When I walked past Marie Lake on my first trip I knew that I would camp here the second time…and I did!
There are either eight, ten, or eleven John Muir Trail mountain passes, depending on how you count them. I tend to say eight, because that’s the number of major passes there are on the trail. They are: Donohue, Silver, Selden, Muir, Mather, Pinchot, Glen, and Forester. (You can check this out for more background on each.)
A thru-hiker will climb Cathedral Pass and Island Pass as well, but they are far less dramatic, and many hikers don’t even know when they’ve arrived at the top. Most of the major passes have signs announcing that you have reached the top—which are superfluous—while the minor passes go unsigned. That is too bad; a sign telling me where Cathedral and Island passes actually are would be useful!
The eleventh pass is Trail Crest, on the way down to Whitney Portal, after summiting Mount Whitney. Technically, it isn’t on the JMT.
Which brings me back to the big eight.
There are two primary strategies to get over them safely and with enough remaining energy to negotiate the sometimes just-as-difficult descent. I call them “Rest at the Bottom” and “Getting There Early.”
Rest at the Bottom. The primary objective of my first thru-hike was to finish. Sure, I intended to stay safe and leave no trace, but all other considerations were relegated to secondary importance compared to finishing the hike. With that in mind, and with the passes (especially the last four, which I would tackle in four consecutive days) casting a long shadow over my limited self-confidence, I was determined to give myself the best chance to make it over each pass.
That meant two things: sleep at as low an elevation as possible the night before, because, generally, the lower I slept the better I slept, and avoid climbing at the end of the day, when I was most spent. That’s exactly what I did. In all but two cases I spent the night before a pass at the lowest point within a day’s hike (for me).
This plan worked great! In each instance I made it over the passes handily. It was a great psychological boost to know that the afternoon miles were often going to be all downhill. The only drawback was that on a couple of occasions—Glen Pass and Forester Pass—I didn’t reach the top until early afternoon. Fortunately, the days were thunderstorm-free.
Getting There Early. My priorities for the second thru-hike were different. I knew that I could hike the miles; this time I was determined to enjoy the experience a little more. Part of “enjoying the experience a little more” was camping at spots that I had walked past the first time. Many of those spots, like Marie Lake and the Rae Lakes area, happened to be close to the tops of passes. With one thru-hike behind me, and with a little more self-confidence on this second trip, I decided that a climb in the afternoon, even if I was a bit worn out, wasn’t so bad. I even finished one day with the Golden Staircase!
The additional benefit was that I was off the pass early, which was good, because I had thunder, lightning, rain, and even some snow and hail the second time around.
Which way is right? I’d be hard pressed to call either one “wrong.” Still, next year, when my wife and I hike the trail, you’ll find us at the top of the major passes early in the day. At least for us, getting to the top early is the way to go.
Good hiking, Ray
I’ve talked to a lot of Rangers about when it is best to get up and over a Pass (or down from Whitney Summit). The general rule I’ve heard is to get up and down by 11 am, as the vast majority of Lightening and Thunder risks occur after that time. I use this rule for the major passes — not for Island and Cathedral Pass — I’ve camped at Island Pass many years.
Thanks, Roleigh. If you are off by 11 you should be good. Thanks for the comment!
Hi Ray, My husband and I always enjoy your blogs. Very informative. We always try plan our hikes based on your first strategy – camp near the bottom and get up and over a pass early in the day. As you know, the Sierra’s cab be unpredictable weather wise, however there is always a greater chance of a thunderstorm later in the day. My idea of enjoying the JMT does not include being stuck on a pass trying to find shelter as the lightning bolts strike around us. Besides, it allows us to get our miles in early and set up camp to enjoy and rejuvenate for the next day. As you said, neither is wrong, we met others that enjoyed hanging around camp in the morning, relaxing and not feeling rushed and would tackle the passes later in the day..mind you most of these were 20 somethings…my husband and I are in our 50 somethings..lol thanks again for your posts. We look forward to another thru hike in 2017.
Thanks for the comment, Diane. 2017 is the year for my wife and I, too! We can’t wait.
Me and my 14 year old son
Ended getting over most passes just on dusk
And had to set up camp just below the paases
But it worked out ok
Not one of the “school” solutions, Ham, but if it worked for you and your son, you’ll hear no complaints from me. Thanks for the comment!
I took the passes as I encountered them, sometimes mid-day, sometimes in the afternoon. There often aren’t campsites near the top of the pass (no wonder), and to stop in the early afternoon to tackle the pass the next day wasn’t realistic for keeping my schedule. It was always impressive how on the more southern passes (Forester, Glen), several times I’d think I was nearly at the top, but there’d be much further to go.
Remarkably, I was able to get weak cell phone service from Verizon at the top of Forester Pass (in 2013). This was not the case for any of the other passes (I didn’t try at Trail Crest, but there was some service on Mt. Whitney as well).
I think the worst offender in the thank-goodness-I-made-it-oh-no-I-still-have-more-to-go category is Glen Pass. It has that “false top” about 500 feet below the real top. It’s a killer. Thanks for the comment, Victor!