John Muir Trail

In honour of the U.S. National Park Service’s 100th Anniversary, I’ve introduced a feature called “Find Your Park,” named after…

The John Muir Trail is a 220-mile trail starting in Yosemite Valley of Yosemite National Park, passing through Inyo National…

Day 21: Whitney Summit to Whitney Portal
Our last morning on the JMT, our alarm went off at 5 a.m. This was no ordinary last morning. We woke up on the summit of Mt. Whitney, having slept at 14,505 feet. It was a truly extraordinary sensation to step out of the tent and be looking down on everything around us.

Day 20: Guitar Lake to Whitney Summit
After the bizarre excitement of the afternoon it was almost a relief to get back on the trail, plus I was quite anxious to prove to myself that I could summit Mt. Whitney.

Day 20: Wallace Creek to Guitar Lake
Our 20th day on trail I woke up knowing that I would be summiting the highest peak in the contiguous United States. There was really no question about whether or if I might summit, it was simply a matter of putting one foot in front of the other.

Day 19: Bubbs Creek Plateau to Wallace Creek
Forester Pass is the highest pass along the JMT as well as the highest point along the entire PCT. Forester had been on my mind for a few days as we had slowly worked our way south. It was a pretty daunting prospect to climb up to a 13,180 foot pass.

Day 18: Rae Lakes to Bubbs Creek plateau
Climbing a challenging pass is best done right before picking up a resupply. Shouldering our packs that morning at Rae Lakes felt pretty great. We were pretty well empty of food and fuel, which meant we were down to our pack base weights.

Day 17: Twin Lakes to Rae Lakes
Once again the Sierras treated us to a beautiful alpine morning of crisp, fresh air and clear blue skies. We were actually excited to see some clouds that morning as we made our way down the trail from Twin Lakes.

Day 16: Split Lake to Twin Lakes
Waking up at 11,600 feet is a rather chilly affair. We were up before the sun crested the eastern ridges. We bundled up in our down jackets, toques and mitts to help keep us warm until the sun found us. After a warming breakfast of oatmeal and tea, we made our way cross-country to rejoin the main trail. ​

Day 15: Lower Palisade Lake to Split Lake
The first day of our third week began above 10,500′. From this point on we were going to be in the true “High Sierras.” We would be sleeping well above 10,000 feet every night and hiking at an average elevation of 11,200 feet. Thank goodness we were acclimatized by now!