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Fastpacking the JMT isn’t just for the lunatic fringe: Summer conditions make it a perfect place for any hiker to go light. That said, our group found seven days pretty brutal. More reasonable? Take 10. Fit backpackers who avoid the worst afternoon heat and keep their packs under 25 pounds can average 22 miles a day without killing themselves. Here’s how.
Itinerary
Resupply Logistics
Eating and Drinking
Training
The JMT has 40,000-plus feet of uphill and 36,000 feet of down. You can’t do it off the couch.
Planning
Logistics Transportation between the endpoint trailheads is a challenge. The nearest airport is Reno, Nevada, 3.5 hours from Yosemite Valley and 4.5 hours from the Mt. Whitney trailhead. It’s a 3.5- to 4-hour drive from the Mt. Whitney Trailhead to the Valley. Unless you hire a shuttle service (below), the easiest plan for a north-south hike is to leave one vehicle at the Mt. Whitney Trailhead (crowded on weekends), leave another in Lee Vining near Yosemite’s east entrance, and take the YARTS bus (877-989-2787, yarts.com) to the Valley.
For an early start on day one, spend the night before in the Valley: Curry Village can be noisy, but it’s just a 20-minute walk from the trailhead. Otherwise, stay in either the Yosemite Lodge or Ahwahnee Lodge (559-253-5636, yosemitepark.com/accommodations.aspx); make reservations a year in advance. Valley campgrounds book up quickly; reserve a site four months in advance (800-436-7275, reservations.nps.gov/). See nps.gov/archive/yose/trip/camping.htm#campgrounds for more info. The Valley’s free buses run frequently but don’t start until 7 a.m.
Hiker shuttles
High Sierra Transportation serves the Sierra and regional airports (760-258-6060, highsierratransportation.com). Check other shuttle services at climber.org/data/shuttles.html.
Season
The only logical time for an ultralight thru-hike is mid-August to mid-September, when–usually–the mosquitoes have abated, rain is rare (allowing you to use a tarp instead of a tent), and the passes are snow-free.
Permits
Get a permit for the entire JMT from the park or forest where you plan to start, either Yosemite National Park (209-372-0740, nps.gov/archive/yose/wilderness/permits.htm), or the Inyo National Forest (760-873-2485, fs.fed.us/r5/inyo/recreation/wild/permitsres.shtml). Yosemite permits are free, but reserve one (up to 24 weeks in advance, $5/person). Yosemite has trailhead quotas for permits; if you’re day hiking from Yosemite Valley to Tuolumne Meadows (as suggested above), you can get a permit for starting the JMT at Tuolumne instead of a hard-to-get permit for the JMT/Happy Isles trailhead in Yosemite Valley.
Bear canisters
Required throughout the High Sierra, they can be rented or purchased at several locations in Yosemite (nps.gov/archive/yose/wilderness/bfoodstorage.htm).
Maps
Get the John Muir Trail map pack for $19 (the entire set weighs 3 oz.). Tom Harrison maps, (800) 265-9090 or (415) 456-7940, tomharrisonmaps.com.
Guidebook
John Muir Trail–The Essential Guide to Hiking America’s Most Famous Trail, by Elizabeth Wenk with Kathy Morey, incorporates the Tom Harrison maps; $18, Wilderness Press; (800) 443-7227, wildernesspress.com.