The John Muir Trail runs in California and extends from Yosemite National Park to the summit of Mount Whitney. The hiker will need to hike 330 kilometers, which is almost three weeks to cover the entire route. You have to plan a lot in terms of food, water, and shelter (tents are required) for your hike, and it makes sense if being in the wilderness appeals to you. After all, gorgeous scenery, sparkling streams and silence await you.
John Muir’s trail is one of the most brutal and most rewarding things I’ve ever done in my life.
From dawn to dusk it took us 22 days of hiking through some of the most incredible mountain scenery in the United States. Think lush, hidden valleys, crystal clear streams, bright blue thickets and stunning alpine vistas.
Most of the trail is more than 10,000 feet in elevation and includes six mountain passes, one of which tickles 14,000 feet. And if you want to (and we did), you can climb to the top of Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in the contiguous United States at 14,505 feet.
The John Muir trail is not for the faint of heart or from people who suffer from altitude sickness. I took high altitude medicine for three days before taking the trail and five days before climbing Mt. Whitney, and I still lashed out and almost passed out on the descent.
But what I learned on this hike is this: the body adapts, the mindset is crucial, and completing such a massive transition is a life-changing experience. I will never be as fit and in tune with nature as I was at the end of the hike.
Will I do it again? Maybe. Would I recommend others do it? Definitely.
Does that sound like something you want to do? That’s how you can handle the trail.
Getting a permit is difficult because of the sheer number of people wanting one!
Getting a permit to hike the John Muir Trail is one of the hardest parts of this hike. People from all over the world fly to California to tackle this winding mountain trail away from civilization.
That means this: you’re competing with thousands to get a permit.
The most popular route to hike the John Muir Trail is from Yosemite Valley and passes through Mount Whitney Portal.
To handle the influx of demand, Yosemite only allows 45 hikers a day to leave the park on the John Muir Trail. This means that the number of permits is very limited.
Although most people want to start at the bottom of the valley, Yosemite has several other trails where you can start your hike.
When applying, it is recommended that you list more than one option on your permit.
Choices range from Happy Isles to Glacier Point or Sunrise Lakes and more.
Another popular way to get a permit is to change direction completely and hike from south to north.
We tried every day for a month or two to get a permit to go out of Yosemite, but when we failed, we got a permit to go north out of Cottonwood Meadows. This meant we had two full days of hiking before we encountered the John Muir Trail and one additional high mountain pass.
If you don’t want to hike the entire trail, you can enter halfway or three-quarters of the way from one of the many trails that connect to the John Muir Trail.