Spotlight: Sierra Nevada Mountains - The John Muir Trail

Spotlight: The John Muir Trail is named after naturalist John Muir, who founded the Sierra Club and was instrumental in influencing the government to protect large tracts of land including Yosemite Valley and Sequoia National Park. His efforts to lobby for a National Parks system earned him the nickname "Father of the National Parks."
     The John Muir Trail is a 210-mile trail that connects two of his favorite places - Yosemite National Park and the peak of Mount Whitney (14,505 feet / 4421 meters). Construction of the trail began in 1915, a year after John Muir's death. About 160 miles of the trail follows the longer Pacific Crest Trail. Almost the entire trail traverses through the High Sierra backcountry, isolated from the huge crowds that jam the cities and freeways down in the valleys below. The vast majority of the trail lies at an elevation of 8,000+ feet (2,400 meters), including the final third of the trail which rises over 10,000 feet (3,000+ meters). Although it is arguably the most famous trail in the United States, it averages only about 1,500 through hikers each year - significantly less than the comparable Appalachian Trail in the East.

Location: The John Muir Trail starts at the Happy Isles Bridge in Yosemite National Park and traverses 210.4 miles of wilderness including Sequoia National Park and King's Canyon N.P. before ending on the  summit of Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the continental United States.

Cost: Depends on how much you need to spend to get outfitted for the trip with lightweight gear.

Time: 4 days to a month, depending on how much of the trail you decide to do in one shot. The primary hiking season is from July - September when most of the trail is free of snow.

Description: The trailhead for the John Muir Trail is Happy Isles Bridge in Yosemite National Park. However, if you don't intend to walk the entire 210-mile trail, you can access it from various starting points along the route. Since it takes about 30 days of steady hiking to traverse the entire route, most hikers take it in segments. We accessed the Trail from the Silver Lake campground (north of Mammoth Lakes) and hiked until Devil's Postpile National Monument. Although we intended to hike further, my hiking companion aggravated a knee injury necessitating our early exit. Still, we saw some amazing sites along the way.
     On the first morning, we started from the Silver Lake Campground and hiked southwest toward Gem Lake. Along the way we saw a beautiful waterfall along Rush Creek, some insanely steep railroad tracks, and the magnificent cascades of Rush Creek as the waters plummeted from Gem Lake Dam down toward Agnew Lake. From Gem Lake, we joined up with the John Muir Trail, and then pressed on to Thousand Island Lake where we camped for the night. It is one of the most gorgeous spots I've ever seen - and frankly, that's saying something. From the lake we had a great view of Banner Peak and Ritter Peak. We slept in an ultra lightweight (albeit expensive) tent and cooked our dinner on lightweight homemade stoves that burn using denatured alcohol rather than gas. It was cold that night, despite being early August, and I slept like a baby - you know, waking up about every hour or so.

     On the second day, we hiked from Thousand Island Lake to Ediza Lake (on an offshoot trail) at the base of the Minaret Mountains. On the way, we passed several other beautiful lakes: Emerald Lake, Ruby Lake, Garnet Lake, and Nydiver Lakes. We also saw a beautiful waterfall that was practically hidden from view among the trees. Along the way, we had to cross a large patch of snow to reach our campsite. That night was extremely cold, and I was glad I'd packed some long underwear (even though it added precious weight to my pack).

     On day three, I ate my standard oatmeal breakfast (easy and filling) and packed up camp. Originally, we had planned on going to Minaret Lake, but the trail was too snowy and you needed crampons and ice picks in order to cross is safely. Instead, we hooked back up with the John Muir Trail near Shadow Lake. We hiked past Rosalie Lake to a small lake called Gladys Lake. We considered going on to Trinity Lakes, but heard from hikers coming up the trail that the mosquitoes were out in full force there. They were bad enough at Gladys Lake, and I doused myself in bug spray in order to retain my sanity. I hiked around the lake and found that if I kept moving, they were less intense. Along a rocky ridge, I found a little nook in the rocks with no mosquitoes and settled down with the small, lightweight book I'd brought for just such an occasion. After watching the sunset, I retired at around 8 pm.

     On day four, we got up early and hiked from Gladys Lake to Devil's Postpile National Monument. We passed Trinity Lakes, a beautiful cascade, and several small lakes without names before arriving at the national monument. As we hiked, my hiking companion kept going slower and slower as his knee got progressively worse. Once we reached Devil's Postpile, we realized that he couldn't keep going. We took the tram back to civilization.

Rating: 4 1/2 stars (out of 5); beautiful enough for a "5," but the difficulty factor kept it from the highest rating.

Things You Should Know: -My hiking companion, Chris Herbert, is a free lance photographer. If you think these photos are beautiful, you should see his: https://www.flickr.com/photos/herbertphotoartcom/favorites/
- If you aren't in shape, or don't enjoy "roughing it" in practically every sense of the phrase, this hike isn't for you.
- There are no facilities along the trail except where the trail intersects national parkland. In fact, in order to protect the ecology and pristine beauty of the backcountry, hikers are instructed to do one of two things to dispose of their waste. 1) Dig a hole 6-8 inches deep at least 200 feet from water, camp and trails in which to bury your waste; or 2) Pack out any human waste in wag bags (including TP and feminine products).
- This is one of those trips where you bring only the bare necessities. My hiking companion spent a lot of money on ultra lightweight equipment (tent, sleeping bag, cooking gear, etc.) to cut precious pounds off his back. He even cut most of the handle off of his toothbrush to save a few ounces. As I lugged my heavier pack along the trail, I wished I had economized my pounds a bit more.

our ultra lightweight tent

- The weather during the hiking season (July-September) is typically dry and sunny; however, afternoon thundershowers are common enough that it is worthwhile to bring a couple of empty trash bags to keep your things dry. You will probably want a lightweight poncho or trash bag to wear as well.
- A permit is required to hike the JMT. One can be obtained from the national park or forest where you begin the hike. Try to reserve a permit ahead of time, but a portion of the permits are reserved for walk-ins, so get to the permit office early to ensure that you get one. The Whitney portal is so popular that a lottery system is used to distribute permits.
- Hikers entering the backcountry on multi-day permits are required to carry their food in approved hard-sided storage containers known as bear canisters. Black bears are fairly common in the area and will break into tents and packs to get at food that isn't stored properly.
- Most thru-hikers start in Yosemite and head south to Mt. Whitney. One of the advantages of this is that it gives their bodies time to acclimate to the high altitudes before tackling the 6,000 foot (1,800 meter) climb to the top of Whitney (14,505 feet / 4421 meters).
- If you are going to hike for more than four or five days, you will want to set up some resupply sites along the trail to leave food bundles you can pick up as you exhaust your current supplies. We had a drop site set up at Reds Meadow, but ended up just bringing it home since we had to quit our adventure once we reached it. Other popular resupply sites include: Tuolumne Meadows, Vermillion Valley Resort, and Muir Trail Ranch.
- There are several smaller trails that branch off the main John Muir Trail. These lead to isolated treasures (lakes and waterfalls) that can be explored before continuing along the main route. Obviously, exploring these side routes add time to the journey, but life isn't about going from point A to point B as quickly as possible; it's about enjoying the journey. Do your homework ahead of time to determine exactly what you want to see before you go, and bring an accurate topographical map to make sure you don't get lost.
- For additional information regarding the John Muir Trail, including preparation tips and photos, go to http://johnmuirtrail.org/.

Nearby: The only things that are close are the places along the trail: Sequoia National Park, King's Canyon National Park, Devil's Postpile National Monument