JMT - Getting There?

A local bus system, YARTS, has a network that runs to and through the park, so you could come up from Fresno that way (and return via a Eastern Sierra Transport connection at Mammoth). With the recent extension of service with Fresno that's the better bet as AMTRAK out of SFO or Oakland or Sacramento all are possible but giant time wasters as the connections aren't quite coordinated (IIRC), though if the flight wwas substantially cheaper it might be worth looking at current schedules. (AMTRAK switches to a bus at Merced to finish the trip to the Valley).

yarts.com

The other thing is how to return? Eastern Sierra Transportation runs along the Owens Valley so you could pick that up in Lone Pine and head north. Either connecting to YARTS at Mammoth and heading to Fresnoor simply heading on up to Reno for a flight out.
www.estransit.com

The park is rationing John Muir Trail "Exit Permits" so a reservation for a Happy Isles start is a good idea since 100% are reservable there's little doubt they'll all be gone absent a no-show.

www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/jmtfaq.htm

Private shuttles? That's a 127 mile each way ride... maybe, but the cost would be enormous (you'd be paying for there and back).

Thank you both for this information! This is very helpful. I think I am going to do the Fresno and YARTS route. That seems pretty simple enough.

I have backpacked the High Sierra Trail before that ended at the portal - think I'll do the same exit as last time. A mix of hitch-hiking and bus hopping!

Did you swing around south last time or north?

Some of my favorite scenery is along and around that route from Crescent Meadow to the Portal.

That's funny. I got woken up on the BigHorn Plateau in the middle of the night by a pretty substantial blizzard, in August, that had me scrambling to set up my tent holding my flashlight in my mouth since, like you, I hadn't seen cloud for a week or more out of Crescent Meadow (I didn't do the straight HST, I looped headed up Milestone Creek around to lake South America and then south from there) and so was sleeping out as is my preference, now I may not sleep in a shelter but I definitely put it up. It happens more than many suspect.

Such incredible country along that stretch of the Sierra Crest. I've drifted into visiting farther north lately (large Yosemite) but I really need to head back that way, incredibly rugged scenery. The view North off the Whitney Summit gives a glimpse into an alpine wonderland.

On their JMT hikers permit page that I linked to up above they have a chart near the bottom that shows details of their application load. The sticker is their 45 people per day JMT exit quota for the entire park, that means things will be tight for peak traffic times, less so if your plans are for a shoulder timeframe.

Per the rules fax it the day before* the available day after noon PM PST  to get into the pile for the random processing the first thing the next morning (or at least to have it arrive before 7 A.M. as they post). This past year they even processed each day over the weekend rather then face the giant pile Monday morning at the Conservancy (who does the desk work for reservations).

Wilderness Permits for John Muir Trail Hikers
"To protect access for other hikers and preserve the quality of the JMT experience, Yosemite National Park is implementing an exit quota on an interim basis. The exit quota will help the park to address access and resource concerns until a comprehensive approach can be developed through the upcoming wilderness stewardship planning process. The interim quota will limit the number of hikers exiting the Yosemite Wilderness over Donohue Pass to 45 per day. The exit quota applies to all wilderness permits reserved or issued after February 2, 2015."

And if your goal is a Happy Isles start, that's 100% reservable contrary to the park's standard permit policy which leaves some portion for walkups.

Not having looked at it closely but I expect the usuals apply, weekends will be the craziest, Mondays bad, while midweek less so.

www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/jmtfaq.htm


* ""You may send a fax intended for the next day beginning at noon (however, there is no advantage to sending a fax at noon compared to 7 am, other than what is convenient for you, since all faxes and letters are sorted randomly). Faxes (and letters) received by 7:30 am are processed before phone calls. Faxes received during business hours are processed on first-come, first-served basis along with phone calls."
www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/wpres.htm

Once the reservation system restarts in the spring their Full Trailheads Report can give you insight into the traffic (haven't checked to see whether it includes Donohue exit quota info ETA: I did and can't see any).:
www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/upload/fulltrailheads.pdf

A big part of the challenge for Happy Isles is it's a double/triple whammy: hordes of people heading to Half Dome overnighting at Little Yosemite Valley alongside the JMT though hikers AND the lowly sorts simply wanting to start a loop or whatnot out of the valley and into something like the Merced's headwaters etc. Washburn, Red Peak Pass and the rest of the Clark Range and such.
www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/wildpermits.htm

No the dates have to be available so either The day or before (they may even specifically address that somewhere in the FAQs). The good thing is they email quite rapidly so if you needed to resubmit for the next day there'd be time, especially with the change to accepting faxes after noon.  I'm always getting my notification within hours the day of the processing when I try for a reservation. (out of the way TH's I don't bother).

I'd say the two Happy Isles (to and through Little Yosemite Valley) and Glacier Point would be a good package to spread the odds. There's bus service, either fee or free, to Glacier Point from the Valley.

Then to walk "all" if you got a Glacier Point start you'd simply dayhike to the Panorama Trail junction the day before your start if you wanted.

ETA: Had you noticed there's a post office in Tuolumne Meadows (as well as a store) so you could lighten that initial load if you wanted for the climb out of the Valley to the Cathedral pass (a vertical  mile plus), or just extend your reach heading south, by sending things for restocking there. It's just before the Lyell Canyon, Rafferty Creek TH so it's convenient for people heading over from the JMT hop over Cathedral Pass. I've used both the Valley main post office and the Meadows one for that on occasion to dodge TSA regs on things.

One thing that can be unique to Yosemite: bear canisters? Have you got that worked out?

It's not a route I've done (though I've done parts on various trips) but from everything I've heard it's a spectacular experience.

If you haven't you might want to check out Wilderness Press' JMT guide (Elizabeth Wenk). Their other Sierra guidebooks are always amazing so it could be a useful resource.