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November 12, 2014 / Comments (1)

15 Day SOBO John Muir Trail Itinerary

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Allison is the founder of trailtosummit.com which she began as a way to track and share her first round of the NH 4000 Footers. Now on round 5 (the first round for her dog Ruckus) she has been honored to have taken part of many people’s firsts. She is an experienced trail maintainer, speaker, and passionate member of the outdoor community. In New England, Allison enjoys trekking along the highest peaks, bushwhacking to less traveled areas, and has a fondness for sunrise and sunset trips. Outside of New England Allison has also thru hiked the John Muir Trail and explored mountains in the German and Austrian Alps, Israel, and the Azores. Her goal is to share her passion for hiking and backpacking with others, especially with women, to inspire them to experience the freedom of the trail!
john muir trail map

This is my summer 2014 John Muir Trail itinerary. I hiked Southbound starting at Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley to Whitney Portal. The official length of the JMT is 211 miles which ends at the summit of Mount Whitney. The rest of the mileage comes from my descent and any extra mileage I did. This includes a one mile wrong turn onto the PCT (I turned back to return to the official JMT route) and some extra mileage to go to resupplies.

DayStarting PointEnding PointToday's MileageTotal MileageNotes
1Happy Isles TrailheadLittle Yosemite Valley Campground4.64.6
2Little Yosemite Valley CampgroundTuolumne Backpackers Campground18.423.0
3Tuolumne Backpackers Campground~Thousland Island Lake (on PCT)21.344.3Small resupply from Tuolume and breakfast from grill
4~Thousland Island Lake (on PCT)Upper Crater Meadow20.765.0Resupply at Reds Meadows
5Upper Crater MeadowSquaw Lake17.082.0Favorite camp spot!
6Squaw LakeBear Creek16.298.2
7Bear CreekBlayney Hot Springs11.0109.2Resupply at Muir Trail Ranch- last resupply of the trip
8Blayney Hot SpringsEvolution Meadow11.0120.2Took a half day at the hiker hot springs
9Evolution MeadowUknown Pond14.0134.2
10Uknown PondGlacier Creek13.3147.5
11Glacier CreekJ Bench Lake14.3161.8Cold but gorgeous camping!
12J Bench LakeArrowhead Lake14.6176.4
13Arrowhead LakeAfter descent of Forester Pass19.2195.6Very cold and windy spot. Not many options around Forester
14After descent of Forester PassGuitar Lake13.8209.4Can continue to get closer to final climb up Whitney
15Guitar LakeWhitney Portal13.8223.2Burger time! Thumb a ride to Lone Pine
Happy planning!

 

 

Last modified: November 28, 2014

15 day Southbound JMT itinerary

One Response to :
15 Day SOBO John Muir Trail Itinerary

  1. Joe says:
    February 21, 2016 at 1:57 pm

    Can you provide a reference point that approximates the location of the Unknown Pond where you camped after leaving Evolution Meadow?

    Reply

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