John Muir Trail Overview

4 to 30 August 2022

Cottonwood Lakes to Yosemite - 460 km (286 miles) - 27 days

I think this will remain the best hike of my life. Not because it was the most beautiful, most remote, most anything. It was because it was just about the most of everything. It was such a challenge that made me so proud of Angela and myself at the end. I will always compare every hike to this one.

Permits & NOBO vs. SOBO

This is a very popular trail. There is a lottery to do it the traditional way (south bound or SOBO), starting in Yosemite. We ended up going the other way, South to North (NOBO) and starting at Cottonwood Lakes instead of Mt Whitney to get a permit. But you could get permit from a number of starting points, and I don’t think it would change your experience much.

I also don’t think NOBO vs. SOBO is so important either. Both ways start high enough to trigger altitude sickness. I would recommend acclimating in both cases. I also think you could argue that it isn’t easier going either direction. North bound means you hit Mt Whitney and Forrester Pass first, but then that’s over. South bound means the trail gets harder and harder. Also, NOBO doesn’t require you carry out human waste for the Mt Whitney area.

Resupplying

This was the hardest thing to co-ordinate, specially as we live in London. You will need approximately three over the hike. We used Independence, Muir Trail Ranch (MTR), and Red’s Meadow. Independence requires that you leave the trail at Kearsarge Pass, which is a challenge all by itself. We drove a box to a motel here that was happy to hold it for us. MTR requires that you post food in five gallon plastic buckets weeks ahead of time and that you leave the trail and rejoin via a tough climb back to the trail. To get food here, we just bought it online from a company that mails it for you. It worked well. Red’s Meadow is right off the trail and the easiest. We drove a box there when we were in Mammoth to acclimate.

Vermillion Valley Resort (VVR) is another option, perhaps instead of MTR, but it would have made the carry from Kearsarge too long for us. And Tuolumne Meadows is another option, but pretty close to the end (or beginning).

Campsites

The guides are great for getting you to good campsites. And no on checks what you put in your permit application, so you can easily adapt to how you are doing on trail. We almost never found a site ‘full’, occasionally we would go a bit further to get a quieter spot, but I don’t think we ever had to.

Gear

The trail is not technically hard, except for the altitude. So no special equipment is required. But, you are on trail for a long time, so it is important to be as light as possible, but still not skimping on gear or things like batteries and first-aide kits. We had a good amount of rain as well, and it was cold at night, so waterproofs and down jackets are required. Also, the permits require a bear can, so you need to consider this for its weight and size in your backpack. You also need to think how much food you can even put in a bear can, we ended up decanting all our freeze dried meals into freezer ziplock bags that can handle boiling water. Here is my lighterpack list.

Walking with a trail family

We ended up walking the middle half of the trip with a great group of four. We really got on well with the group and it gave us a bit more structure to our day. It also gives you a bit of comfort in the backcountry about your choices, navigation, and safety. It also made is go a bit faster than we wanted, so there are trade offs. Perhaps we have always been lucky, but we always seem to end up with a group on longer trails and have made some great friends.

Is stopping at Vermillion Valley Resort (VVR) worth it?

A lot of people debate this one. I think it depends on how much time you have. We didn’t resupply here, but it was nice to have a few real meals, vegetables, and fruit. We also did laundry, which was nice, but not super required. It was expensive, but considering where it is and what it offers, I am not too surprised. I liked going there, but we certainly didn’t have to.

Things I would do differently

We didn’t even look into what our permit allowed, or about getting another one, but I feel like we didn’t really see Yosemite Valley. We had to cover a lot of ground to get to the one bus to Mammoth that we could get. If I could do it all over, I would have spent another night there and seen and hike a bit more. It is spectacular.

Read our day by day notes from our John Muir Trail hike >