The John Muir Trail

A guidebook to trekking the John Muir Trail (JMT) from Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley to the summit of Mount Whitney and onto the trailhead at Whitney Portal. Covering 348km (216 miles), this long-distance trek through the Sierra Nevada mountains of California takes around 3 weeks to hike and is suitable for hikers with experience in remote high-mountain wilderness.

Route MapMap KeySummary Table: John Muir TrailINTRODUCTIONBackgroundJohn MuirParks along the JMTThe Pacific Crest TrailUsing this GuidePlanning your TripFlights to CaliforniaPublic Transport to and from the TrailheadBooking AccommodationMapsEquipmentFood SuppliesGeneral Fitness and Trail FitnessHealth and Medical ConsiderationsWater PurificationCoping with AltitudeDealing with BearsRiver CrossingsOther Natural HazardsLow-Impact Trekking and National Park/Wilderness RegulationsCamp RoutineTime DifferencePublic Holidays in the USMoneyInsuranceThe Natural WorldGeology of the Sierra NevadaVegetation and Flowers on the John Muir TrailBirds of the John Muir TrailMammals along the TrailTRAIL GUIDEDay 1 Yosemite Valley (Happy Isles) to Half Dome Trail Junction/Sunrise Creek and the Ascent of Half DomeDay 2 Half Dome Trail Junction/Sunrise Creek to Sunrise High Sierra CampDay 3 Sunrise High Sierra Camp via Cathedral Pass to Tuolumne MeadowsDay 4 Tuolumne Meadows to Upper Lyell CanyonDay 5 Upper Lyell Canyon via Donohue Pass and Island Pass to Thousand Island LakeDay 6 Thousand Island Lake to the Devil's PostpileDay 7 The Devil's Postpile via Reds Meadow to Deer CreekDay 8 Deer Creek to Tully Hole/Cascade Valley JunctionDay 9 Tully Hole/Cascade Valley Junction via Silver Pass to Edison LakeDay 10 Edison Lake to Rosemarie MeadowDay 11 Rosemarie Meadow via Seldon Pass to the Muir Trail RanchDay 12 Muir Trail Ranch to McClure MeadowDay 13 McClure Meadow via Muir Pass to Unnamed Lake North-East of Helen LakeDay 14 Unnamed Lake North-East of Helen Lake to Deer MeadowDay 15 Deer Meadow via Mather Pass to Kings RiverDay 16 Kings River via Pinchot Pass to Woods CreekDay 17 Woods Creek via Glen Pass to Vidette MeadowDay 18 Vidette Meadow via Forester Pass to Tyndall CreekDay 19 Tyndall Creek to Guitar LakeDay 20 Guitar Lake via Mount Whitney and Trail Crest to Trail Camp; and the ascent of Mount WhitneyDay 21 Trail Camp to Whitney PortalEpilogueAppendix 1 Camping Areas on the JMTAppendix 2 Ranger Stations along the JMTAppendix 3 Escape Routes on the JMTAppendix 4 Bear Box Locations on the JMTAppendix 5 Mountain Passes and Peaks on the JMTAppendix 6 Useful Addresses and Websites in the UK and USAppendix 7 BibliographyAppendix 8 Trail Summary Table