John Muir Trail

The John Muir Trail runs 211 miles from Yosemite Valley to the summit of Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States, according to the National Park Service. For most of its length the JMT overlaps the Pacific Crest Trail. Snow limits the season. Yosemite warns that trails can be snowy and very difficult to find from about November through May or June, and the Forest Service says the Mount Whitney Trail is usually snow-free from July to late September. Yosemite also says that in summer, rivers and creeks swollen by snowmelt are dangerous. If you hike the JMT as one continuous trip, the permit comes from the agency where you start. Start in Yosemite and that single wilderness permit covers the whole trail. You do not need a Whitney stamp or permits from the other parks and forests. Only two Yosemite trailheads give access to the full trail beyond Yosemite: Happy Isles (past Little Yosemite Valley) and Lyell Canyon. Yosemite has an exit quota over Donohue Pass of 45 hikers a day, with 15 of those spots for Happy Isles and 30 for Lyell Canyon. If you start at Happy Isles, your first night cannot be in Little Yosemite Valley. Yosemite requires wilderness permit reservations from late April through October. Most are drawn by lottery 24 weeks ahead, and the remainder open seven days ahead. Do not arrive expecting a walk-up permit: Yosemite says few, if any, unused permits are left. Inside Yosemite, leaving the wilderness or riding in a vehicle or bus during the trip invalidates your permit. The exception for JMT hikers is one night in the Tuolumne Meadows backpackers' campground, when it is open. You must camp at least four trail miles from Tuolumne Meadows and Yosemite Valley, and at least a mile from any road. Starting outside Yosemite works differently. Inyo National Forest takes all its wilderness permit reservations on Recreation.gov. It releases 60 percent of each trailhead's quota six months ahead and the other 40 percent at 7 am Pacific time two weeks before the entry date. A permit is only valid on the entry date and trail printed on it. Northbound hikers starting at Whitney Portal can extend a Mt. Whitney Trail overnight permit onto the JMT by entering an exit location and exit date when they complete the permit details after the lottery; that permit cannot be transferred, and only the leader or alternate named on the application can use it. A trip that finishes at Whitney Portal via Mount Whitney uses the "Overnight Exiting Mt. Whitney" permit type, but the Forest Service says hikers who begin in another park or forest are exempt from that exit quota. A JMT permit that starts outside Yosemite and ends in it is not valid for Half Dome. The Forest Service allows long-distance hikers to leave the trail for a reasonable time to resupply. You also need a California Campfire Permit to use a camp stove on Inyo National Forest land. Donohue Pass, at Yosemite's southern border, is 11,056 feet. Near the end, the Mount Whitney Trail crosses the Sierra crest at Trail Crest, about 13,600 feet and two miles from the summit, where it joins the JMT. Whitney Portal is at 8,300 feet, and the Mount Whitney Trail climbs more than 6,200 feet from there to the summit. The Forest Service calls the Mount Whitney Trail non-technical but strenuous when it is free of snow, tells hikers to expect ice and snow on it until the beginning of July, and says snow or ice on the mountain calls for winter mountaineering skills and equipment. Sequoia and Kings Canyon say altitude illness can strike anyone, so ascend slowly. They also say drowning is the parks' most frequent cause of death. At an unbridged crossing, Yosemite says to pick a wide, shallow spot, unbuckle your waist strap, and face upstream. Sequoia and Kings Canyon say summer lightning in the Sierra is common, and Yosemite advises being over passes and away from high open areas by noon. Sequoia and Kings Canyon also warn of tree hazards in burned areas. Camping rules change as you go. Campfires are banned in Yosemite above 9,600 feet, and in Inyo above 10,000 or 10,400 feet depending on the area; gas and liquid-fuel stoves are still allowed there. Inyo bans camping within a quarter mile of the outlets of Thousand Island Lake and Garnet Lake. In Sequoia and Kings Canyon you may camp only one night per lake between Dollar Lake and Glen Pass. The limit is two nights along the JMT from Woods Creek Crossing to Vidette Meadow and at Crabtree and Guitar Lake. There is no camping at Timberline Lake. You are expected to pack out solid human waste from the Mount Whitney Zone. Dogs and other pets are not allowed on trips into the wilderness of Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, which rules them out on the full trail. Bear spray is not allowed in Yosemite. Yosemite requires all water to be treated by boiling, an iodine-based purifier, or a Giardia-rated filter. Yosemite requires an allowed bear canister everywhere in the park and bans hanging food, with no exceptions for Pacific Crest Trail through-hikers. Permit stations rent canisters, but only the Garcia model. In Yosemite, food lockers are at Little Yosemite Valley, the High Sierra Camps, Tuolumne Meadows Backpackers' Campground and trailhead parking areas, but not elsewhere. Inyo requires a bear-resistant container year-round in eight named areas, including the JMT to Lake Virginia, the JMT to Yosemite, and the Kearsarge Pass, Bishop Pass and Mount Whitney areas. Sequoia and Kings Canyon require one from May 1 through October 31 in named areas such as the Rae Lakes Loop and Dusy Basin, and highly recommend one everywhere. The Rae Lakes Loop area takes in the Woods Creek drainage south from Pinchot Pass and the Bubbs Creek drainage north of Forester Pass. Plan resupply before you leave. Tuolumne Meadows has a store and a post office. Yosemite's ranger stations do not accept food packages, but the post offices in Yosemite Valley (all year) and Tuolumne Meadows (about mid-June through mid-September) hold packages sent General Delivery. Mark them "hold for hiker until [date]" or they are held only 14 days. UPS and FedEx do not deliver to General Delivery. Muir Trail Ranch takes resupply buckets sent by USPS Priority Mail at least three weeks before you arrive. The ranch has no road. You can instead leave a bucket at the Florence Lake Store at least seven days ahead. Vermilion Valley Resort describes a resupply service and a general store for JMT and PCT hikers, but its services change from season to season, so check edisonlake.com before you plan around it. Inyo National Forest does not allow caching food or supplies in the wilderness or in food storage lockers, and Sequoia and Kings Canyon do not allow caching in their food storage boxes. Early and late in the season, check whether roads and resorts along the way are open. Yosemite says there is no public transportation between Whitney Portal and Yosemite. Eastern Sierra Transit runs a bus from Lone Pine, the nearest town to Mount Whitney, to Mammoth Lakes. The YARTS Highway 120 East bus runs from Mammoth Lakes to Yosemite Valley. Yosemite offers long-term parking for the length of your trip. The Reds Meadow shuttle bus is mandatory while it runs, typically from mid- to late June through Labor Day. If you ride it, Devils Postpile asks you to leave your car at the shuttle bus parking area at Mammoth Mountain; backpackers who are not required to ride may use the overnight hiker parking just outside the monument boundary. After October 15 there is no overnight parking in the Reds Meadow Valley or at Devils Postpile and the road is not plowed, so arrange a shuttle or taxi or be ready to hike out. Wilderness permits are not issued at the Devils Postpile Ranger Station. For conditions, use the Yosemite trail conditions page and the Sequoia and Kings Canyon trail conditions page, which warns not to rely on updates in spring, fall and winter. For road access to the Reds Meadow and Devils Postpile trailheads, check Inyo National Forest's alerts page.