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Post by indianscout on Jul 10, 2018 20:50:10 GMT -8
Hi,
I am planning the JMT from - Bishop Pass to Whitney Portal Road.
Tentative timeline - Aug end mid september or even may be later. Depends on when the temp cools down a bit.
I would like to know - during the route, what are the best places to camp in night.
I probably will be doing this Solo, so looking for campsites with bit of traffic.
With Regds
Indianscout
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Post by greg1062 on Jul 10, 2018 23:07:17 GMT -8
Before Labor Day you shouldn't have any problem with finding traffic. Even into September you should still find plenty of people along the trail.
As far as camping, pretty much anywhere is good as long as you observe the regulations (distance from trails and water, campfire restrictions, etc).
With as many people that have traveled the JMT, just about any flat spot is likely to have seen a camper.
It's probably easier to point out where camping would be difficult (obviously near most of the passes).
What do you estimate your daily miles?
About the only place I would really suggest if you are stopping in the area would be the ponds to the south of Tyndall Creek. There are several used sites, with a very nice one a couple hundred yards past the well-used area near the bear box (if it's still there). The sites I have seen on the north side of the creek all seemed way too dusty.
Other than that, I would suggest letting your legs decide where the day's camp should be.
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zeke
Trail Wise!
Peekaboo slot 2023
Posts: 10,026 
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Post by zeke on Jul 11, 2018 5:07:22 GMT -8
Best camp spots for me are the ones I get to when I am ready to quit walking for the day.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Jul 12, 2018 13:03:48 GMT -8
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Post by cahiker on Jul 13, 2018 15:04:58 GMT -8
That's a gorgeous stretch of trail. You shouldn't have any trouble finding other people and great campsites every couple of miles. If you have issues with the Whitney Portal exit permit you could consider camping at Guitar Lake or Crabtree and dayhiking to the top of Whitney and then exiting at Cottonwood Lakes or Cottonwood Pass. I've done both and I hated the hike down to Whitney Portal (steep, long, hot, crowded...) and loved the extra couple of days to Cottonwood. I second the recommendation for Elizabeth Wenk's book. There is also a JMT yahoo group and a facebook group that are great places to ask specific questions. They also have a file you can download with all the waypoints from Wenk's book, which includes a pretty comprehensive list of campsites on the trail with a brief description (excel format or for importing into a gps or smartphone app). Edited to add link: groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/johnmuirtrail/info |
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Post by stevet on Jul 14, 2018 6:41:09 GMT -8
ditto Elizabeth Wenk's book and ditto Zeke's reply
That said, being the JMT you will encounter people along the trail, quite a few up through mid-September. And while the number of people out there starts rolling off toward the end of August as schools enter into session you will not be out there alone. If you want evening camps in the vicinity of people a general rule of thumb is spots within a days walk of any trail head, near lakes, and near trail junctions; these are not always my favorite places but will almost always have people nearby. (examples: Dusy Basin, middle Palisades Lake, Wright Creek)
One question comes to mind: how much experience do you have hiking in the Sierra? If "not much" then very understandable wanting campstops and such planned out, but if you are anything like me you'll have days when you are doing better than plan (or worse) and you will get off the planned itinerary. And by all means allow yourself the flexibility to get off your planned itinerary and use Zeke's approach. If you have a paper copy of Wenk's "camp site list" with you when you are close to stopping you can refer to it and find something nearby.
All said, this is a great stretch of trail and good for 1-2 weeks of travel in God's country.
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toejam
Trail Wise!
Hiking to raise awareness
Posts: 1,795
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Post by toejam on Jul 14, 2018 8:59:42 GMT -8
I'll suggest if possible start at North Lake and go over Piute Pass so you don't miss Evolution Valley and Muir Pass.
If yo can't get Whitney Portal, exit Horseshoe Meadow. Lots of people hitch rides to Lone Pine from there.
The nights will be longer and colder the further back you push the start date. I'd shoot for earlier.
You can get a permit without a reservation if the beginning of your trip has flexibility. Be persistent and don't give up.
And don't get too attached to a day by day itinerary. It will cause you to miss the magic.
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Post by johntpenca on Jul 14, 2018 13:20:49 GMT -8
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toejam
Trail Wise!
Hiking to raise awareness
Posts: 1,795
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Post by toejam on Jul 16, 2018 7:19:47 GMT -8
I probably watched 100 youtube videos before my JMT hike, which gave me a pretty good idea of what I wanted to see.
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Post by johntpenca on Jul 21, 2018 21:38:16 GMT -8
Another one time poster. Starting to think I won't bother to help people until they are "Trail Wise".
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