“Wander a whole summer if you can. Time will not be taken from the sum of life. Instead of shortening, it will definitely lengthen it and make you truly immortal.”
– John Muir
Yosemite National Park, California. Our starting point for the JMT.
The John Muir Trail – One of America’s Finest
The John Muir Trail, at officially 211 miles long, is rated as one of the best multi-day hikes in the world. The route passes through the spectacular scenery of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, along alpine meadows and high mountain passes.
Named after Scottish born naturalist John Muir, the entire JMT route extends from Yosemite to the summit of Mt. Whitney — the tallest peak in the lower 48 states, at 4,421 metres. The walk, which is predominantly in the ‘wilderness’, will take you on a breathtaking journey through Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks, which together showcase some of the USA’s most stunning natural scenery.
Hiking the JMT requires considerable planning and training. Most thru-hikers cover the distance in about two to three weeks. Coming from England, on arrival in California we had a number of final preparations to contend with before we could set foot on the trail.
If you are an international traveller, take a look at our post about how we got ready for 26 days in the wilderness here.
Reaching the top of Donahue Pass on Day 5.
We completed our thru-hike between August 29th and September 25th 2014. The daily trip reports are included below:
The kit we took on the JMT is listed on the following link JMT Kit List.
Inspiration
“Mile, Mile and A Half” – The Muir Project
Watch the full movie to gain a good insight to the trail. In our humble opinion, one of the best hiking films ever!