded and just a miserable trail. HM to TM would be my preferred route for hiking the JMT again. Sun at your back the whole way…

[Matthew / BPL]

One more thought about starting at the Portal: does everyone have experience at altitude? You might be risking AMS or worse.

Go camp at HM for a day or two and ease yourself into the altitude… just my $.02, HYOH/YMMV/etc. Enjoy the hike, it’s fun and gorgeous.

[Ken Thompson]

Looks like Lake Edison will be full this year. So much snow.

[Dave Ayers]

There are endless JMT permit discussions and various documents of relevant info over at the JMT Yahoo Group as well as the JMT FB site.  You may want to check those out.

Besides the ones already mentioned, there is also the split in two pieces method.  Head out from Red’s NOBO then shuttle back to Mammoth via YARTs and head SOBO (or vice-versa).  It may be easier to get permits that way.

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