John Muir Trail September 2023

[joe411k]

In September 2023 I completed the John Muir Trail SOBO from Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley to Mount Whitney. Roughly 250 miles including some side trips and resupply trips, etc. I was lucky and had perfect weather, minimal rain, and the time of my life.

Going in to the hike I was on the fence about bringing my hammock, knowing that there are many portions of the trail that are above tree line. In the end I brought the hammock, and I am so glad that I did. I slept in it every single night and had no issues whatsoever finding trees to hang in. That said I did do a significant amount of pre-trip research and planned out my daily mileage to ensure I could end each day below tree line and in terrain that appeared hammock friendly. I did not sleep near any of the treeless, high alpine lakes but those camp sites did not appeal to me anyway, I would rather be among the trees! While I was out there, I saw many many tent campers, but only ran in to one other hammock camper the entire trip.

Below are a few pics from the trip.

IMG_3293.jpgIMG_3423.jpgIMG_3458.jpg

[Adroa]

Congrats Joe! I did the JMT two years ago in the opposite direction, unforgettable. Hope you got to take advantage of all the lakes for some wonderful swimming! I know they say starting at the elevation of Whitney can be a tough way to start but trying to imagine that climb out of Yosemite at the beginning of my trip... not sure how far I would have gotten.

[FLTurtle]

Bruh...that 2nd pic...how long is that tree strap? And how big was the tree on the head end?

[joe411k]

Congrats Joe! I did the JMT two years ago in the opposite direction, unforgettable. Hope you got to take advantage of all the lakes for some wonderful swimming! I know they say starting at the elevation of Whitney can be a tough way to start but trying to imagine that climb out of Yosemite at the beginning of my trip... not sure how far I would have gotten.

I think you are in for a tough start no matter which direction you go. Starting in Yosemite my strategy was to hike a short day of only 6 miles for the first day and set up camp early. From there I did Half Dome the first evening and then Cloud's Rest the next day as a day hikes with a small pack. This helped a lot to ease in to the hike and also get used to the altitude.


As for the lakes, either I am a wimp or the huge snow year caused them to all be too freezing cold for me to jump in. I did hear / see some other more youthful hikers swimming but not my cup of tea!

[joe411k]

Bruh...that 2nd pic...how long is that tree strap? And how big was the tree on the head end?

Haha. I took 15 foot long beckett straps that Warbonnet sells. I had heard that some of the trees out there are HUGE, and that was true. That tree was one of them! However, this was honestly the only time I needed that longer strap, and I would have been fine with 10 foot, maybe even 8 foot straps every other night. That pic was the last night of camp before ascending Mount Whitney, and I probably could have found a smaller tree if I needed to but I was trying to find something quickly since I planned to get up in the middle of the night to start the climb to Whitney.

[HanginEgger]

Congratulations! What a great trip!
I'm getting ready to go to Yosemite with my daughter. We're planning to spend a couple nights in LYV campground and do the Half Dome and Clouds Rest trails among others.
Did you have any issues with bugs / mosquitos? I'm hoping they've cleared out by this time of year.
Great pictures. Thanks for sharing!

[joe411k]

Congratulations! What a great trip!
I'm getting ready to go to Yosemite with my daughter. We're planning to spend a couple nights in LYV campground and do the Half Dome and Clouds Rest trails among others.
Did you have any issues with bugs / mosquitos? I'm hoping they've cleared out by this time of year.
Great pictures. Thanks for sharing!

I saw mosquitos most every day while I was out there, but only in the evening when I was eating dinner and going to sleep. I would see them sitting on the outside of my bug net as if they were trying to figure out a way to get in! But once the temperatures dropped below 50 or so they would disappear. They were not a huge bother to me but I also had my pants and sun hoody both treated with permethrin by insect shield, which I think made a big difference.


If I was going to Yosemite Valley area now I would probably still take a bug net for the hammock and head net just to play it safe as I bet there are some of them still hanging around, especially at lower elevations.


I did both Half Dome and Cloud's Rest on my trip, and both are awesome. The view from Cloud's Rest is better than Half Dome, but of course Half Dome you have the epic cables to climb. I would definitely recommend bringing a pair of grippy gloves specifically for the Half Dome cables. I did not, but was lucky and found some at the bottom of the climb that I was able to use. I think both the climb up and down would have been sketchy without the gloves as I found myself using a lot of arms on the cables. Happy hiking!

[Shug]

Way to go and Hang nightly~~
Whooooo Buddy))))
Shug

[twentybelow]

Sounds like an awesome adventure. The JMT is on my list... for someday. I had the same dilemma on the TRT a few years back: will there be suitable trees for hanging every night? I carried a pad in the beginning just in case, but ditched it at the first resupply. Nice pictures. Are there more posted somewhere? Thanks for sharing!