This blog has a single purpose: to get you thinking about hiking all or part of the John Muir Trail. Regard- less of whether you’re an experienced backpacker or if you’ve never walked farther than from your car to the mall, I want you to seriously consider making this 200-plus mile trip through the Sierra Nevada. Why?
Because you can do this. You can walk this entire trail (or substantial parts of it), through miles of gorgeous scenery, without ever crossing a road, and end up at the literal top of the forty-eight contiguous states. And you can do this without tons of experience or technical training.
What you WILL need is a plan. The plan is found here; the inspiration to starting planning, I hope, can be found in this blog.
But why the John Muir Trail? Why not something shorter, easier or closer to home? Why something so tough?
Let’s begin with five good reasons:
1. Hiking this trail, particularly all of it, is hard, and doing hard things makes us better people. Accomplishing something difficult is an all-purpose solution to many life’s problems, simply because so many of life’s problems stem from a lack of confidence. One thing I’ll guarantee you, particularly if you decide to hike the whole length, is this: at the end of this hike you might lack energy, you might lack cleanliness, but you won’t lack confidence.
2. At 211 miles (222 before you’re really done) it’s just about the ideal length. Depending on your age and physical condition, you’re looking at two to four weeks of walking (although doing it in fewer days is certainly possible). You’ll need to walk about 19 miles per day to do this in two weeks. Just ten miles per day will do if you have a month.
3. The Sierra Nevada, besides being some of the most beautiful scenic places on the planet, is also known as “The Gentle Wilderness.” It’s just about the most forgiving wild place you’re likely to come across. That doesn’t mean you can be careless, and gross lapses of judgment can cost you dearly, but there are far fewer dangers here than in Alaska, the Grand Canyon, Mount Washington or other popular backpacking destinations.
4. The weather is about as benign as it can get, particularly during prime hiking season. Sunshine and mild temperatures are the norm, with occasional rainstorms that infrequently last more than a few hours. There are some weather-related dangers (lightning during thunderstorms and snow at the end of the season are two that come to mind), and I can’t guarantee you sunshine every day, but the odds are definitely stacked in your favor.
5. You couldn’t design a better trail even if you had the power to move mountains and change the course of rivers. If you hike it the way I recommend, the first half of the trail begins in what is arguably the most beautiful of America’s national parks, gives you a substantial break after the initial (admittedly grueling) ascent, keeps you at a relatively low elevation, and pampers you with frequent spots to rest, recuperate and resupply. It’s during the second half that great challenges occur, after you’ve acclimated yourself to the elevation and the daily exertion.
Wouldn’t 2012 be a great year for a great adventure?
Good hiking, Ray
Going to hike it this year. Do you think march is to early
March is usually a couple of months too early. This year there has been little snow thus far, so I suppose it could be POSSIBLE, but not recommended unless you are very experienced with snow camping.