[US] 400km John Muir Trail (JMT) California

[thedutch]

The John Muir trail is one of THE trails in the US.
With a length of about 350 to 400 kilometres (depending on the start and exit point), most hikers need 14 up to 21 days to complete the trail.
The complete trail runs through wilderness and crosses neither roads nor settlements and for most of it`s length the JMT uses the same trail as the Pacific crest trail (PCT).
I picked up the scent of this trail a long time ago as I bought a second hand national geographic magazine that had an article on the John Muir trail in it.
So roughly 30 years ago the JMT popped up on my bucket list.

I don´t want to spend too much on side information on the trail. I´d rather just share all the fantastic photos of this beautiful wilderness.
One of the things that really impressed me was the fast amount of wilderness. I mean just walking for days without any sign of human influence. No roads, no farms, no villages, just wilderness!

OK, enjoy the silence!






Day 1- Lone Pine to Chicken Spring Lake




At the start of the trail (Cottonwood Lakes) I was just dizzled by these fairytale trees


On my way to the top of Cottonwood pass


On top of Cottonwood pass 3392m






What a beauty




Chicken Spring Lake, my first camp after day 1


Nice spot for my running water


Hanging out my bear safe food bag


Day 2 - Chicken Spring Lake to Crabtree Meadow


Early morning start after a uneasy night at 3400m


Natures magic



Looking back down at Chicken Spring Lake (Did somebody see a chicken in a lake?)


Great view towards Golden Trout Meadow


The Chipmunks would be my die hard supporters for the rest of the trail








Rock Creek


On route towards Guyot Pass


I could only gasp





Crabtree Meadow with a view towards Mount Whitney


My camping spot at Crabtree Meadow after day 2


Day 3 - Summiting Mount Whitney


Timberline Lake on my way to the summit of Mount Whitney


Looking back down at Timberline Lake


There I go, Guitar Lake in the background




Nice walk




I made it, Mount Whitney 4421m


The shelter on top of Mount Whitney




What a view

[TanteElfriede]

Sehr schön... da freu ich mich auf mehr

[thedutch]

Day 4 - Crabtree Meadow to Lower Forester pass


Today it rained most of the day



While crossing this plateau there was thunder and lightning..You can´t always get what you want

Forester Pass 4009m

Coming down the pass


Day 5 - Lower Forester Pass to Rae Lakes


Heavy rain and wind that night. I was happy to dry out some of my damp stuff in the morning


Looking towards direction down Bubbs Valley






Charlotte Lake


Make sure the bear doesn´t eat you before you scream and make loud noise


On my way to Glen Pass




Same lake but with a view down from the pass


Top of Glen Pass


Rae Lakes


So beautiful




My magical camping spot at Rae Lakes


No words needed

[RogerDerBuschmann]

Ernsthaft, man soll auf den Bären zugehen, um ihn zu verscheuchen? Das würde ich mich in 100 kalten Wintern nicht trauen. 😉

[berniehh]

Ernsthaft, man soll auf den Bären zugehen, um ihn zu verscheuchen?

Das braucht man gar nicht machen, die hauen schon von alleine ab sobald sie einen Menschen sehen

Eine sehr schöne Gegend die Sierra Nevada, steht auch ganz oben auf meiner Liste.

[thedutch]

Day 6 - Rae Lakes to Lower Pinchot Pass


Early morning magic..Did I mention the pack of coyotes


This is why I am out here


Dollar Lake (looks like a dollar or did someone loose a dollar?)




Woods Creek suspension bridge


The weather started changing as I approached Pinchot pass


I set camp just below as it started to rain and didn´t really stop till the next day


Happy to be in my tent and look at the shitty weather


Day 7 - Lower Pinchot pass to Palisade Lakes


Next morning a least I saw a bit of blue sky


Looking down at my camping area not far from Pinchot pass


On top of Pinchot pass 3685m


on my way down, lake Marjorie in the background


Photo taken by a hiker with to much food..He gave me a Pad Thai ready meal..What a treat after instant noodles every day.... But no mather what,,,,,,,,,I love my instant noodles😀


Lake Marjorie..The weather is getting better and I enjoyed a break here. Somewhere in that ridge is Pinchot pass


More nameless lakes coming down..That is one thing about this hike. Never done a hike with so many lakes. I would even say I have never ever hiked a hike that comes close to the number of lakes I passed on the JMT


On top of Mather Pass 3678m---Looks cold!


Palisade lakes


Palisade lakes looking back from where I came


Camping with Marc and Lindsey from Cincinnati and Dan from New York.


Sadly it started to rain once again so I ate my Pad Thai in my tent. But that was the last rain I encounterd. From now on the weather was great. Although I could feel it getting colder as autum was moving in

[StefanBoe]

Lieber Dutchman, irgendwie fällt mir auf, dass du oft die Touren machst, die ich auch gerne mache bzw. machen würde. Sehr viele Überschneidungen und ähnliche Vorlieben. Der John-Muir-Trail in der Sierra: Einer meiner Träume. Nämlich seit ich im Jahre 1980 als 16-jähriger in Kalifornien meine Tante besuchen und Sierraluft schnuppern durfte. Ich habe mittlerweile aber Probleme mit dem Fliegen und weiß daher nicht so recht, ob ich diese Träume nicht besser in Europa mit Zielen verwirklichen sollte, die mit dem Zug erreichbar sind? Grübel, grübel ... komme nicht so recht zu einer klaren Haltung. Auf jeden Fall verfolge ich deinen Bericht mit großer Freude. Magic pictures! Magic trail!

[thedutch]

Lieber Dutchman, irgendwie fällt mir auf, dass du oft die Touren machst, die ich auch gerne mache bzw. machen würde. Sehr viele Überschneidungen und ähnliche Vorlieben. Der John-Muir-Trail in der Sierra: Einer meiner Träume. Nämlich seit ich im Jahre 1980 als 16-jähriger in Kalifornien meine Tante besuchen und Sierraluft schnuppern durfte. Ich habe mittlerweile aber Probleme mit dem Fliegen und weiß daher nicht so recht, ob ich diese Träume nicht besser in Europa mit Zielen verwirklichen sollte, die mit dem Zug erreichbar sind? Grübel, grübel ... komme nicht so recht zu einer klaren Haltung. Auf jeden Fall verfolge ich deinen Bericht mit großer Freude. Magic pictures! Magic trail!

Hallo Stefan,
du schreibst; Ich habe mittlerweile aber Probleme mit dem Fliegen und weiß daher nicht so recht, ob ich diese Träume nicht besser in Europa mit Zielen verwirklichen sollte, die mit dem Zug erreichbar sind? Grübel, grübel da gibt es nur eins "follow your heart and make right choice".
Auf jeden Fall der trail war magic und es absolut wert.
Gruss von the Dutch

[thedutch]

Day 8 - Palisade Lakes to Helen Lake



Wauw no more rain. Everybody happy and smiling




My way down the Valley


Natures magic




looking back from where I came




Grouse meadows


Grouse meadows with a view from where I came


Just sitting there




Just a nice walk




Upper part of middle fork kings river


Karl from Germany watching a deer that has no fear


Nameless lake close to campsite just before Helen lake

[thedutch]

Day 9 - Helen Lake to South Fork



Early morning camping spot


Above the tree line (once again) just after leaving camp






Beautiful lake Helen (left side)


Beautiful lake Helen (right side)


Lake Helen once again from a different view


On top of John Muir pass 3644m with the John Muir hut in the back ground
The Muir hut is intended as a temporary shelter for hikers caught in storms on this exposed section of the trail


North Bound view from the pass


Wanda Lake


View back along Wanda Lake with the John Muir pass in the far background


On my way down


Stream crossing without getting wet feet


Evolution Lake


Just one of the many great views on the trail


Are you sure that I am a vegetarian?




Evolution meadow






Camping spot at South Fork

[thedutch]

Day 10 - South Fork to Marie Lake



The sun is working it´s way down the valley




How old?


Where did all the cowboys go?


River crossing to get to hot spring close to MTR


I just sat there for a long time. I guess the water temperature was about 37 degrees.
The feeling was like being reborn.


The Muir Trail Ranch (MTR) one of the resupply points along the trail.
The hiker boxes are full of left over food by other hikers. Hmmmm delicious


After a long, hot and tiring accent I finally reached Sallie Keyes Lakes








Heart Lake. Have a better look and you know why


Looking down the gully I justed climed on my way to Selden pass


The view from Selden Pass 3313m towards Marie Lake


Marie Lake


Again




Campsite at Marie Lake


The smooth surface left overs on the boulders caused by glaciers a long long time ago

[qwertzui]

wunderschöne Bilder

[berniehh]

ja echt eine super Gegend

[thedutch]

Day 11- Marie Lake to Vermillion Valley Resort


What a sight to start the day


With a bit of a look you can see the frost


Cowboy transport


Bear Creek


You come from nothing and you go to nothing




On bear trail ridge with view of Lake Thomas Edison


My home for the next two nights at Vermilion Valley Resort (VVR)
Not cheap but worth every penny


The inside


What a treat, the yurt even had a heating!

[thedutch]

Qwetzui und Berniehh, danke die nette Kommentare

[thedutch]

Day 12- Zero Day at Vermillion Valley Resort


I decided to go for the detour and have a decent meal and a free beer at VVR (the resort is a couple of miles of the trail). Not sure if I could stay in one of the few rooms/yurts but yes I was lucky and decided to stay and enjoy a bit of luxury. So I spend my zero day at VVR with some other hikers doing the same as I did, hanging out, having some beers, shower, afternoon nap and some really good food at a very hiker friendly place.


hanging out with other hikers




BBQ


A big smile on my face and as you can see I am not a vegetarian


Everybody happy


The famous hiker boxes. Opening them is like Xmas....All those presents


Day 13 - Vermillion Valley Resort to Lake Virginia


That morning I "cheated" and took the ferry acros lake Edison


But after that hiking was the only way to move forward


Lazy and feeling so lucky to be here


On my way to Silver Pass


View from Silver pass 3277m


The bridge at Fish Creek


Tully hole down below


My cold and windy camping spot at Lake Virginia

[thedutch]

Day 14 – Lake Virginia to Johnston Lake



A quick last view of Lake Virginia


Some great view somewhere along the trail




Purple Lake (or was it the Prince song, Purple rain?)


On the trail close to Duck Pass junction




Some other great view down the Valley towards Reds Meadow


Devils Postpile, formed by slow cooling lava


It was just another of these wauw moments


Together with Mark and Lindsey with whom I have been hiking on and off since the last couple of days


On top of Devils Postpile. Magic isn´t it?


Don´t drop down and get wet


Our campsite at Johnston Lake


Day 15 – Johnston Lake to Rush Creek



First nameless Lake (at least on my map) along the trail


Gladys Lake


Rosalie Lake and myself just being happy


Shadow lake..No camping allowed at this lake. Why? To beautiful?


Shadow Lake once again


Garnet Lake was one of my favorites


Garnet Lake once again


The first view of the astonishing thousand Island Lake


Me at thousand Island Lake


No words needed


One last photo


Somewhere on route to Island pass


My campsite at Rush Creek

[thedutch]

Day 16 – Rush Creek to upper Budd Creek


Mark and Lindsey enjoying the morning sun and their koffee after a frosty night


Another great day with great views


Frosty nights


Natures beauty




The first patches of snow




On my way towards Donohue pass 3373m


As you can imagine I was happy with my hiking boots. Just imagine all the hikers on trailrunners


View from Donohue pass 3373m in direction Tuolumne meadows


Coming down the pass


Nameless little Lake with Mount Lyell in the background


Break time on a rotting tree


Looking down at Lyell Fork


Lyell Fork looking back from where I came


The next few pictures including this one are all along Lyell Fork and are just a dream








What a view at Lyell Fork bridge close to Tuolumne Meadows


My camp at Budd Creek.
I left my smelly socks outside, the next morning they were gone. For sure some squirrel will have a cosy winter

[StefanBoe]

Traumhaft, lieber David!!! Was für eine schöne Tour. Diese Fülle an Bergseen und zauberhaften Waldabschnitten.


Besonders freuen mich die Bilder vom Lyell Fork mit dem Mount Lyell im Hintergrund. Diesen Berg durfte ich als 16-järiger (1980) mit dem Sierra Club besteigen, als ich die Sommerferien bei meiner Tante in der Nähe von San Francisco verbrachte. Ich hatte damals keinen Fotoapparat und dementsprechend keine Bilder von der Tour. Dafür bekomme ich jetzt ein paar besonders gelungene geliefert.

[thedutch]

Day 17 – Upper Budd Creek to Sunrise Creek



Budd Creek just a few feet away from my tent.
Don´t take the wrong turn at night when going for a pee!




Overall the trail was well maintained but this little staircase was done by a real master


Me with Cathedral peak in the background


Some great scenery allong the way that don´t really need comment


Sucking up the last bit of wilderness before I would hit the crowds at Yosemite Valley






Some beautiful looking reddish bush at long meadow


Nature has some nice things to show (climb it?)


Sunrise meadow


View from Forsyth Trail on my wy to the Half Dome view point Clouds Rest




How did it originate? Yes I know erosion but still it looks awesome


Yosemite Valley from Clouds Rest 3027m


Magic is what it was...I spend a long time up there just gasping


Half Dome is the big rock sticking out on the left side.
To see the half you need the view from down the Valley




Amazing


My camping spot for the night. Few minutes before reaching I saw a bear at close range.
It ran away as fast as it could. Probably he or she didn´t like my smell


Day 18 – Sunrise Creek to Yosemite Valley



Half Dome. Lots of hikers (with a permit) passed me to climb it.
Looks pretty steep in some places, I wonderd how many would turn around or even worse have to be rescued






Almost there "Yosemite Valley"


Nevada Fall


Nevada Fall from a different view point


Vernal Fall


The last (real) wilderness views


Sad but true, back in civilization


Curry Village in Yosemite Valley. Some beers and pizza to celebrate our victory


Two nice shots of half dome as I left the valley to catch the bus to Merced




Last days in the US

From Yosemite Valley I took the YARTS bus to the town of Merced.
Slept in Merced for a night in some no name motel and then continued my journey by AMTRAK train to Richmond (San Francisco).
Here I was picked up by my long-time friend Leslie with whom I spend my last couple of days on her houseboat in Sausalito.
Sausalito is a little touristy town on the Bay just north of San Francisco.


Amtrak to Richmond


Sausalito


Main Street


Ferry ride with San Francisco in view


Golden Gate bridge


Some nice collection of house boats






This red house boat is where I spend my last touristy days


Same but from the back side


One of my last photo´s that I took before my flight home

Below I will leave some comments on the trail and it´s logistics

Overall impression: I really liked the hike and the scenery was beautiful. Every day was magic in it´s own special way.
Very happy that I did the trail and pushed through all the preparation.
With preparation, I mean organizing the permit, flight, Visa/Esta, hotel, transportation and food.
The first two/three days were kind of hard as I still hadn’t covered my jet lag. Also the fact that the trail starts and stays at round about 3000m and my acclimatisation was not 100%.
Transportation: My chosen starting point was Cottonwood lakes on the east side of the sierra not far from the town of Lone Pine.
I flew from Germany to Reno/Nevada. Next day I took the “Eastern Sierra Transit” bus from Reno airport to Lone Pine. Next day a private shuttle took me to the trailhead.
To get back into the real world I took “Yarts” bus from Yosemite Valley to Merced. I did the stretch from Merced to San Francisco by Amtrak train.
I flew out of the USA from San Francisco.
Backpack weight/ resupply: Starting weight of my backpack was round about 20kg. As the logistics of a resupply was a little too much of a hustle for me, I decided to take all my food for the full hike.
Well this is not completely true; I hoped to collect some of the missing items at the three hiker boxes that I would pass on the trail. All hiker boxes were loaded with food so in the end I could have taken even less from the start. But you never know. I mean you don´t want to run out of food in the middle of the wilderness.
The no likes: The bear canister. It was always in the way. I took my heavier Lowa backpack because the canister didn´t fit into my lighter Montane backpack. However, the canister also had it´s positive sides.
Nr.1 you always have a place to sit.
Nr.2 you have a “bucket” to wash your clothes.
What would I do different if I would do the trail again: I would add another day at Yosemite Valley.
But what happend? I was kind of shocked by all the people/tourists (and believe me there are a lot of them) so I thought it was time to leave.
Yosemite is no Disney Land but something very similar to many tourists.
The other thing; I was just happy to have finished the trail and was ready to move on to San Francisco. However, there is so much more to explore in the Valley that I missed!