Mile 25.2 to Mile 40.8 Beautiful morning One thing we've been surprised by, so far, is the amount of water - even high up in the mountains. This seems to be mostly from snow melt, as well as the occasional spring. Never far from water The ubiquitous lakes and streams are nice for cooling off … Continue reading Day 3 – Glen Pass

Mile 8.3 to Mile 25.2 Starting our day below tree line We were happy to be camping in the woods last night. The night before, at Guitar Lake, was stunning. But, somehow we just feel more at home down among the trees. We quickly ate breakfast and were excited to get hiking this morning after … Continue reading Day 2 – Forester Pass

Guitar Lake to Mile 0 (Mt Whitney summit) to Mile 8.3 Hiking above Guitar Lake Our morning started fairly early in order to race the sunrise. The exposed Sierra afternoon sun can be the difference between hiking at 3 mph and hiking at 1 mph. We kept looking back at the lake as it got … Continue reading Day 1 – Mt. Whitney

Rock Creek to Guitar Lake We've planned to ramp up slowly for the first couple of days, so there is no real pressure to get moving this morning. The cold temperatures add an additional reason not to be in a rush. So we have a leisurely breakfast before starting to hike mid-morning. Waking up on … Continue reading Acclimating

Horseshoe Meadow to Rock Creek Near Cottonwood Pass After spending the night at the Cottonwood Pass trailhead in Horseshoe Meadow, we started hiking toward the JMT this morning. This is not the closest trailhead to either terminus of the JMT. So, why are we doing this? Because, bureaucracy. And, there are a few advantages... This … Continue reading Welcome to the Sierra Nevada

A JMT hike begins six months in advance with the acquisition of a permit. I'll go into more detail about that process in the next post. But, back in February we got a permit to hike Northbound (Mt Whitney to Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley). After that, it was just a matter of waiting for … Continue reading Getting to the Trail

John Muir. Photo by Francis M. Fritz, 1907 The JMT covers about 213 miles through the High Sierra between Yosemite Valley and the summit of Mt Whitney. It overlaps the PCT for 160 miles and passes through many different federal lands including Kings Canyon, Sequoia, and Yosemite National Parks. Elevation is a factor on this … Continue reading John Muir Trail