The John Muir Trail is a 211-mile footpath that starts in Yosemite Valley and runs south along the crest of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range to the top of Mount Whitney, the highest point in the lower 48 states.
The JMT is a high summer trail, and the best time to hike it is typically mid-July through early September to avoid prodigious snowfall and avalanches in the winter and dangerous creek crossings in the spring.
Photo: Mary Caperton Morton
In general, backpackers can expect to cover around 10 miles a day so most people will hike the JMT’s 211 miles in 18 to 22 days.
Photo: Mary Caperton Morton
Over the course of 211 miles, you’ll gain over 47,000 feet of elevation, including climbs over eight major mountain passes: Donohue, Silver, Selden, Muir, Mather, Pinchot, Glen, and Forester, the highest pass, at 13,153 feet.
Photo: Mary Caperton Morton
Traditionally, the JMT begins in Yosemite Valley, at the Happy Isles trailhead, and runs for 211 miles south to the grand finale on the summit of Mount Whitney.
If you start your hike in Yosemite, you need a permit from Yosemite National Park. If you start in Inyo National Forest, you need a permit from Inyo National Forest.
Photo: Mary Caperton Morton
Photo: Mary Caperton Morton