Information on hiking the John Muir Trail

Books

I found a number of good sources of information about hiking the Muir Trail.  We tried 3 books - Starr's Guide to the John Muir Trail and the High Sierra Region, Walter A. Starr Jr. (1974, Sierra Club Books, San Francisco; 224 pages and a B&W map), The John Muir Trail, Don and Roberta Lowe (1982, Caxton Printers, Caldwell Idah; 100 pages including 30 1-page B&W maps with corresponding elevation charts), and Guide to the John Muir Trail, Thomas Winnett and Kathy Morey (1998, Wilderness Press, Berkeley; 104 pages including 29 1-page B&W maps).  In fact, I didn't get Winnett's book until after we finished the hike (I had heard about the earlier edition and that the mileages for this latest one were checked carefully).  We took both the Lowes' book and Starr's Guide with us on the Trail.  Of those 2, we found the Lowe's book more useful.  Starr's Guide has gotten too out of date, and changes in the trails have made it difficult to follow in some areas.  It is useful in that it covers more than just the Muir Trail - including various side trips and approaches (though the Lowes' book describes some as well).  The organization of both Lowe and Winnett is easier to follow than Starr if you are through-hiking the entire Trail.  A friend who is hiking the JMT as I'm writing this borrowed both Lowe and Winnett while planning, and decided that he liked Lowe better.  However, it is out of print and it took him a while to find a copy of his own.  The Lowes' book is good if you hike North-to-South (as we did) since the maps are integrated with the text, so you are not flipping back and forth (as you must with Winnett's) and mileages are indicated directly on the maps, rather than just giving a table of mileages at landmarks (again saving a lot of page flipping).  Finally, each map covers 5 or 10 trail miles, and the accompanying elevation chart covers the same stretch of trail, so it makes for much easier planning.  Most every night I read through the section on what we'd be covering the next day, and checked out map and elevation chart to know what we were in for.  In some places I'm sure the mileages were off a bit - probably Winnett's book is more accurate, but it was not a real problem.  In the end it doesn't matter if you walk a mile farther than you had thought one day.  If you want to hike South-to-North, then the Lowes' book would be more difficult to use.

Web sites

There are a variety of web sites which detail different peoples' experiences on the JMT.  I found all of them useful.  Even if I didn't follow their plans, it was useful to see what they found, and fun to get a preview of what we'd be doing.  Some of the links have changed, and I assume will continue to change occasionally (in particular, the Pacific Crest Trail Association got its own domain).  In no particular order:

John Muir Trail FAQ and planning Information (PCTA page) - good information but it is a couple years old, and some of the links are broken.

Bill Finch hiked the JMT in 13 days, and has posted descriptions of it as well as lots of other hikes in the Sierras, with a bunch of other links.

Richard and Mattie Kirby hiked the JMT in 14 days.  Their page includes a lot of good information on how they decided to lighten their packs so that they could cover more miles, and carry less food.

Russell Bell planned on hiking the JMT in 19 days, but hurt his ankle and had to bail out a few days short of finishing.  His page includes lots of information on planning a trip.

Locations of Bear Boxes in the Sierras - descriptions (Sierra Club and Park Service) and maps/GPS coordinates  on the JMT you have them at Little Yosemite Valley, in the campground at Tuolumne Meadows, but then not until you get to Wood's Creek and the Rae Lakes area (a few days from the end of the trip).  By the time we got to Wood's Creek, all our food would fit into the bear canisters, so the boxes weren't too important to us.

A FAQ on Yosemite, and the Yosemite Association Homepage (where you get wilderness permits), and the Park Service Yosemite Homepage

Bear Canisters, including large aluminum ones.  We used the plastic Garcia Machine containers, but the biggest you can get now (about 8" x 12") can only hold enough for 1 person for about a week.  We had a large (about 8" x 18") one from Garcia, but they don't make then any more (I called Garcia to make sure).  The
aluminum ones look lighter than the Garcia's, and not too much more expensive.  This site also has links from their homepage to a bunch of other information - some new info on getting permits for Whitney..  Also, there is a good page on how to pack a bear canister to get the most in (consider not only weight but also volume when choosing meals) - we did this to some extent and I tried to figure out the volume of different foods (see below).  The only comment I'd add is to try to pack in day-by-day layers as best you can, because you don't want to have to go through an hour of unpacking and repacking a couple times a day.

Mono Hot Springs Resort  and Post Office - they are about 5 miles from Vermillion Valley, though near the end of the Bear Creek trail.  If you have time to take a day to lie in the hot springs, it feels good (we did).  You don't have to be staying at the resort to get to the hot springs.

Vermillion Valley Resort - can get a boat from about 1 mile off the JMT for $8 ($15 round trip) - they'll put boat and meals on a tab so you pay once when you leave.  Lots of hikers stop here and, unless there's been a change, through-hikers get a free night in a tent-cabin, and their first drink is free.  The food is good, the owners friendly, and we were happy we spent a layover day here.  They will hold a package of food for resupply for $6.

A discussion of high-altitudes and acclimatization

Maps