David’s John Muir Trail Backpacking Notes

In the summer of 2018, I backpacked the John Muir Trail from Tuolumne Meadows to Whitney Portal. I hiked 217 miles in 21 days. I hiked with two friends the first week and then continued solo after they returned home.

This was my first big back-packing trip. I’ve also done a lot of bicycle touring. (See my notes on my Pacific Coast and Western Express tours.)

It was a great trip and I hope to do it again someday. I wrote these notes to give my friends and family an idea of what I was up to those three weeks and to help my future self if I do it again. This isn’t a guide. I used and recommend Wenk’s guide. This isn’t a travelogue either. It’d just be 21 entries of “Wow, so beautiful. I’m so tired”.

Me on top of Mt. Whitney (the end)

Itinerary

See this Google Spreadsheet for the full itinerary.

I started on July 30 from Tuolumne Meadows and finished on August 19 at Whitney Portal. There were 19 days of hiking and 2 rest days.

I hiked 217.2 miles total — 196.9 on the trail and 20.3 off. The first 7 days I hiked with two friends and we averaged about 9.4 miles per day. The next 12 days I hiked solo and averaged 12.6 miles per day. The longest off-trail section was the 16 mile round-trip detour over Kearsarge Pass to the Onion Valley trailhead to get to Independence for a resupply.

The rest days were at Vermillion Valley Ranch and in Independence. In Independence I stayed at the Independence Inn.

There were two forest fires — the Ferguson fire west of Yosemite and the Lions fire near Mammoth Lakes. The Park Service cancelled my original permit to start from Happy Isles when they closed the Yosemite Valley due to the smoke. But we had no problem getting a walk-in permit at the Tuolumne Meadows ranger station, and this was a big worry for us before the trip. Many hikers were canceling their trips, so there were many permits available. The ranger also split the permit in two: one full JMT permit for me and second permit for my two friends just covering their section.

We had a had a set schedule for the first week. We couldn’t go slower because my two friends only had a week to hike. We couldn’t go faster because I’d arrive at Muir Trail Ranch before the supplies I mailed arrived. The downside was we ended up wanting to do more miles each day but couldn’t except by adding day hikes. (As it turned out, there was so much extra food in the hiker buckets at MTR, I couldn’t have starved if I arrived before my bucket did.)

In the second part, I was solo and didn’t have a schedule planned in advance. I was only limited by the amount of food I could carry. The terrain influenced my plans a lot. There are several high mountain passes. It was often stormy in the afternoon, so I wanted to go over a pass in the morning to avoid being caught in a lightening storm. To do this, I had to camp close to the pass so I could make it over the next morning. Then after climbing over it, I needed to hike near the next pass to camp and be in a good position for the next morning.

My favorite parts were the passes and the climbs up to the passes. I liked the alpine terrain and expansive views. I also liked the sections along rivers. So about 75% of the trail was my favorite. There were a few short stretches through denser forests where there was nothing to see but trees and rocks (south of Red’s Meadow and south of VVR junction).

Camping at Guitar Lake below Mt. Whitney

Permits

Hiking the JMT requires a permit. I submitted an application in January 2018 to hike in July 2018. Permits are awarded 24 weeks in advance by lottery. If you don’t win the day’s lottery, your application rolls over to the next day. So I applied on January 15 (to start July 2) and didn’t win until February 11 (to start July 29).

My trailhead preferences were:

• Happy Isles -> Sunrise/Merced (camp first night at Sunrise Creek)
• Happy Isles -> Little Yosemite Valley (camp at LYV)
• Glacier Point -> Little Yosemite Valley (camp at LYV)
• Sunrise Lakes (camp at Sunrise Lakes)
• Lyell Canyon (camp at Upper Lyell Canyon)

I won a permit for Happy Isles to Sunrise/Merced. But we started at Lyell Canyon because Yosemite Valley was closed due to the fire. If I applied again I’d have the same preferences.

I also won permits to hike Half Dome. But we skipped it because of the smoke.

In 2018, applications had to be submitted by fax. I used website to do this online for free and it was slightly inconvenient. In 2019, applications can be submitted online.

Rangers will actually check your permit. I got checked in Lyell Canyon in Yosemite, somewhere in the Inyo National Forest, and near Whitney Portal.

Resupplies

Long distance hikers can’t carry weeks of food, so they often mail themselves food and other supplies if there won’t be large stores available. I mailed my supplies in either a flat-rate Priority Mail box or a five gallon bucket. Mailing a five gallon bucket from San Francisco via Priority Mail cost less than $20.

I mailed resupplies to the Mammoth Lakes post office, Muir Trail Ranch (MTR), and the Independence post office. Originally we were going to start at Yosemite Valley and we would have resupplied at Tuolumne Meadows too. Since hikers often mail themselves more than they need, some locations have “hiker boxes” to collect unneeded items. Other hikers can take whatever they want from these boxes.

We resupplied at Mammoth Lakes post office instead of Red’s Meadow because we couldn’t get our resupplies mailed to Red’s Meadow soon enough. As it turns out, the Red’s Meadow truck was at the post office picking up resupplies while we were there. Next time, I’d resupply at Red’s Meadow if I weren’t taking a rest day in Mammoth Lakes. I don’t think it was worth the round-trip for a night in a motel and a couple restaurant meals. Maybe it was too early in the trip for me for a break.

I didn’t resupply at Vermillion Valley Ranch (VVR) because it’s only two days from MTR. However, it is cheaper to send a bucket to VVR. I think this is because there’s a public road that goes to VVR and there’s no public road to MTR. The other advantage of resupplying at MTR is it’s the last easy (non-mule) resupply. So if I used VVR instead, I would have had to carry an extra two days of food.

My biggest resupply was at Muir Trail Ranch (MTR). They’re friendly and very well-organized. The only services available for hikers are the resupply service, trash, water, electricity, and a very small store. The restaurant and bathrooms are for guests only. I’m glad I didn’t spend a rest day there — there’s not much to do and the nearby camping area is cramped. Next time, I might reserve a room for a night or two in advance. Or, I’d camp past MTR instead of staying at the nearby camping area. The camping area is small and crowded. The hot springs are so-so. Camping further down the trail would get me closer to Muir Pass the next day. Next time, I’d also schedule the resupply for an earlier pick-up. I didn’t consider that possibility that I might get there early. My pickup date assumed I was starting from Yosemite Valley, but due to the fires I started further down the trail so arrived early.

I had too many meals during one stretch due to bad planning (and uncertainties). Leaving Mammoth Lakes, I wasn’t sure if there’d be a full, public restaurant at VVR or if I’d have to wait an extra day at MTR to get my resupply. It turns out I had VVR and MTR mixed up and VVR has a small restaurant serving anyone three meals a day. MTR doesn’t have a restaurant (it has a dining hall for guests only). And MTR was able to make my resupply bucket available a day early, as I requested when I replanned the trip due the fires. So I left Mammoth Lakes with 7 days of food instead of a more typical 4 or 5.

I also had a small resupply at the Independence post office. I got a ride from the trailhead and arrived five minutes before they closed. I stayed at the Independence Inn and they had a small hiker box. They didn’t sell isobutane, but had a pile of half-used canisters up for grabs. They were even measured and labeled.

Next time, I’ll use a mule resupply instead of going to Independence. I didn’t want to do a mule resupply because I didn’t want to commit to being at specific place on on a specific date. But in the future I might have a satellite phone and be able to reschedule if necessary. The cost would be about the same as two nights in a hotel if I could split it with someone else. And the long detour feels a little silly just to pick up three days of food. I could schedule a mule resupply earlier on the trail too to help get my average food weight down.

I was surprised how full the hiker boxes were at Red’s Meadow, MTR, and VVR. They could have resupplied an entire troop of Boy Scouts (as long as they weren’t picky). The only things I took from the boxes were sunscreen (there was enough, but not a lot), some peanut M&Ms, and a half-full fuel canister. Other hikers usually had extra food and were happy to share, especially when they were getting close to resupply points and knew they weren’t going to need it. I met a hiker from France who thought there were be more food for available for sale along the way. He survived on food from hiker boxes and fellow hikers.

Resupplying at MTR. The buckets are stored in the shed behind the table. There’s a couple shelters with tables that hikers can use to sort through their bucket.

Rest Days

I took a rest day at Vermillion Valley Ranch (VVR) and in Independence.

VVR if off the trail but it’s worth the detour. The guests and staff are friendly and fun and the restaurant is good. The store is well-stocked and reasonably priced, though more expensive than a store in civilization. I didn’t bother resupplying there because it’s only two days from MTR. I camped there for free, but they also have cabins and a motel. I was a little bothered that they sold things that looked like they came from the hiker boxes.

Independence wasn’t a very interesting town and not worth a two night stay. It only has three restaurants and all three of them were closed when I was there. There are no stores except the mini marts at the two gas stations. There is a nice museum though. I enjoyed staying at the Independence Inn and chatting with Jim, the owner. He gave me a ride back to the Onion Valley trailhead (for $30?). They also have laundry and accept resupply packages. It’s across the street from the Mt. Williamson Motel. This motel is very popular and has an “all inclusive” resupply package with round-trip shuttles, but it’s much more expensive

Next time, I’d skip Independence and instead use a mule resupply and take a rest day on trail. Also, I read somewhere on the SEKI website that leaving the wilderness for more than one night ends the permit. But I can’t find the webpage that says this right now (and the rangers probably don’t care unless you’re really abusing the system).

Ferry to VVR

Side trips

Mostly I stayed on the the trail. Other than the detours to VVR and Independence, I made two other side trips:

• Devil’s Postpile. Devil’s Postpile is a bunch of cool-looking rocks. It’s actually not much of a detour — it’s really an alternate way of getting to Red’s Meadow. It’s worth the slight detour and should just be part of the official trail.
• Duck Lake. Our next day was going to be a very short day, so we started the day with a quick day hike up to Duck Lake from the Duck Creek crossing. It’s a nice lake and would have been a good place to camp too.

If I did it again, I might do more side trips if I have the time. Or at least try side-trails to find more secluded camping.

Devil’s Postpile: a bunch of cool-looking,demonic rocks

Getting There and Back

My two friends and I drove two cars to Fresno. We left one car at a hotel near the Fresno airport. We used some app to reserve the parking spot. Then we drove in one car to Merced and stayed in a hotel overnight.

The next morning we drove from Merced to Tuolumne Meadows. We left one car at the trailhead parking lot. We had to take a longer route via 120 because of the Ferguson fire. (That road closed a week later.)

We then hiked to Vermillion Valley Ranch (VVR). VVR drove my two friends back to Fresno. They reserved the van in advance because they wanted to get back Sunday. However, the van broke down. VVR put together a convoy of cars to get everyone back. However, because both 120 and Sonora Pass were closed, they had to go via Bakersfield. (Jim at VVR called this “going around the horn”.)

Then I hiked solo to Onion Valley trailhead. Two hikers I met in the parking lot gave me a ride into Independence. Two other hikers I met on the trail offered me a ride too, but I got to the parking lot long before they did. I stayed in Independence for two nights. Jim, the owner of the Independence Inn, gave me a ride back (for $30?).

Then I hiked to the Whitney Portal trailhead. There were lot of cars in the parking lot on the Sunday I arrived. I got a ride from the family of two JMT hikers I met on the trail who were there to pick them up. I stayed the night in Lone Pine.

I took the Eastern Sierra Transit bus from Lone Pine to downtown Reno ($59). I made sure I had exact change because I heard that was required. It turns out the driver could have taken a credit card, but really, really preferred cash. It left at 6:15 AM from outside McDonald’s. Most of the people who got on in Lone Pine were also hikeres and were fun to chat with. It took about six hours and was a little late due to a construction detour. Most of the other backpackers got off in Lee Vining (to take a bus to Tuolumne Meadows) or the Reno airport.

I took the Greyhound bus from Reno to San Francisco. I bought a ticket at the station. The ticket was $30 or $40, but it would have been less if I bought it in advance online. The next bus left about an hour after I arrived. The Greyhound was about half an hour late in San Francisco. There wasn’t someone there to unload the bus, so all the passengers had to climb into the cargo hold to get their bags. My backpack was caught in the hinge of the door on the opposite side. I went around to open the other door and get it. One pole handle got crushed by the hinge. And while I was distracted by all this, I left a plastic bag with my journal, notes, Kindle, and USB battery in the cargo hold. I didn’t realize it until I got on the bus home. I called Greyhound about ten times over the next few days trying to recover it. They never found it.

Mount Whitney Portal trailhead

Routine

My daily routine was:

• Get up sometime between 6:00 AM and 7:00 AM, depending on how tired I was and how far I wanted to go. Sunrise was before 6:30, but the sun often wasn’t over the surrounding mountains until 7:30.
• Start boiling water to make breakfast and start packing.
• Eat breakfast, wash the dishes, brush my teeth, and put my contact lenses in.
• Finish packing.
• Start hiking usually by 8:00 AM.
• Hike, hike, hike. And stop to look at things and take pictures.
• Take breaks every hour or so to eat some trail mix and drink some water. Sometimes I’d need to stop to filter more water.
• Stop between 11 and noon for lunch and a longer break.
• Start looking for camping when I got tired or reached my goal. Sometimes I started the day planning to go further but stopped early because I was tired. Sometime I went a little further than I planned because it was still early and I had energy. But usually I was within a mile or two of my plan. The earliest I stopped was around 2:00 PM and the latest was around 5:00 PM.
• Put on flip flops, filter water, pitch my tent, bathe, put on cleaner camp clothes, rinse out hiking clothes, sort gear.
• Start dinner around 6:00 PM. Eat dinner. Do dishes, take out contacts, brush teeth.
• Take a short walk, read my Kindle, or chat if there were people around.
• Go to bed. I was usually in my tent by 8:30 PM because I was cold.

I had a lot of time for reading and I read four books:

• The Men Who Made the United States
• In The Heart of the Sea (highly recommended!)
• The Wilds
• Manhattan Beach

Weather

Usually it was sunny and warm. During the second half of the trip, afternoon thunderstorms were common, though this is supposedly unusual for mid-August. A few times there was light hail too.

There was almost no snow left on the trail — I only had to take about five steps through snow the entire trip.There were a couple cold nights, but I don’t think it ever froze. The only water crossings with streams deep enough for me to take my shoes off were Lyell Fork in Lyell Canyon and Evolution Creek in Evolution Valley.

Helpful weather information posted at a ranger station.

But smoke was the dominant “weather” issue.

Smoke

Visibility was mostly poor the first week. Usually the smoke cleared at night and returned mid-afternoon. We crossed Donahue Pass early enough to have nice views on both sides. By the time we got to Thousand Islands Lake it was smokey (and rainy). The next morning we had clear views of Banner Peak. Then the smoke rolled in and got thicker as we got closer to the Lions fire. Around Mammoth Lakes, I only saw Mammoth Mountain once. I never saw the Minarets. By Duck Creek, we were far enough from the fire (and maybe high enough) to have good views for the rest of the trip.

Most of the smoke we encountered was from the Lions fire, not the Ferguson Fire. We talked to two southbound hikers who decided to quit at Mammoth Lakes due to the fire. Until we got to Mammoth Lakes, we ran into fewer northbound hikers than we expected. Maybe some left the trail at Red’s Meadow or earlier. The worst day of smoke for us was the hike out of Mammoth Lakes and that was the only day we wore our N95 masks.

I never made a campfire during my hike. I rarely make one when I camp anyway and smelling smoke for the first week put me out the mood.

The smoke also meant my original JMT hiking partner couldn’t hike with me because of his asthma. Given the level of smoke, this was the right decision. It was unfortunate because we had been planning the hike together since January and I was looking forward to hiking with him. This also meant I was solo for the second part of the trip. I didn’t mind too much since I’m used to bicycle touring solo. And I met more people on the hike than I normally do bicycle touring.

Fire truck in Mammoth Lakes

Wildlife

I saw lots of wildlife — deer, marmots, squirrels, chipmunks, grouse — but no bears. I didn’t meet any other hikers who saw any bears either. At Rae Lakes I saw bear scat on the trail. A ranger said bear sightings were less frequent now that bear canisters were required. Bears don’t normally live at high elevations and have gone back down to lower elevations. (We were told bears were very common at the Tuolumne Meadows campground, but we didn’t see them.) The only wildlife problem I had was hungry and aggressive marmots.

It wasn’t very buggy in August. I rarely put bug spray on, but I was usually fully covered with clothes I soaked in Permethrin before the trip. I brought a head net too. I used it once for about half an hour the night we camped by the swampy Trinity Lakes. I carried a 2 ounce bottle of Deet and that lasted me the whole trip.

Marmot going through the packs left at the junction with the ridge trail to the summit of Mt Whitney

People

I met lots of nice people along the way. Other hikers were always extremely friendly. The only exception in the entire three weeks was a cowboy near Rae Lakes who didn’t return my hello. Sometimes I hiked with other hikers I met along the way.

I mostly camped on my own. Though usually there were other people in the vicinity (e.g., around the lake). A few nights I camped with other hikers. The last few nights I was with a group I met between Mammoth Lake and VVR and hadn’t seen in a week. It was nice to reunite and finish the hike with them.

I’d estimate I saw on average fifty people on the trail per day. There were more people around Mammoth and Mt. Whitney. I only met a few PCT hikers — it was late in the season for the PCT as I understand. There were fewer hikers than normal due to the smoke. I met southbound two hikers who quit at Mammoth. And there seemed to be more northbound hikers south of Mammoth (so many were quitting at Mammoth).

I noticed there are lots of younger hikers (on summer break or just post-college) and lots of older hikers (maybe retirees) but few in between. Still I managed to meet hikers between 30 and 50.

Most hikers were Americans. I expected to meet more international hikers. It may be because it’s difficult to mail resupply packages from other countries. I met only two European hikers (a Frenchman and a Norwegian) and saw many Japanese hikers, who mostly seemed to be in organized groups.

Camping

It was easy to find campsites. For the first week, I usually used the Guthook app to scope out specific campsites. I slowly learned that campsites were everywhere. I looked for flat areas, not too high, and near water.

One trick I learned was if I found a campsite to keep looking for a better campsite. If I could see my campsite from the trail, it wasn’t going to be very private. But I’d usually find a more secluded spot if I kept searching away from the trail. I never had to create a new campsite — I’d usually stumble on something better or keep going down the trail.

There are different rules for camping in each area. Generally, campsites are allowed anywhere except near water. In some areas, campsites are allowed near water if there’s already a campsite there. Almost all hikers followed these rules, but a couple times I saw hikers camped on river banks.

Campsite at Lower Palisade Lake

Food

I planned for about 3000 calories a day. It wasn’t too little and was maybe too much. I had trouble eating all my food when I had 800+ calorie freeze-dried backpacker meals. Next time I’d bring smaller dinners and maybe cut some of the trail mix. Though I lost about three pounds, so maybe I should eat more.

I ate basically the same thing every day. But I didn’t get tired of eating anything.

• Breakfast: Three packets of oatmeal, a coconut oil packet, and instant coffee mixed with instant cocoa. Coconut oil made everything taste better and is calorie dense.
• Lunch: Two tortillas with peanut butter
• Snacks: Trail mix (500 cal) and a Snickers bar or energy bar
• Dinner: Dehydrated backpacker meal, a coconut oil packet, and a tortilla if I had extra tortillas and was still hungry. The best deal I found for backpacker meals was the Mountain House 5-day emergency supply box from Amazon.

A day worth of food weighed about 2 pounds. See the Food/Resupply and Food Weight tabs on my Gear spreadsheet for details.

I used a MSR Pocket Rocket isobutane stove. Two 8 oz canisters lasted the whole trip. I bought the second canister at Red’s Meadow and should have waiting until VVR or MTR because I got another five days out the first one. Canisters were available at Red’s Meadow, VVR, MTR, and Independence. Hiker boxes often had half-used canisters.

Next time I would:

• Make my own oatmeal packets. The store-bought ones are very sugary. I also like the idea of making my own dehydrated dinners but I don’t think it’s worth the effort for one person on a short trip.
• Use packets of peanut butter instead of a jar. They’re more expensive but easier to portion out.
• Bring tea or cider or some other hot drink I could drink after dinner.
• Bring half the amount of trail mix. I usually had some left at the end of the day.
• Split up the larger dinners 1:2 or 2:3. I had trouble finishing them when they were more than 800 calories. 500–600 calorie dinners were fine.
• Replace some dinners I don’t like. The only ones I didn’t like were the bland ones like Pasta Primavera and Chicken Rice.

Resupply box and bear canister, in Independence, CA

Water

I filtered water for drinking. I didn’t have any trouble finding water. In August 2018, all the water sources listed in the Guthook app were running. And anything that looked like a stream or river or lake on my topo map had water too. The (sort of) exception was Trinity Lakes near Mammoth Lakes which were more like brackish swamps than lakes. But user comments in the Guthook app warned they might be.

I learned quickly not to carry too much water. Two liters of water weights 4.4 pounds. I only had that much water with me at camp. During the day, I carried between half and a full liter and I usually had water left when I got the next stream. There’s one long no-water stretch south of Mammoth Lakes and another between Guitar Lake and Whitney base camp. The only time I wish I had more water was that last Mt. Whitney stretch.

Gear

See my gear spreadsheet for a complete list of what I brought.

My base pack weight was about 25 pounds. It was maybe 37 pounds with 7 days of food and some water (out of MTR and Mammoth). I definitely felt stronger overtime and the pack weight didn’t bother me.

Gear drying on a rock at Thousand Islands Lake

Core gear

My backpack was a Gregory Zulu 55. It’s a middle-of-the-road backpack. Like most my gear, it’s lightweight but not ultra-lightweight. I left the top (“brain”), rain cover, and summit bag home to save 12 ounces of weight. And I really didn’t need them. I used two trash bags to keep things dry. I strapped the tent to the outside, but could have stuffed it in if I had to.

My tent was a MSR Hubba NX Solo. I’ve slept over 100 nights in it and I’m happy with it. The only problem I had was the zipper broke mid-trip and I couldn’t zip the door shut. I used safety pins and gaffer tape to mostly close it. When I got home, I mailed the tent to Cascade Designs (aka MSR) and they replaced the fasteners for $10. They also replaced a slightly cracked pole and replaced the failing pole elastic for free.

My sleeping bag was a Sierra Designs Zissou Plus. I like it because it’s very warm, but the trade-off is it’s heavier and bulkier than other down bags. It’s nothing special. I bought it because it was on sale.

My boots were Saloman Quest 4D 3 GTX. They were very comfortable and I only got a few small blisters with them. They’re water-proof and not very breathable. I took breaks every couple hours to dry out my sweaty socks. I liked having full boots instead of trainers because I’ve rolled my ankle in the past so wanted good ankle support. It was also nice to be able to step on sharp rocks and stomp through streams without worry.

Bear canisters are required on most the trail. I bought a BV500 for this trip. I already owned a BV450 that I was happy with but it was too small for this trip. I barely got all my food into the BV500 after the resupply at MTR. To get it to fit, I had to leave out the food I was going to eat that day and my smelly toiletries.

Hikers had pretty conventional gear. Based on comments on the online forums, I expected everyone was a gear snob with Z-Pack and quilt sleep system. And the only snobbery I encountered was a guy at MTR bragging aloud to nobody in particular that his pack was under 30 pounds.

What I’d bring next time

I have a lightweight packable summit bag (Sea-to-Summit) that I left at home. It would have been useful around camp (fetching water, going swimming) and for day-hikes including the hike to the summit of Mt. Whitney.

I’d like a “folding bucket”. These are just bags that hold water. The Leave-No-Trace principles ask that you bathe and do dishes at least 100' from water sources. It’d be easier to do this with a big bucket of water than with small water bottles. I tried using my bear canister as a wash basin a couple times, but it’s inconvenient because you need to empty your bear canister and then somehow watch or secure your food from animals.

I’d bring a short piece of cord to use as a clothes line. I’d hang things on branch or leave them on rocks, but they’d blow away and get dirtier.

I’m very tempted to bring a folding chair text time. Mostly so I could sit somewhere with back support. I’d try to find a big rock I could lean against in camp, but it’s not comfortable for long periods of time and sometimes there wasn’t a big rock handy. I have an Alite Mayfly folding chair, but it weights almost a pound. I could also replace my air mattress with a full-sized Z Pad and use that outside.

I might get a GPS beacon or satellite messenger. Most people had either a SPOT or an InReach. I liked the InReach because it could send and receive text messages, which some hikers used to coordinate with other groups and mule resupplies. It also has a pay-by-the-month plan. (There’s a newer SPOT model with all this too — I didn’t see anyone with one though).

This is still a nice-to-have for me. I don’t have a spouse at home worrying about me. If I had a medical problem, I’d ask another hiker for help. (To be clear: for first-aid help, not to summon a helicopter with their InReach.) It was rare to go more than 15 minutes without seeing another hiker during the day. On other hikes in more remote areas this wouldn’t be an option. Though hikers really do use these in emergencies. At Thousand Islands Lake the night before we arrived, a kid was helicopter evacuated after he lost consciousness. (Maybe due to altitude sickness? Disclaimer: I heard this second-hand from someone who camped there that night.)

What I’d leave home next time

I didn’t need a second set of hiking clothes. I could usually wash out my clothes at the end of they day and it’d be mostly dry by the morning. Even if I couldn’t, wearing dirty clothes another day was fine. I still like having a “clean” set of clothes for sleeping.

I didn’t need a separate dirty water bag. While the extra capacity was convenient at camp, I didn’t really need it. I noticed some hikers left the filter screwed on their water bottles and use that as a dirty water bottle. Most also had a second water bottle too for extra capacity. I never carried more than than 1L, but could have used 2L for Mt. Whitney. I was out of water and thirsty by the I reached water again.

I didn’t need a swimsuit. Swimming in underwear or skinny-dipping was fine. The other hikers didn’t seem to care. (When bicycle touring I also use my swimsuit as laundry clothes, but there weren’t many opportunities for laundry this trip.)

What I’d replace next time

I’d replace my flip-flops with better camp and water shoes. Flip-flops aren’t good water shoes because they slip off and float away. They’re not great camp shoes because they aren’t very warm and didn’t provide protection from the rocks in my campsites. I have some canvas shoes I might use next time, but canvas soaks up water. I’m still looking for the ideal shoe.

I should replace my trash bag backpack liners with sturdier trash bags. The trash bags had a few holes in them after three weeks. The big ones I patched with gaffer tape. I heard trash compacter bags were stronger.

I’d get a smaller USB battery pack. Since there was no cell-phone reception, I left my phone in airplane mode and only used it to take pictures and listen to music. I only needed about 5A of battery to keep it charged for a week.

I’d replace my long-underwear top and light long-sleeve pullover with a single warm long-sleeve top. I’d also replace my long-underwear bottom with tights. I could then wear tights and shorts instead of pants. Fashion sense is the only thing stopping me from doing this.

I’m not in a hurry to upgrade any of my core gear, but I’ll probably buy lighter gear as a replace things over time.

• My next tent will probably be lighter. I like the TarpTent that my friend had. I like the Big Agnes Fly Creek UL 2-person that I used on another trip. It’s spacious and light, though it requires a lot of stakes.
• My sleeping bag is heavy and large, but it’s a 15 degree bag and I was never cold. Quilts look promising but I’m still skeptical.
• My backpack isn’t ultra-light, but it was much lighter after I removed the unneeded parts. Z-Packs and HMGs look nice, though Osprey and Gregory make packs much lighter than what I have.

Things I like just fine

I brought headphones and a phone filled with music and podcasts. I didn’t wear headphones as much as I thought I would. I wore them during a few boring stretches and a couple stretches when I was very tired. I enjoyed having them and didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything. I still heard the rustling of leaves and distant bear song.

It was difficult to gauge how much of some things I’d need in advance. Here’s what I used:

• 2 oz of sunscreen was enough between resupplies. I found just enough sunscreen to refill my container in the hiker buckets at the resupplies.
• 2 oz of bug spray was enough for the whole trip.
• 2 oz of soap was enough for the whole trip.
• Two toilet wipe pods per day was more than enough. I used leaves most of the time.
• I used maybe 2 ounces of toothpaste. Two mini-tubes would have been enough — I brought too much. I also brought too much floss, but that’s harder to measure out. I’d like to find a biodegradable toothpaste.
• Two 8-ounce isobutane canisters were enough for the whole trip. The first canister lasted about ten days.
• One chapstick was enough for the whole trip. I didn’t need a second at the resupply.
• I carried spare batteries for my headlamp but didn’t use them. I didn’t use the headlamp much.
• I didn’t run out of any first aid items and only used the ibuprofen, aspirin, moleskin, and a couple bandaids.

Health

I didn’t have any major health issues.

I was tired at the end of the day, but felt fresh in the morning. Sometimes I felt sore enough to take a couple ibuprofen before bed.

I had some small blisters. A few times I stopped to put Moleskin on, but it always fell off. I think I need to tape it on. At breaks I’d take off my shoes to help dry my sweaty socks.

I had chaffing on my hips. My friend lent me his Bodyglide and that helped.

The smoke wasn’t good for my lungs, but I only had one brief coughing fit. I brought an N95 mask to filter the smoke. I only wore it one day. Maybe I should have worn it more.

I didn’t have trouble with the high altitude. I brought high altitude medication, but didn’t take it. I probably would have taken if I had started from the south,

I didn’t train much before the trip. I did two-night trip to Emigrant Wilderness and a one-night trip to Big Basin State Park. I haven’t backpacked more than five nights total ever. I had a decent base level of fitness from running and biking several times a week. I’m used to multi-day trips from bicycle touring.

Me in a N95 mask south of Mammoth Lakes

Hygiene

Bathing

I bathed myself almost every day. I’d either jump in a river or lake or I’d give myself a sponge bath using my buff and water bottle. I should have washed the sunscreen and bug spray off myself before jumping in the water but I never did. Next time I’ll bring a folding bucket to make this easier to do. I used my bear container as a wash basin once.

Trash

I packed out all my trash in a ziplock bag. I kept the trash bag in my bear canister. All the resupply points would accept full trash bags. I kept used toilet paper in a separate bag that I didn’t put in my bear canister.

There was trash on the trail and in campsites. Mostly it was little things like bits of plastic wrapper and used moleskin and bandaids. It was 10x less than I’d find in a state park camp site, but still more than I expected. I packed out some of it. Happily, I never found any toilet paper or even poop, even in overcrowded areas like Thousand Islands Lake and Guitar Lake, which have bad reputations. Maybe I was just lucky. A couple times I saw signs of other cat holes.

Toilet

Warning: straight talk about pooping below

There are no toilets in the back country. I pee’ed on trees or rocks or the ground. I pooped in small holes I dug with the heel of my shoe and a small trowel. These holes are called “cat holes”.

Backcountry rules required cat holes to be at least 100’ from water sources and camps and at least 6” deep. It wasn’t hard to find a distant spot and I wanted privacy anyway. Sometimes I couldn’t dig a 6” hole because the ground was too hard so I just dug as deep as I could. I pulled down my pants, squatted over the hole, and used my right hand to keep my pants out of way. Then I wiped with the left hand and washed my hands with soap and water. I tossed a handful of dirt in the hole and stirred it all together, which is supposed to help it decompose faster. It was little gross the first couple times, but I got used to it. I buried the stick with any leaves or pinecones I used as TP. Sometimes I put a rock over it or stuck a stick into the ground to discourage someone from digging it up.

At the start of the hike I used small paper towels for toilet paper. They were compressed into capsules that expanded when moistened. They were small, lightweight, and easy to measure (unlike rolls of TP). I usually just used one and sometimes used two. They’re a little flimsy and I still got a little poop on your hands. But that’s ok because I was going to wash my hands anyway. I put the used towels in a ziplock back and threw them out when I got somewhere I could throw out garbage. I didn’t bury them or flush them down a toilet.

Later in the hike, I switched to using big leaves. There was some plant with big sturdy leaves that grew below 10,000’ near streams. I’d pick three or four leaves a day to use the next morning.

I don’t use hand sanitizer because my understanding is you need to wash your hands well with soap first in order for it to be effective. It’s not an easy substitute for hand-washing. Since I already washed my hands well with soap, I don’t bother also applying hand sanitizer after that.

A ranger recommended storing used toilet paper in the bear canister because sometimes small animals like mice will get into it. I didn’t do this and didn’t have any problems.

Happily, I never found anyone else’s toilet paper or poop, even in crowded areas like Thousand Islands Lake and Guitar Lake, which have bad reputations. Maybe I was just lucky. A couple times I saw signs of other cat holes, but I never accidentally dug one up. (I do find poop in parks where there’s a lot more day hikers. I think backcountry hikers are better educated and prepared.)

Wag bags

A wag bag is a large plastic bag that you poop in and then pack out and dispose of properly. They also come with some toilet paper, a sanitary wipe, and the magic stuff from diapers that absorbs moisture. Wag bags are required in the Whitney Zone between Crabtree Meadows and almost to Whitney Portal. This is because a lot of hikers in the area and not a lot of dirt to dig cat holes at upper elevations. The ranger at Tuolumne Meadows gave me one, but I left it in a hiker box because I didn’t want to carry it 200 miles. I had some spare plastic bags if I really needed one. As it turned out, there was a tote full of wag bags in Crabtree Meadows so I picked one up there. I ended up needing it and it worked just fine. There were special biohazard-only trash bins in the Whitney Portal trailhead parking lot for disposing of wag bags.

I met one hiker who took a few Imodiums so he wouldn’t have to poop that day. (And he was a nurse, so it must be ok?) I met another hiker who’s plan was to bury the contents of the wag bag once he got out of the Whitney Zone. This was more of an issue for northbound hikers who’d otherwise have to carry their bag for several days before they could dispose of it. (And MTR won’t accept wag bags as garbage, but I believe they accept used toilet paper.)

Box of brand-new wag bags near Crabtree Meadows

References

The one and only guide book I used was Wenk’s John Muir Trail guide. I had a paper copy at home and electronic copies on my Kindle and iPhone. I didn’t consult it much on the trail. Sometimes I’d read the trail descriptions at night.

I used the Tom Harrison topo maps. I marked up my copy with mileposts and distances from the Wenk book. The maps were very useful for planning. I didn’t use them for navigation because it was almost always obvious where the trail was.

I also had the Guthook Guide on my iPhone. It was useful for finding the distance between points. I didn’t use it for navigation much, but sometimes I used it to double-check that I was where I thought I was. In the first half, I used it to find water and campsites. But I eventually learned that water and campsites were everywhere and I didn’t need an app to find them. There are many campsites that aren’t in Guthook. A friend used a free GPS app and a JMT GPX trace he found on the internet. This worked almost as well, though the distances and mileposts differed from the “official” numbers because it was based on one hiker’s trip. This was sometimes confusing.

One problem I had with Guthook Guide was that it was difficult to sync with the GPS signal after having no cell signal for several days. My understanding is that most mobile phones use Assisted GPS. This uses information from cell towers to help fix on a GPS signal faster. But this doesn’t help if your phone hasn’t received a signal from a cell tower for several days. So it sometimes took several minutes for my phone to fix on a GPS signal and find my position. After a few days, I stopped using Guthook to find my position and just used it for planning.

Conclusion

Is it worth doing? Yes. But any backpacking trip in the Sierra would be almost as great. If you don’t have the time or can’t get the permit, there are plenty of other hikes.

Would I do it again? Absolutely. I’m planning to submit an application for the JMT in 2019 and possibly for other hikes in the Sierras.

Would I do this instead of bicycle touring? Maybe. They’re different activities. I liked that the hike was more social than the touring I’ve done. While I encountered fewer people hiking, everyone was a hiker like me. I neither liked nor disliked being disconnected from civilization. But I missed having easy access to stores, which made it a less flexible than bicycle touring.

Questions or Comments?

Send me an email at david@<my-last-name>.land.