I am currently on the trail at reds meadow going SOBO and am hoping to coordinate a last minute trail angel to deliver my resupply that is at the onion valley trail head.
Does anyone know of a service or a local that would be willing and able to deliver my resupply to me on August 2nd?

I am willing to meet the trail angle at tree line of the western/JMT side of Kearsarge pass (it’s my first time in the sierras so not exactly sure where that is) and hoping to pay around $200-$250 but would possibly pay more.

Hoping to have some people to contact when I get to VVR in a few days.

Thanks all

Im a beginner photographer and brought my camera with me on the JMT this year. Last year i hiked the HST and at guitar lake waking up to summit whitney i saw the stars and fell in love. I promised myself that i would bring a camera good enough to capture the stars this time.

Well here are some astros i got over garnet lake and what i think is junction peak/foresster pass.

Hope everyone has a great hike. Jmt is amazing and very much worth it!

I will be going reds meadow to happy isles starting sept 20th. If anyone has done this section in late sept here, would you advise a 20f or 0f degree bag? Thanks in advance!

I've a Durston x-dome 1+ and bought the footprint. I think it weighs 3 oz or so. Question is do I need to bring it, regardless of it's weight, given the terrain?

Hey all! I am so excited (and anxious) as our family of four is heading up to Florence Lake to finish the JMT. We had to detour through Bishop two summers ago and missed Evolution Valley! It’s the missing piece to what i would describe as one of my proudest moments as a family.

Excited for the sweat, soreness, camaraderie, beauty and sense of purpose. “The mountains are calling. . . And we must go!”

Question for August hikers - do I need a windbreaker and a rain coat? At the moment I was leaning towards leaving the houdini but it's so light maybe I should just bring it? Thanks for your thoughts.

Here's my arsenal of what I could bring:

Alpha Direct 90gsm hoodie

Patagonia Houdini

REI Magma 800 Puffer

Patagonia Torrentshell

Section hiking the John Muir Trail. Back weight 24 pounds.

Hi everyone, I'm heading NoBo solo in mid-August and I'm hoping to get some feedback on my current itinerary. My base weight is ~19lbs (hopefully will decrease a bit as I dial in gear).

I'm aiming for 16 days and I understand that itineraries are only guidelines and things never go exactly to plan on trail. Unfortunately I'm limited to 17 days max due to work commitments.

I've never thru-hiked, my backpacking experience has been limited to <4 night treks. I've done some backpacking in the Sierras at altitude (Mt. Whitney, Mt. Langley, Old Army Pass, New Army Pass, Cottonwood Lakes) and haven't experienced altitude sickness. I'm hoping trail legs will come after a couple days, but of course 16 days is very different from 4 so any advice there would be welcome.

Any thoughts / suggestions would be appreciated. Any sites that should be skipped? Thanks in advance!

Will hike in from Horseshoe Meadow with my two teenager kids until Whitney after a week, I have a Big Agnese Copper Spur UL4 4-person tent that I bought off Craigslist and waterproofed it. I have used/tested it in multiple 3-person trips and liked it. It’s very spacious and very light considering the size after spreading the weight. But I do have enough two and one person tents if we have to carry two tents.

My question is, suppose the Copper Spur UL4 could take the July weather, can I easily find large enough sites especially from Horseshoe to Whitney? I will explore for sites of course, but with two kids I don’t want to get stressful because of the size of the tent.

Tentative plan is to camp at Chicken Spring Lake (arrive late first day), Rock Creek, then Guitar Lake. If you have been there, could you please let me know if you feel these places could accommodate a 4 person tent reasonably well?
FYI, the footprint of Copper Spur UL4 is roughly the same as the footprint of X-mid 2 but with the doors extended out more. But I could pitch my X-mid 2 one way or another once the site accommodates the inner sleeping area, but CS UL4 is not that flexible due to the rigid poles. It does need a site that could accommodate the whole tent.

Many thanks!

We start Monday. Pack is 18lbs, 29lbs with water and food for 7 days. So excited! Any last advice on the itinerary? We have 1 resupply at MTR (9 day haul after that). Will stop at Reds and eat (maybe grab snacks depending on how it's going).

Obviously 1000 places to stay and I can just google it... My flight is getting in late and I just need somewhere decent-ish to crash before driving down to Mammoth the next morning. Anyone with actual experience of places to recommend? Thanks.

Hi all, looking forward to starting a NOBO trip from Cottonwood Lakes on Aug. 4th! We are planning 17 days out, with resupplies at Kearsage Pass (family hand-off), VVR, and Tuolomne Meadows.

I don't have my winter puffy (800-fill Stio down) on my packlist, and am wondering if this is something that I may regret, so please let me know. I do have an Alpha fleece sweater, which has worked on cool mornings on other hikes.

Here is my lighterpack, open to any feedback on my packlist!
https://lighterpack.com/r/byt0ka

We just dropped our resupply buckets at the post office and they would not accept the buckets with duct tape as they said it is prone too being torn off in their machines. At first they told us to remove it and replace it with clear packing tape, but when we said MTR requires it as their new 2026 policy the post office told us to put clear packing tape over the duct tape, and then they accepted it. The post office workers were really confused why MTR implied in their policy that the post office needs to duct tape on the buckets to prove they haven't been opened. Maybe your post office won't care, but this is a PSA that it might be an issue for people. Anyone else having any issues with this new policy?

Quick Update from Trail.

First 50 miles NoBo from Cottonwood Lakes to Independence.

Don’t go over Old Army Pass. It’s a real burner. “Harder on the way down” my ass.

Mozzies - some, but no swarms. Permethrin treatment keeps most away, a spritz of Deet on hat brim takes care of the rest. no bug nets

Snow- some small patches on the N Side of Forester, boot path packed down, no need for spike

weather- Got caught in a nasty hailstorm, some thunder, but otherwise sunny and hot

smoke- Nothing so far. fingers crossed.

Trail- Incredible. Gobsmacked by awe at every turn.

Hi everyone,

I’m planning a southbound JMT section hike starting at Red’s Meadow and finishing at Whitney Portal.

The plan is to drive from the San Francisco Bay Area to Lone Pine in the morning, park my car, and catch the 5:00 PM ESTA bus to Mammoth. I’ll stay overnight in Mammoth and start hiking from Red’s Meadow the following morning. I’ll be on the trail for about 10–12 days before returning to Whitney Portal.

Does anyone have recommendations for a safe place to leave my car in Lone Pine for about 12 days? I’d prefer long-term parking that’s commonly used by backpackers.

Thanks!

Hi, I live in Europe and I'm still thinking about doing the trail in August from Happy Isles. Can I do it without sending a resupply package? About 16-17 days in total. Thanks 😊
Edit: I prefer buying food on the trail than sending a package.

Hi All!

I have a backpacking trip starting a week from Sunday at North Lake, going over Piute pass, on the JMT, and then out over Bishop pass ending at South lake. When I was here a number of years ago there was a public shuttle that would go at least part of the way, but that appears defunct. Has anyone had success with hitchhiking/have any other ideas.

My thought was to park at south lake to not have to deal with getting back to the car at the end, and then hitchhike over to north lake. My worry is that since this would likely be morning (maybe around 9am), people wouldn't be leaving south lake. We could also park at North lake and save getting back till the end of the trip, but likewise I worry that while it will probably be easy to get from South Lake down on 168 to the North Lake junction, there won't be people going up the North Lake road at the end of the day?

Thoughts or anyone have any reports of doing this successfully/easily?

Hey! Paid for my Muir Trail Ranch resupply and I want to ship my bucket. Unfortunately, I had a problem with downloading my shipping label on the confirmation page. I am about 3 weeks out so trying to get this resolved!

Anyone have a similar issue?

Is there a known address I can ship to and make my own label?

I know I need to tape the handle, duct tape the lid, and write my expected pick up date.

I’ve mailed off resupply to Red’s and MTR for my SOBO hike, all in plenty of time and I can see they arrived at their destinations per USPS.

Do I need to do any further follow up or should I expect any confirm from either place that they’ve got them, or is okay to assume that as long as I’ve followed their procedures and I can see USPS delivered it that I’m all set?

I’m finishing the JMT at Whitney Portal and need to get to Reno for my flight home. The problem is that I’m not sure exactly when I’ll finish. If I have an extra day after the hike, I might hitch a ride or catch a bus to Mammoth Lakes (or somewhere else) to relax for a day before heading to Reno.

Because of that, I’d rather not buy my bus ticket in advance and lose the flexibility.
How risky is it to just buy a ticket on the day of travel or the day before? Do these buses usually sell out, or is there normally space available? The latest I would need to leave is a Monday, if that makes any difference.

Also, can you buy a ticket directly from the driver, or do you need to purchase it beforehand? And do they accept debit cards? I’m from Europe and don’t have a credit card, so I’d like to know if I should carry enough cash.

I’d appreciate hearing from anyone who’s done this after hiking the JMT. Thanks!

Starting my hike in midAugust and have just the slightest window to make further adjustments.

Planning a 19 day itinerary with no more than ~16mi and under each day

Resupplies at Reds and MTR (heavy 9 day push to Mt Whitney and I’m worried about sufficient power bank recharges. I tested my iPhone 16 Pro and I can only get 2 charges per 10k so hence the 3 power banks)

Clothing section includes 2lb worn weight so subtract that and base weight is closer to 23lbs

I tend to run cold at camp and in the mornings. Need to add gloves.

JMT Lighterpack

Would appreciate your feedback. Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone! I plan to hike the John Muir Trail in 3 weeks and today I just sprained my ankle pretty badly while hiking. I've never sprained an ankle so I don't have much experience with recovery time, but I wanted to hear everyone's opinion on how I can best recover before the JMT and how feasible that is. We plan to hike it in 21 days, with approx 13 miles a day starting from Horshoe Meadows.

I sprained it while going downhill, then had to walk another 2.5 miles. I drove home for an hour, then could barely walk from the car to the house. I've been following RICE, and by now (evening) it's very swollen and bruised. I can bear weight on it just standing but walking on it is quite painful and I am hobbling around. I bet it could be a lot worse so I'm hopeful that it will be better by end of July when I start hiking.

I wanted to ask what recommendations people have for recovery. Any exercises you recommend to strengthen it once it's more healed? How likely is it it'll be fully healed by the time I start the JMT if I don't hike on it at all until then? How can I take care of it on trail? Is there any type of cardio I can do without putting stress on the ankle to keep training? I feel like I'm at a good spot with my fitness but it's more of a mental crutch to feel like I'm as prepared as I can be.

I appreciate any help or advice you all can provide, thank you!

I have Gaia, will download the offline maps, Far Out and a Garmin inreach. I’ve got a few questions about best use of them while on the trail.

- it seems like the trail is pretty clear to follow, and there are signposts at the junctions, meaning for the most part if I don’t want to be using my phone all the time, I’ll be okay?

- what’s the best way to get info / alerts about fire? Is there an app / alert I can use on my Garmin, or am I better off asking a friend to keep me posted on any info via Garmin? (This friend has hiked the JMT before, and would not message me to say there’s a fire in say, Redwood National Park 😂)

- are there any spots on the trail where you’ve had enough reception to update FarOut? Does it matter since most others on trail who can update won’t have reception either, so it’s always about 3 weeks out of date? It seems like Reds Meadow is a safe bet with Verizon. I know not to expect reception in general, but in my wilderness experience there are spots from time to time when it’s worthwhile switching off airplane mode to do a quick update.

- for the love of all backcountry electronic frustration, if someone can tell me how TF to download Gaia maps to get snap to trail to work reliably offline, PLEASE tell me. I find it works about 25% of the time. Not a big deal but I do like using it for motivation / fear mongering to see what’s really coming up. (Yes I can read a topo map, I just like this feature).

- If I get to Tuolumne Meadows (where I’m starting) and find something hasn’t downloaded correctly and I want to fix it before I start, how far east would I have to drive to count on getting some reception? I don’t get any reliable Verizon anywhere between the entrance to Yosemite on 120 and TM. I do weirdly get reception on the JMT between TM and lower Cathedral Lakes so I know it’s not impossible.

If you don’t have answers to these specific questions and just want to weigh in with how you used the various apps/tech on the trail, or didn’t (I’m carrying a paper map and a compass), that’d be helpful too. Thanks all!

eta:
If not obvious, this whole post is brought to you by July 16 pre permit date anxiety. Pls be kind!