I just returned from an incredible two weeks on the John Muir Trail. Julia and I hiked 222 miles from Yosemite Valley to Whitney Portal, climbing 47,000 ft of elevation, and got to enjoy Yosemite National Park, Ansel Adams Wilderness, John Muir Wilderness, Kings Canyon National Park, and Sequoia National Park. It was truly a one of a kind experience, and the trip of a life time. There are a lot of great backpacking and trekking trips around the world, but very few can match the astounding beauty found in the High Sierra. We saw deer, marmots, trout, and tadpoles, walked among more trees and wildflowers than any person could ever count, skirted the banks of glacial lakes, drank and bathed in alpine streams, slept at the foot of mountains, crossed passes higher than 12,000ft, and summited Mt. Whitney at 14,496ft. This is just the very beginning though. In the coming weeks, I’ll be posting a full trip report with gear reviews, photos, video, and everything I did to prepare for the John Muir Trail.
Below, you will find a photo from each day with a short description. Keep an eye out for a lot more photos and content as I process this amazing trip in the days ahead.
Day 1: Happy Isles to Tuolumne Meadows – 23.9 Miles (23.9 Total)
Day 2: Tuolumne Meadows to Thousand Island Lake – 19.1 Miles (43 Total)
Day 3: Thousand Island Lake to Deer Creek – 22 Miles (65 Total)
Day 4: Deer Creek to Silver Pass Lake – 17.5 Miles (82.5 Total)
Day 5: Silver Pass Lake to Marie Lake – 18.2 Miles (100.7 Total)
Day 6: Marie Lake to Colby Meadow – 18.3 Miles (119 Total)
Day 7: Colby Meadow to Grouse Meadows – 18 Miles (137 Total)
Day 8: Grouse Meadows to Marjorie Lake – 21.8 Miles (158.8 Total)
Day 9: Marjorie Lake to Kearsarge Pass – 20.6 Miles (179.4 Total)
Day 10: Kearsarge Pass to Guitar Lake – 26.4 Miles (205.8 Total)
Day 11: Guitar Lake to Whitney Portal – 16.2 Miles (222 Total)
Bonus Photos: Burger and Fries to Celebrate At Whitney Portal!
Looks amazing, great photos! Where did you park when you got to the starting point and how did you get picked up at the finish?
Thanks!! We parked at the Dow Villa long-term lot in Lone Pine to start. From there, we took the Eastern Sierra Transit shuttle to Mammoth, and the YARTS bus from Mammoth to Yosemite Valley. The total was about $35 a person. This made it really nice, as we just hitched a ride from Whitney Portal to Lone Pine at the end, and were able to drive right home. You can also park at Whitney Portal, which makes things even easier when you finish. There are some personal driver services that will take you from Lone Pine/Whitney Portal to Yosemite Valley, but they charge a few hundred dollars.
You can also do it all in reverse if you park in Yosemite to start, and then take a shuttle back when you finish. I’d love to walk the JMT again with a northbound hike next time, so I’ll probably have to park in Lone Pine, and then take the shuttle back from Yosemite Valley. There are a ton of ways to get to and from each trail head. I’m going to fill out my John Muir Trail page here on the blog in the coming weeks with all of this information in detail.
Amazing! Looking forward to the next posts.
Thanks!
Great Photos! I can’t wait to read about your trip!
Thanks! I’m hoping to get the first few days done this week.
What beautiful nature you both experienced! Looks like one to add to my list! Nice that there are so many spots with water along the way! Way to roar as always!
Thanks! It was incredible. It’s nice to only need 1 or 2 liters at a time. It was crazy to see so much water running in a drought year. It helped that we got hit with a few thunderstorms while on the trail.
Incredible photos! What an amazing experience 🙂
Thank you! It was pretty special 🙂 I’m already trying to plan some weekend trips to get back up to the Eastern Sierra!
It’s so addictive! There’s always more places to explore! I hope I get to see it for myself one day!
Beautiful! Really looking forward to your next posts.
Thanks, Peter! I’m going to start working on them as soon as I get caught up at work!
Lovely, food always tastes so much better after a couple of days in the woods, doesn’t it?
It does! I loved the Mountain House teriyaki chicken meal for dinner, and lots of ProBars and PlayHardGiveBack trail mix during the day. I found myself craving real foods by the end though. I never thought I’d eat so much salad and fruit upon returning home!
Beautiful photos of a beautiful place! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for reading!
Looking forward to the next installments!
Thanks! Hopefully I can get them published soon!
Wow, it looks like you had an incredible trip! Your photos are breathtaking and makes me want to get out there and hike 🙂 I’m excited to read more about it!
Thanks, Kate!!
Congratulations! Can’t wait to hear all the details and see more photos!
Thanks!!
Wow! Great pictures! Can’t wait to hear what else you have to say about this trip.
Thanks!! I hope to have the first few days of trip reports out soon!
Simply stunning sceneries!
They absolutely are!
Absolutely love your photos!! Can’t wait to see your other entries about JMT. I have been looking at doing some long distance through hiking and you have just made this the top of my list! Much training and preparation to be done. Think I am going to hike the John Muir Way in Scotland first!
Thanks! Thru-hiking is a lot of fun! This was my longest trip so far (not counting the 500 mile Camino). We shared the trail with the northbound PCT hikers going from Mexico to Canada. I was envious that they had the time and drive to make that happen. I didn’t know there was a John Muir Way in Scotland! How cool is that. I’ll have to add it to my list!
Looks incredible! I look forward to reading more about it!
Thanks! Hopefully I can get caught up at work and free up some time in the evening to get some more pictures edited and posted!
What an amazing journey! Beautiful photos!
It was a very special thru-hike! Thanks!
Just great !!!
Thanks!
Wow! Stunning.
Thanks! It was an incredible journey!
Wow, so beautiful! I’m amazed you could choose just 11 pictures!
Thanks! I pretty much just selected the first one I really liked from each day. I have more than 100 shots for each day of hiking, so I’ll have a lot more to add on the daily trip reports.
Great photos. Can’t wait to read the rest of the story
Thanks! I hope to have it up soon!
Superrrr!!
Thanks!
Absolutely breathtaking! Thank you for sharing! I have this hike on my list in a few years when I retire. Would you please share the gear you used and your choice of hiking shoes? Thanks so much!
Thanks, Cat! I’ll be doing a full review and analysis of all the gear I used and my hiking shoes. I’m going to get working on it this weekend and hope to have it all done within a month.
That was an intense 11 days with some serious miles each day – It’s great that you could stop to take great photos for your readers. AND after hearing about the “unmissable” hikes in New Zealand, it’s great to read about an incredible hike in the US. Thanks!
We love doing big days! I took a lot of time to take photos and videos on this trip, around 20 GB worth! I’m editing the photos now, and hope to have JMT video on my YouTube channel, too! I’ve read a lot about the great hikes in New Zealand as well. I feel like my list of places to hike grows daily!
I’ll keep an eye out for that video on YouTube….I still need to see the one about your walk through Spain 🙂
Thanks, hopefully I can start working with the footage soon!
I can’t wait to read more about this, and thanks for the photo preview… these shots are gorgeous!!
Thanks for reading!
Great photos! Looks like a fairly fast pace! My entry date is August 23rd and I’m only planning 10-12 miles a day. I’m, what I consider, very fit and wondered what your training looked like and your fitness level? On average how many hours a day did you log. Don’t want to preempt your report but curious.
Nice! You’ll be on the trail soon! 10-12 miles a day should be a pretty manageable pace. I’m always in a state of training, so my fitness level was pretty high. I was at about 500 miles of hiking training since January with 145,000ft of elevation gain before leaving for the JMT. I also go to the gym 5 days a week and mix in a little running here and there. 11 days was pretty comfortable with 10 hour days, which is what I usually do for my weekend hikes here at home. I’d like to try a 7-8 day northbound hike someday, as I think it would be easily doable in nice weather. Weather is key. Rain can really slow you down, and thunderstorms on looming passes can also put an end to a day pretty early.
You’ll hear people argue on both sides as to what constitutes an “enjoyable” hike. I love hiking, going light, being on the trail, and doing big days. I know to others this sounds like a nightmare. For me, a heavy pack, and lounging around a campsite for hours each day would drive me mad. Once you know what works for you, plan it out, and have a great time! Happy trails!
Amazing photos! I hope to make it to Yosemite next summer. Looking forward to more photos!
Thanks! Yosemite is an incredible National Park! You’ll love it!
I’m so happy I found your blog! Hiking the JMT is on my bucket list. Your photos are magnificent, thanks for sharing! 🙂
Thank you! The JMT is a great adventure to add to your bucketlist. It was on mine for a while, and it lived up to the billing for sure. I’ll be putting together a comprehensive planning guide once I finish these daily reports, so keep and eye out.
Love your pictures & adventurous spirit.
Thank you, Dorothea!
Wow!!! Awesome pics, and a great looking adventure!
Thanks!
Awesome photos, Drew! We are really looking forward to reading your full trip reports as we hope to do the JMT next summer. FYI: we randomly met Phillip, the founder of the 52 Hike Challenge, while we were hiking this summer in Peru. We told him we knew about the 52 Hike Challenge because of your blog. Pretty cool!
Thanks! Awesome to hear you’re planning to walk next summer. Start preparing to submit permits at the turn of the new year. That was probably the hardest part of the whole process! Very cool that you met Phillip in Peru! I ran into him at the top of Mt. Baldy one day, and it was cool to finally meet him after being friends on instagram for a while.
Cool! We are looking forward to your posts on all of the logistics of doing this hike. Very curious about what you ate on the trail. We just returned from a week of canoe-camping in the Boundary Waters, and I can’t take the thought of oatmeal for breakfast for another day!
haha. I haven’t eaten oatmeal since returning from the JMT!
This is great! Our friend just recommended this to us this weekend and your visuals really add to it. It looks like you had a lot of fun. Good job!!!
Thanks!
A true man-sized adventure and great pictures. I hope to tackle the JMT someday. I look forward to seeing the rest of your pictures and video.
Thanks! It truly is an incredible experience!
great photos! looks like a great trek!
Thanks!
awesome photos!
Thanks!
Drew- those pics are amazing!!!! I am so impressed! So looking forward to seeing more. I am very much a beginner and can’t even imagine those kinds of elevations or the daily miles ya’ll did!
Thanks, Sandra!
Amazing photos, congrats. I did JMT in 18 days this year, breathtaking scenery most of the times.
What was your photography equipment if you don’t mind sharing?
Thank you, Cihan! I used a Sony a6000 and Sony 10-18mm lens.
WOW! That has to be the some of, if not the best, scenery the US has.
Do you have a gearlist I could read?
thanks
Thanks, Amy! Here is a link to my JMT gear list: https://trailtopeak.com/2016/10/15/my-comprehensive-john-muir-trail-gear-list/