7 TIPS for hiking the JOHN MUIR TRAIL - JMT backpacking

In this video I share my experience from the John Muir trail to help you prepare for your own epic journey.

[JasonEvangelho]

It's incredible that I've watched what seems like 2 dozen "JMT Tips" videos and none of them had the majority of your suggestions. Thanks for such a helpful video!

[collenyoung]

Your videos are a model is what YouTube video should be. Clear concise no obnoxious intros or background music just good information clearly presented. I hope your channel takes off.

[sgoetz]

A very good collection of tips for hiking the JMT. I don't think you mentioned which state you and your son came from.

[franciscogarza]

Pretty good tips for first timers. I totally agree on stopping at VVR, it’s like heaven in the middle of nowhere, that was our only resupply stop going NOBO from Horseshoe Meadows in early September 2019, a high snow year, but there was very little of it left. Weather was almost perfect with just 3 days with a few showers that allowed us to finish according to plan in 14 days. The part that I disliked the most was, like you mentioned, the big crowds at Yosemite on our last day.
Congratulations & happy trails!

[jamesbadham]

Better plan for TP is to avoid it entirely by using a backpacker's bidet. Little lightweight device fits on a water bottle. Spritz and all clean. If you need piece of TP to dry, it's much cleaner than it would be as the primary cleaning device. Also, people need to go well beyond the guideline of 100 yards from water. Go much farther. Make the poop walk a small hike of discovery. And best to do it after you leave camp at some unused place along the trail. Also, so true about fitness and altitude. Altitude is individual. Used to be I could hop up to 13, 000 on the second day, no problem. Last summer, at 65 years old, left Horseshoe Meadows after a pleasant night sleeping at 10K. Next night was Cottonwood Lake #4 at 11, 200. Woke feeling horrible. As for you, coffee did the trick, so started walking up Army Pass, which tops out at 12K, then dropped packs and started up Mt. Langley at just over 14K. Had to turn back maybe 100 vertical feet from the top and cut my trip short. Stayed at Army Lake that night at about 10, 600 but just wasn't acclimating, so bailed back to Horseshoe. I've done Rae Lakes before, so this summer on JMT, might head up 60 Lakes Basin, next door.

[MrHamish]

Excellent tips! In September 2018 I got a walkup permit at Tuolumne Meadows for a southbound hike and then flipflopped back to Tuolumne. Got another walkup to Yosemite Valley and Halfdome. So true that all of the southbound trailheads are worth it. And your suggestion of not missing VVR! I skipped it then to get to Muir Ranch and my resupply. This year we're starting at Happy Isles and won't skip VVR using it for our mid trail resupply. Definitely will get up early to see the sunrise on Mt. Whitney!

[BeerinBeautifulPlaces]

Great info! I’m taking notes! Thanks so much!

[littleceasar]

I think I’ll learn to use a backcountry bidet if I ever hike in the Sierra Nevada’s.

[Backcountryhiker]

Thanks for the tips. Won't do the whole trail but will section and hope to get permits!

[davidterrie]

TP tip: bring doggie bags to pick up and tie off your used TP. With bag pulled back around hand, pick up TP, pull bag back over it, squeeze out all air and tie off. Done. Also, digging your cat hole the night before will save you time breaking camp.

[joshuagravel]

VVR is a gem, and well worth the few miles hike off the trail.

[timl]

Bidet bottles are great a alternative to TP when there is ample water sources. What really sucks is when you run out of water on a long carry, and all you have left is that bidet bottle and a No2 brewing...a hard choice at first, hahaha

[VictoriaGomez-rfqw]

It sounds like that vvr was a great deal! Great memories!

[aurtisanminer]

9:18. I had the same feeling when I went to burning man in 2015. I was dead tired and couldn’t find a spot. The next day I finally realized that the other side was pretty open.

[marcump]

Thank you for sharing your experiences, good and the not so pleasant aspects; the VVR was an unexpected treat--something to aspire to when hiking.. a nice break. I'm hoping to get a permit for 2024.. still hoping to find a hiking buddy since my Colorado buddy is now out of commission---we had done several hikes since just after high school, starting with Mt. Olympus in the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.. later I moved to the Denver area where he settled. I'm 64 now, most of our hikes at the age of 40 in Colorado (10 years 1998-2008) every summer, but all the way to 2012; I haven;t done any since then and I'm ready, long passed ready. The Sierras are new to me, but I've always wanted to hike there and explore.. if I have to do day hikes one at a time, I'm going before I kick the bucket. LoL I appreciated the detail account of your trip.. out of all the videos I've watched I could really relate to this one the best for the ins and outs. I'll have to study and figure out food supplies and where and how to send re-supplies to locations that will be most beneficial. 🙂

[collenyoung]

I too had some problems with altitude when I used to live in the midwest and then would travel to the western states to backpack. I found that a prescription for Diamox helped quite a bit. Its a well established medication used to minimize the effects of altitude sickness. It does require a doctor visit and prescription.

[typpiet]

Thanks, great video, great tips.
About toilet paper strategies: my tip is to you use sticks, grass, rocks and bury those, and clean with water, so you will your use of tp will be next to nothing.

[tomd]

My boys and I did the entire JMT in 2012, tried again in 2018 but bailed out at VVR after having some medical issues with the smoke from the fires. These are great tips. And yes, I highly recommend VVR.

[davidpelletier-kp]

I appreciate your TP tip Jon, and your plea that we no be "that guy" that tries to dodge the rule. Relatedly, is it possible to properly dispose of our used TP at the various re-supply points?

[nedanother]

I was at Rea Lakes this August....I was the only one there that I saw. I could hear somebody across the lake but never saw them. I always here about crowds but I just never seem to experience them. based on a trip out of Bishop in July - one thing that shouldn't have to be added to your video. On that trip I was heading out at the last day of a rain storm....heading in were many many JMTers quitting the trail. To say it was a rain storm is an understatement...it was a hurricane. 5 days of torrential rain from an actual hurricane. What was amazing for me to hear from several of them was "this is california, its not supposed to rain here"
They carried nothing for rain. No pack cover, maybe a light jacket, no pack liner...insane. Soaked to the bone through and through. Miserable.
So the bottom line for the Sierras is that you have to be prepared for everything on every trip at any time of year. Thunderstorms, freezing cold, snow in August, and insane heat....I swear it can all happen in the same day. So you have to have a complete kit that is dialed in to avoid "avoidable" problems. The trails hard enough and the trip is too costly to screw it up, so head at least some of this advice. Peace to you....is it June yet?