- John Muir Trail Date Set, Permit Reserved
- John Muir Trail Planning
- John Muir Trail Packing List
- John Muir Trail Journal
- John Muir Trail Day 1: Yosemite Valley to Clouds Rest Junction
- John Muir Trail Day 2: Clouds Rest Junction to Half Dome to Sunrise Creek Crossing
- John Muir Trail Day 3: Sunrise Creek Crossing to Lower Cathedral Lake
- John Muir Trail Day 4: Lower Cathedral Lake to Tuolumne Meadows
- John Muir Trail Day 5: Tuolumne Meadows to Donohue Pass
- John Muir Trail Day 6: Donohue Pass to Thousand Island Lake
- John Muir Trail Day 7: Thousand Island Lake to Rosalie Lake
- John Muir Trail Day 8: Rosalie Lake to Reds Meadow
- John Muir Trail Day 9: Reds Meadow to Deer Creek
- John Muir Trail Day 10: Deer Creek to Cascade Valley Junction
- John Muir Trail Day 11: Cascade Valley Junction to Silver Pass to Vermilion Valley Resort
- John Muir Trail Day 12: Vermilion Valley Resort
- John Muir Trail Day 13: Vermilion Valley Resort to Marie Lake
- John Muir Trail Day 14: Marie Lake to Selden Pass to Muir Trail Ranch
- John Muir Trail Day 15: Muir Trail Ranch to McClure Meadow
- John Muir Trail Day 16: McClure Meadow to Muir Pass to Lake West of Helen Lake
- John Muir Trail Day 17: Lake West of Helen Lake to Deer Meadow
- John Muir Trail Day 18: Deer Meadow to Mather Pass to Main South Fork Kings Crossing
- John Muir Trail Day 19: Main South Fork Kings Crossing to Pinchot Pass to Woods Creek
- John Muir Trail Day 20: Woods Creek to Glen Pass to Vidette Meadow
- John Muir Trail Day 21: Vidette Meadow to Forester Pass to Bighorn Plateau
- John Muir Trail Day 22: Bighorn Plateau to Guitar Lake
- John Muir Trail Day 23: Guitar Lake to Mount Whitney to Whitney Portal
- John Muir Trail: Post Trip Thoughts
Journal entry for September 4, 2009
Approximate distance hiked: 14.0 miles, 22.5 km
It took me 2 and 1/2 hours since the moment I got up to when I hit the trail after 10am. I was on vacation, so I wanted to sleep well and not feel always rushed.
As soon as I started hiking, I heard a horse pack coming up behind me. It was a group of hikers on a guided tour doing the second half of the JMT. I picked up my pace right away, not because I was trying to avoid the hikers, but because I didn’t want to walk on a trail full of fresh horse crap.
Physically, I was feeling great. The blister wasn’t bothering me anymore, the switchbacks felt pretty easy to climb, and I almost didn’t notice the weight of my backpack. The weather wasn’t looking too good however, with lots of dark clouds in the sky. I went to visit the Bench Lake Ranger Station but couldn’t find the ranger for some weather info.
![Bench Lake Ranger Station](http://kevinstravelblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/P1020685-1024x576.jpg)
I saw the friendly ranger 5 minutes after getting back on the trail. He told me that a storm was expected for the afternoon and through the weekend. I started to hike faster, trying to go over Pinchot Pass before the rain.
![Nasty clouds on top of Pinchot Pass](http://kevinstravelblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/P1020687-1024x576.jpg)
About 1/2 a mile before the pass, it started to rain. As I stopped to put on my rain jacket, I heard lightning and saw a thunder hit the top of the pass. I made a U-turn right away. I run into the guided tour group as they were marching on despite the storm. The guy who cared for the horses in the group asked me if I was turning around, I said yes and he told me that that was the smart thing to do. I asked him if he wasn’t afraid and his reply was “No choice”.
Suddenly rain turned into hail. I run around looking for a spot to set up my tent. I couldn’t afford to get my clothes wet. I found a semi adequate spot and waited the storm out in the tent, which lasted only about 30 minutes, while eating lunch. I started to realize that I didn’t plan enough sweet food in my diet. I was constantly craving for it.
![Coming out of the tent after the hail storm](http://kevinstravelblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/P1020689-1024x576.jpg)
I initiated my second attempt for Pinchot Pass (12,050 ft, 3673 m). As soon as I start hiking, it started to rain again, although lightly. I also heard thunder again, but it was from far away. I decided to suck it up and keep going. The climb was easy. Once on top, I took a quick video and got the hell out of there.
![Looking back north right before Pinchot Pass](http://kevinstravelblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/P1020701-1024x576.jpg)
![Looking south from Pinchot Pass](http://kevinstravelblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/P1020704-1024x576.jpg)
The 3.7 miles from Pinchot Pass to Sawmill Pass Junction was very enjoyable. It never stopped raining but it was never hard enough to damp my pants. I really liked hiking without the usual punishing sun. I did this section in no time and caught up to the horse pack.
![John Muir Trail sign](http://kevinstravelblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/P1020711-1024x576.jpg)
The terrain got tougher after the junction so I had to slow down a bit. The trail runs right next to Woods Creek for 3.5 miles before arriving at Woods Creek Junction, where I was going to end the day.
![Woods Creek](http://kevinstravelblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/P1020713-1024x576.jpg)
![Woods Creek](http://kevinstravelblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/P1020722-1024x576.jpg)
There was an note by one of the sings right before the junction, saying that there was a toilet available close by and urging hikers to use it instead of burying their waste.
![Note about availability of toilets](http://kevinstravelblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/P1020724-1024x576.jpg)
There’s a very cool suspension bridge to cross the actual creek. I had seen a video of the bridge before the trip and was really looking forward to cross it. It was a lot of fun.
![Woods Creek suspension bridge](http://kevinstravelblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/P1020731-1024x576.jpg)
It waited 15 minutes to take the video of the bridge since there was someone cleaning up on the other end of it and I didn’t want him to be in the video. There were a few campsites right by the bridge. I picked one right before the horse pack arrived. The same guy who cared for the horses I had talk to earlier told me that they were gonna set up nearby, and that if I wanted a little more piece and quiet, I could camp on the a few spots about 30 yards away. I followed his advice. One by one, the ten or so hikers in that group arrived at the site. It was quickly getting dark so I ate dinner and did my chores in a hurry.
Comments (3)
Kevin,
I see you are getting close to finishing your trip report. Steve
Hi Kevin, I just found your blog about your hike on the John Muir Trail. It is very good, but what happened, I got to day 20 and there is no more, could you finish it up—please. I wanted to read about you on mt whitney, I did the mt whitney trail as a one day hike, best hike i ever did, so i wanted to see what you had to say about the trail—so hope you get your trip report online.
Hi Cheryl. Sorry for being so slow to finish my journal. I just finished days 21 and 22 and the final entry is coming up in the next few days. Congratulations on going up and down Whitney in one day, I don’t really know if I could do that.