Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
After nearly two years and dozens of failed attempts, I finally scored the golden ticket: a permit to backpack the legendary John Muir Trail (JMT). Running from Yosemite Village to Mt. Whitney at 221 miles, most backpackers take about three weeks to complete it. But I wanted a true challenge. My goal? Finish in just 11 days (with one extra day as backup), averaging 20 miles and climbing 3,500–7,000 feet of elevation each day—more than 42,000 feet total.
To keep the experience as raw and organic as possible, I skipped the research. No YouTube videos. No studying the map in detail. Just a start point, a finish point, and one planned resupply at Muir Trail Ranch. I trained hard for months—long, hot desert hikes with a fully loaded pack, gear dialed in, and confidence high.
The conditions looked perfect. Yosemite hadn’t seen rain in eight weeks, so I pared down my rain gear to the bare minimum: a rain jacket and what turned out to be a too-small pack cover. Would have been enough with typical afternoon showers - but the Sierra's had other plans…
Instead of the usual short afternoon showers, I walked straight into a four-day storm—8 to 9 hours of off and on rain, lightning and hail each day. Wet clothes, soaked gear, and zero chance to dry out. My 20-mile days instantly slipped out of reach. At the end of the very first day, as I passed through Tuolumne Meadows, one of the easiest bailout points on trail, Mother Nature made the decision for me: it was time to step off.
It wasn’t the thru-hike I dreamed of, but it’s not the end of the story.
I’ll be back!
After nearly two years and dozens of failed attempts, I finally scored the golden ticket: a permit to backpack the legendary John Muir Trail (JMT). Running from Yosemite Village to Mt. Whitney at 221 miles, most backpackers take about three weeks to complete it. But I wanted a true challenge. My goal? Finish in just 11 days (with one extra day as backup), averaging 20 miles and climbing 3,500–7,000 feet of elevation each day—more than 42,000 feet total.
To keep the experience as raw and organic as possible, I skipped the research. No YouTube videos. No studying the map in detail. Just a start point, a finish point, and one planned resupply at Muir Trail Ranch. I trained hard for months—long, hot desert hikes with a fully loaded pack, gear dialed in, and confidence high.
The conditions looked perfect. Yosemite hadn’t seen rain in eight weeks, so I pared down my rain gear to the bare minimum: a rain jacket and what turned out to be a too-small pack cover. Would have been enough with typical afternoon showers - but the Sierra's had other plans…
Instead of the usual short afternoon showers, I walked straight into a four-day storm—8 to 9 hours of off and on rain, lightning and hail each day. Wet clothes, soaked gear, and zero chance to dry out. My 20-mile days instantly slipped out of reach. At the end of the very first day, as I passed through Tuolumne Meadows, one of the easiest bailout points on trail, Mother Nature made the decision for me: it was time to step off.
It wasn’t the thru-hike I dreamed of, but it’s not the end of the story.
I’ll be back!
