Reddit reviews John Muir Trail: The Essential Guide to Hiking America's Most Famous Trail
We found 5 Reddit comments about John Muir Trail: The Essential Guide to Hiking America's Most Famous Trail. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
John Muir Trail 5th Ed.
https://www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/john-muir-trail/
https://www.amazon.com/John-Muir-Trail-Essential-Americas/dp/0899977367
http://atlasguides.com/john-muir-trail
The trail doesn't change much, all of the information should be as up to date as you need it to be. You also could have found these links by googling "john muir trial info", "john muir trail guidebook", and "john muir trail app"
Seriously just buy the book below and all your questions will be answered. She has a section for Nobo and a section for Sobo.
My advice is don't skip the hot springs and leave time to swim whenever you want to. Everything else will be beautiful without needing to think about it. I thru hiked Southbound this past August in 11 days and wish I had left myself some more time to nab some peaks and take a zero day or two.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0899977367?cache=85d7ad059e5eb1f266930c689791be0aπ=SY200_QL40&qid=1404867782&sr=8-1#ref=mp_s_a_1_1
Other resources:
http://www.amazon.com/John-Muir-Trail-Essential-Americas/dp/0899977367/ref=dp_ob_title_bk
http://jmtbook.com/
Sorry for the commercial links. I'm not affiliated at all, I just ike the products.
When you say next August, I presume you mean 2017? The reason I ask is SOBO hikes (ones starting out at a Yosemite TH) are notoriously booked months in advance. In fact, the reservations for August are almost up. So the first and hardest part of hiking the JMT SOBO is just getting a permit that allows you to!
I'd check out this site: http://bearfoottheory.com/john-muir-trail-permit/
Gives you the info you'll need.
As for gear, you don't need too much over the standard. You'll need a decent pack that can hold 35-40lbs. You'll need a bear canister per code. After that, just any tent that you like. Most would recommend something lightweight.
In August, the snow should already have melted in a lot of the Sierras, so you shouldn't need an ice ax or crampons or anything strange. You'll probably want a 40 degree rated sleeping bag or better depending if you sleep hot or cold.
You'll want to plan some basic resupply. Nothing too fancy. Mostly sending a resupply to the Muir Trail Ranch or others depending on how much food you want to carry at once. There's plenty of reliable resupply strategies out there, pick one you're most comfortable with, even if it includes going overboard.
A great guidebook that has a lot of info: http://www.amazon.com/John-Muir-Trail-Essential-Americas/dp/0899977367/ref=dp_ob_title_bk
And yeah, that's about it. Then you just get out and hike it. Depending on your pace you can complete the JMT in 10-14 days if you're trucking through, but if you want to soak in the scenes you can go at a slower pace.
I'm hitting the JMT SOBO out of Happy Island in July. Lemme know if you have any other planning or readiness questions!
Have them read John Muir Trail: The Essential Guide to Hiking America's Most Famous Trail by Elizabeth Wenk
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0899977367/ref=dp_ob_neva_mobile