CA> Rain Man's John Muir Trail 2018 Thru-hike

[Rain Man]

Well, we got a "golden ticket" (for 3) to hike the John Muir Trail, starting August 28 at Happy Isles in Yosemite and scheduled to finish Sept 20 at Whitney Portal. I have a hundred questions, but will start with this one:

Is hammocking even a consideration or should I simply buy a tent and spend the next few months tweaking a ground system?

I'll have more questions, but if any of you get inspired to share any hints, suggestions, warnings, or whatever, feel more than free to jump in. I've never hiked out west nor at those elevations.

With a daughter and grandkids in Las Vegas now, I suspect my travel plans will go through there and probably involve being driven to Yosemite at start and picked up in Lone Pine at end.

[TrailSlug]

I have no hiking information to offer but congrats on the trip and look forward to your post trip report.

[coat4gun]

From the Youtube videos I have seen, there is quite a bit above timberline, hence no trees for hanging. I would hate to be caught up in the rocks and extreme weather blows in with no way to put up a shelter.

[Tyroler Holzhacker]

I've no experience there in redwood country. Probably best to get an ultamid and start tweaking the ground system from what I've read. Ground systems will more often than not weigh less than hammock systems, especially if you have a hiking partner to share the weight of your shelter. Mids also excel at handling extreme weather. The cuben fiber mids are pricey though, and especially if you get an insert bugnet/bathtub floor. Hyperlite Mountain Gear makes a great Pyramid tent.

[natemeister]

I hammocked it in 2016, no problems at all. There are others on the JMT Facebook group who have done in several times without issue.
The only time I could not hang was at Guitar Lake, where you could hang from granite if you brought 2 cams I also couldn't find trees to hang from at the backpacker's campground at Red's Meadows, but you can just go outside of it and find trees.

Otherwise, plenty of trees to hang from, unless you go above 10,500' or so, then no more trees of any kind. I found that was the treeline on the JMT and even hung around that elevation easily, at Evolution Lake (10,800') and Arrowhead Lake (10,400').

[Levi Tate]

Sent you a pm.

[TNWoodsman]

Rain Man and I will be backpacking the JMT together along with another friend from California. Although I'm still debating on tree vs. ground, I'm leaning towards ground at this point largely due to the shortage of trees already mentioned.

I've watched several documentaries and vids on the JMT and I haven't seen anyone hammocking yet. As a matter of fact, all of the tents I've seen are "freestanding" tents. So, now I'm wondering if the rocky terrain at higher elevation will make it hard to set tent stakes for a lightweight hiking pole tent where tent stakes are a necessity.

Can anyone that's done the JMT shed any light on this?

[natemeister]

You can completely hang on the JMT, except at Guitar Lake (unless you bring a pair of cams to lock into the granite). You need to go onto the Facebook group for the JMT and ask. Many have done it, including myself.
The treeline in the Sierra Nevada will be around 10,500 feet. I will tell you now that you will regret not hanging when you're on the trail and walking by all the trees that you could have hung from

I also did the JMT in 13 days and was not looking for low spots to hang from. I just tried to aim for a campsite each night that would leave me 1-2 miles away from the next morning's ascent, so that I would have fresh legs to do it. You'll find that all campsites identified on the Nat Geo map book will be able to support a hammock, except Guitar Lake and the sites above it, on the way to Whitney.

Rain Man and I will be backpacking the JMT together along with another friend from California. Although I'm still debating on tree vs. ground, I'm leaning towards ground at this point largely due to the shortage of trees already mentioned.

I've watched several documentaries and vids on the JMT and I haven't seen anyone hammocking yet. As a matter of fact, all of the tents I've seen are "freestanding" tents. So, now I'm wondering if the rocky terrain at higher elevation will make it hard to set tent stakes for a lightweight hiking pole tent where tent stakes are a necessity.

Can anyone that's done the JMT shed any light on this?

[TNWoodsman]

You can completely hang on the JMT, except at Guitar Lake (unless you bring a pair of cams to lock into the granite). You need to go onto the Facebook group for the JMT and ask. Many have done it, including myself.
The treeline in the Sierra Nevada will be around 10,500 feet. I will tell you now that you will regret not hanging when you're on the trail and walking by all the trees that you could have hung from

I also did the JMT in 13 days and was not looking for low spots to hang from. I just tried to aim for a campsite each night that would leave me 1-2 miles away from the next morning's ascent, so that I would have fresh legs to do it. You'll find that all campsites identified on the Nat Geo map book will be able to support a hammock, except Guitar Lake and the sites above it, on the way to Whitney.

Appreciate the feedback. Above Guitar Lake did you rig a ground setup with your tarp?

[natemeister]

Appreciate the feedback. Above Guitar Lake did you rig a ground setup with your tarp?

Yes, trekking poles to granite boulders and then tarp tied to them. If I could do it again, I would have just cowboy camped that night, because changes are you'll want to wake up early to catch the sunrise on Whitney, as we did and many others. You'll start the hike up around 2 a.m., so there isn't much sleep to be had that night any way.

I have photos and locations of where I hung every night, if you want the info, but honestly, finding trees was never an issue and you'll find the same info on the Facebook group.