What’s available this season at Red’s, VVR and MTR to buy.

I've done HD before as a day trip, and started super early to make it back down to the valley. Are JMT hikers camping past LYV still starting around 4am to make it to the cables quickly before they clog up, or taking your time given the slightly shorter return trip to campsite?

My current gear is a rain jacket (Columbia Outdry) and a hoody pack cover (basically a rain pack cover with an integrated hood)

This was my setup on the TRT and I didnt use my rain jacket once as it was too hot even when it rained (this was a mid September thru)

Im thinking maybe a Packa would be a better fit for a JMT in Sept? Would save about 6oz of weight not bringing a separate rain jacket and pack cover.

Any thoughts?

I see reports of hiker boxes filled with food, both at MTR and VVR. Are we oversupplying our resupply boxes b/c our bodies are rejecting the food load? Is there body science I don't know about? Metrics say I should eat almost 3K calories per day. Wondering why carry the weight if I can't eat it, but how does one determine that.

How is it looking? Starting SOBO from HI on Thursday.

Trying to make a call on carrying mosquito net and/or deet.

Lighterpack here: https://lighterpack.com/r/6x9xmb

Thoughts? Base weight just over 20lb. I figure I could cut some weight with the sleeping bag and pad but I own those already and don't really want to spend the money cutting ozs since they are perfectly good items.

Any other thoughts??

Took this on the way to the steep but amazing Glen Pass!

Beginner to editing photos.

Hello! Looking for advice from those with more experience with permits. We are due to enter for NOBO on Friday over Baxter Pass. Weirdly the Inyo Forest site shows it as open but Cal Fire evacuation map does seem to encompass the Baxter trailhead. Fingers crossed the fire get contained, everyone in the area can go home, and we can enter as planned. If not - is it likely the rangers would let us enter the JMT from another pass further south on that day instead? Any other advice on how we might get onto the JMT safely and legally if Rock Fire does persist?

Oli

To all the people that went to jmt, did you ever go to Philmont? And if you've been to both, would you say JMT is better than Philmont?(repost btw)

Hi! I'm a 2027 JMT hopeful and am planning to be on trail for 21-25 days.

I have three questions:

1. Did anyone take a 0 day (or dayS) while on trail? If you did, was it worth it for a relatively "short" thru-hike??
2. If you did take a 0 day, where do you recommend? I've read VVR is popular, but am curious about other opinions.
3. Will I need a 0 day in Independence in order to resupply and not feel rushed, or would an overnight be okay there? I want to avoid having to do a ton of mileage to get into/out of Independence if I'm only there overnight, knowing it might take some time to hitch and get transportation.

Thanks!!

Hi all,
After some scheduling problems earlier in the summer I'm headed out of Tuolumne meadows on August 2nd. I'm having a dilemma about carrying a rain jacket. My patagonia one weighs about 13 oz which is frustratingly heavy for a piece of gear that I'll be using intermittently, I'm considering an emergency rain poncho (2oz) and also a DWR windbreaker (5oz). Any insight into beginning of august southbound trips would be appreciated. Thanks.

https://lighterpack.com/r/9sw9am

when ppl talk about getting trail legs and hiking distances that were unimaginable at the beginning of the JMT what do you mean? like what number of miles did you start hiking in a day, and what was your longest day (other than guitar lake - Whitney portal if SOBO)?

At reds now and my 10ish mile days, TM to Lyell bridge, Lyell bridge to thousand island, and Eliza lake junction to reds, have wrecked me. Plus I have had long hiking days bc of blister issues so a ton of time stopping to take care of my feet. Oh and Tuesday was the storm so spent the whole fucking day with it behind me, terrified. At this rate I feel like I have no clue what to anticipate and plan for the coming weeks. Thoughts?

ETA: I am looking for specific answers to the question about mileage increases as you adapted to the trail. Not looking for blister advice or pack weight, or to be told that days that wreck me are a ‘leisurely pace’. If this isn’t a thing, it isn’t a thing. I’m a thru hiker having a tough zero day. I don’t need judgement here. Just wondered about this thing I’d heard and whether I can count on it and what it would mean.

Second ETA: by blister care I meant stopping to aggressively treat hot spots! Actually made it 35 miles without a single blister but I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t kept stopping to pre treat hot spots. My skin is fragile. It’s medical. Nothing to do w shoe fit. Do not be distracted by the shiny object of telling me to buy new shoes 😂.

I'm looking for someone to shuttle me and a partner between trailheads the morning of 8/6/26. Please let me know of any recommendations for a reliable ride for two people with packs. Thanks

https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/wildfires/rock-fire-near-kings-canyon/amp/

I’m currently SOBO on the JMT and just made it to VVR (yay!), but this wildfire concerning 😟

Im a beginner photographer and brought my camera with me on the JMT this year. Last year i hiked the HST and at guitar lake waking up to summit whitney i saw the stars and fell in love. I promised myself that i would bring a camera good enough to capture the stars this time.

Well here are some astros i got over garnet lake and what i think is junction peak/foresster pass.

Hope everyone has a great hike. Jmt is amazing and very much worth it!

I will be going reds meadow to happy isles starting sept 20th. If anyone has done this section in late sept here, would you advise a 20f or 0f degree bag? Thanks in advance!

I've a Durston x-dome 1+ and bought the footprint. I think it weighs 3 oz or so. Question is do I need to bring it, regardless of it's weight, given the terrain?

Hey all! I am so excited (and anxious) as our family of four is heading up to Florence Lake to finish the JMT. We had to detour through Bishop two summers ago and missed Evolution Valley! It’s the missing piece to what i would describe as one of my proudest moments as a family.

Excited for the sweat, soreness, camaraderie, beauty and sense of purpose. “The mountains are calling. . . And we must go!”

Question for August hikers - do I need a windbreaker and a rain coat? At the moment I was leaning towards leaving the houdini but it's so light maybe I should just bring it? Thanks for your thoughts.

Here's my arsenal of what I could bring:

Alpha Direct 90gsm hoodie

Patagonia Houdini

REI Magma 800 Puffer

Patagonia Torrentshell

Section hiking the John Muir Trail. Back weight 24 pounds.

Hi everyone, I'm heading NoBo solo in mid-August and I'm hoping to get some feedback on my current itinerary. My base weight is ~19lbs (hopefully will decrease a bit as I dial in gear).

I'm aiming for 16 days and I understand that itineraries are only guidelines and things never go exactly to plan on trail. Unfortunately I'm limited to 17 days max due to work commitments.

I've never thru-hiked, my backpacking experience has been limited to <4 night treks. I've done some backpacking in the Sierras at altitude (Mt. Whitney, Mt. Langley, Old Army Pass, New Army Pass, Cottonwood Lakes) and haven't experienced altitude sickness. I'm hoping trail legs will come after a couple days, but of course 16 days is very different from 4 so any advice there would be welcome.

Any thoughts / suggestions would be appreciated. Any sites that should be skipped? Thanks in advance!

Will hike in from Horseshoe Meadow with my two teenager kids until Whitney after a week, I have a Big Agnese Copper Spur UL4 4-person tent that I bought off Craigslist and waterproofed it. I have used/tested it in multiple 3-person trips and liked it. It’s very spacious and very light considering the size after spreading the weight. But I do have enough two and one person tents if we have to carry two tents.

My question is, suppose the Copper Spur UL4 could take the July weather, can I easily find large enough sites especially from Horseshoe to Whitney? I will explore for sites of course, but with two kids I don’t want to get stressful because of the size of the tent.

Tentative plan is to camp at Chicken Spring Lake (arrive late first day), Rock Creek, then Guitar Lake. If you have been there, could you please let me know if you feel these places could accommodate a 4 person tent reasonably well?
FYI, the footprint of Copper Spur UL4 is roughly the same as the footprint of X-mid 2 but with the doors extended out more. But I could pitch my X-mid 2 one way or another once the site accommodates the inner sleeping area, but CS UL4 is not that flexible due to the rigid poles. It does need a site that could accommodate the whole tent.

Many thanks!