So say an east coaster wants to fly out west and experience the JMT...

[Shrewd]

Where might such a manboy look to find out about shuttles and such? Is there a shuttle from one terminus to the other? Rent a car then hitch to the opposite trail head?
assemble a food drop there and leave it as I've seen some do, or ship em all from home?

then there's the matter of permits, which so far has been confusing. I need a permit by my entrance trailhead and I apply 183 days before I mean to hike? And yet it seems required to reserve a spot to camp? You you guys really plan your hikes to such degree? Surely one can just find a flat space off trail and pitch a tent?

my only hiking thus far has been Virginia and pa and the mountains are calling but this all so far seems overwhelming!

[colorado_rob]

The JMT does involved a bit of planning and has a hassle of a permit process (if you go SOBO, like most do), but just work though it and enjoy the best trail in the USA, hands down.

If I remember, you estimate where you will camp, but no one checks or even holds you to it, at least on most of the trail (outside of Yosemite). Someone who has done it more recently and SOBO can chime in. PLENTY of places to camp all over the place, again, once outside of Yosemite. (We did it NOBO, easy-peasy permit wise, but no one likes it NOBO, except of course, myself and my pals).

Fairly easy logistics at both ends, fly into Sacremento, public transportation (all buses) to trailhead, slightly tougher on southern end, but we just flew into Vegas, rented a car, dropped it off in Lone Pine, got shuttle to trailhead (SOBO would do reverse, of course). tons of other options.

[MuddyWaters]

Permits sobo are nearly impossible to get now. You have < 5% chance any day you apply for.

You can camp wherever you want on durable surfaces, supposed to be 200 ft from water . Just use preexisting campsites, thats what conscientious people do.
You have to camp in or past certain areas on your firts night on trail in Yosemite if accessing wilderness there. This is how they control flow of backcountry traffic. After that you do what you want, as long as you dont exit the wilderness or backtrack. You tell them where you are going to camp, so that they know that you have a clue what you are doing. If you tell them stupid stuff they will trash your application. Too many people are applying to grant permits to fools that dont know what they are applying for.

The problem with the logistics, is that you have a lot of options, and none are great. It involves planes, trains, buses, shuttle buses, schedules, and certain days of the week. Travel options takes time to figure out and digest. Resupply options are limited, and you have to sort thru and digest that too.

Is there a shuttle from one terminus to the other? Yes. In a way. You take the ESTA bus from Lone pine north , and connect with the YARTS that will take you to Yosemite valley. It takes a day if you meet the schedules. If you dont it requires an overnight stay to catch the Yarts the next day. It is possible to hitchhike and many do.

For many, flying into SFO , and out from Reno is easiest logistically. The early morning flights into SFO work with Amtrak schedule to get you to Merced to catch the Yarts to get to yosemite same day. Leaving Lone Pine 6am on ESTA gets you to REno at noon to catch flight home. Easy-Peasy.

[Dogwood]

Welcome to WB Shrewd.

Great, but aneast coaster 31 yr old manboy who wants to fly out west and experience the JMT can also EASILY, with the most marginal of finger pressing effort, typical of the kind that got you here to WB and starting this thread, find these questions all asked and answered MANY times already. This is not to say that others will not chime in here and offer to personally hold your hand answering these questions again so you don't have to make that effort though.

Since, you're new to WB do you know if you click the FORUM selection and then scroll down you will notice an entire FORUM solely dedicated to the JMT? Humongous amount of great info in those threads several of which have answered your questions already....and this is only on WB. There are other websites and Forums dedicated specifically to the JMT that have abundantly answered your valid questions.

FWIW, and since I've several times gotten to/from the JMT Northern Terminus at Happy Isles TH in Yosemite Valley to/from the nearest reasonable TH of the JMT's Southern Terminus atop 14k ft + Mt Whitney, which is the Whitney Portal TH for comparisons sake I'll offer there is no one seamless public shuttle from TH to TH. Even though yes I have hitched this about three times or so in its entirety or talked myself into an opportunistic fortunate ride from TH to TH by far most employ public transportation for all or at least part of the several hr journey by automobile between THs.

At the Southern end, ONCE HAVING HIKED THE ADDITIONAL 11 MILES FROM the MT Whitney summit, the Official JMT southern terminus, to the busy Whitney Portal TH one has to get to Lone Pine CA which is 13 dry hot almost shadeless 13 road miles away. I don't advise walking into Lone Pine or between Lone Pine and Whitney Portal TH although I've done it twice. You could taxi it but it's usually quite easy to talk up a ride at the busy dead end road Whitney Portal TH Parking Lot into Lone Pine. From Lone Pine there is available, but somewhat limited, Eastern Sierra Transit bus service to Mammoth Lakes or Lee Vining where you'll transfer to the YARTS bus sydtem to get you to Yosemite Valley where the Happy isles TH is located.

http://www.estransit.com/routes-schedule/

http://yarts.com/routes-schedules/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQmiCdcgM2w

[Venchka]

Or...
You could fly to Denver.
Use public transportation to get to the Northeast terminus.
Hike southwest to Durango.
Fly home from Durango.
To the best of my knowledge, you don't need permission from anyone to complete this hike.
Nor are you required to use a bear can anywhere along this hike.

What hike is this you ask?

The Colorado Trail.

Show up. Hike. Have fun.
Cheers!

Wayne


Sent from somewhere around here.

[saltysack]

Use the search as DW said......I prob set record last year for the most questions asked. Well worth all the planning!!! Truly an amazing place...


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[August W.]

If you don't want to spend your time sorting through previous posts here, or don't find enough info when you do, get Elizabeth Wenk's JMT guide book. It is a tremendous resource that has answered nearly every question I had in planning my first jmt hike. You can find her book online for about $10. There is a JMT yahoo group that has a lot of great info as well. The Sierra Nevada is a mind-blower.... Enjoy!

[HooKooDooKu]

Shrewd,

I too am wanting to try to hike the JMT, and I too am located east of the Mississippi River.

At the moment, nothing new to say but I can support many of the answers already given:
1. While there is a nice JMT sub forum here on WB, the most active place for info on the JMT is the Yahoo message group.
And I also understand the concept of coming here to ask questions even though they have been asked and answered several times over else where... that is to say there is almost too much information on the JMT that trying to research it on your own seems daunting... there is just so much information out there. I'm in the JMT Yahoo group, and there is so much going on there that I've had to just start ignoring the emails I get from the group every single time someone posts something because there is just an overload of data when there are really only a few nuggets you are looking for.

2. Based on my research to date, there is no great way to handle all your transportation needs... at least not without spending a lot of money for private shuttles. But start with these pieces of information:
A. There is no public transportation between the Whittney Portal trail head and Lone Pine (nearest city).
B. For bus service along the eastern side of the trail, research the 'Eastern Sierra Transit Authority'.
C. For bus service in/out of Yosemite, research 'YARTS'.

3.Buy Elizabeth Wenk's JMT guide book. There are two books, the full book and the data book. The data book contains things like maps and locations of things like camp sites. The full book contains the data book and additional chapters talking about the trail. The thing I did was bought the full book in electronic form and the data book in paper back for (I liked having the data to physically hold as I research it, where as I was fine reading the chapters from off my phone).
The maps in Elizabeth's book are good, but they are digital or paper. If you want to carry a waterproof version of the map, there is a 13 page map set that has been recommended before... but I prefer the size and details available if you get the National Geographic JMT map (which isn't a map so much as it is a book).

[Malto]

I have done many a trip in the Sierra and the easiest logistically was probably the time I flew in and out of Reno. At least at the time the ESTA bus ran down the east side of the Sierra all the way to Lone Pine and beyond. There is a second bus that goes from Mammoth to Yosemite leaving only Whitney Portal to Lone Pine which is an easy hitch. this also allows some interesting route variation because you could do a Mammoth to Whitney then a Mammoth to Yosemite trip. Or just forget Yosemite completely and go from June Lake to Whitney with countless side trips. The area in Kings Canyon is far nicer IMHO anyway. (Unfortunately I hiked hundreds of hundreds of miles in Yosemite before discover the secret to the south.) Bottom line on permits, don't get hung up on doing the JMT start to finish. there are many equally or better routes in the Sierra. (if I were doing the JMT again I would bypass the VVR to MTR section and do the Sierra High Route instead of Bear Ridge.)

[Venchka]

Just for grins & giggles.
OK, slow day at work. A few minutes with the American Airlines schedule and ESTA schedule and Presto!
September, 2016.
Outbound:
Tyler, TX to Reno, NV to Lone Pine, CA
Depart Tyler, TX 5:30am
Arrive Lone Pine, CA 7:40 pm.
No clue how I get from the McDonald's in Lonr Pine to the trail ehad. I'm sure I could figure it out if/when I really want to go there.
Return:
Depart Mammoth Lakes/June Lake, CA: 8:20am-8:40am
Arrive Reno Airport: 12:00 pm.
Depart Reno 12:45 am
Arrive Tyler 9:44 am.
$558.00
Done.
No internet forum queries were made in this exercise.

I'm sticking to the Colorado Trail recommendation. Easy in/Easy out. No permits. No bear can. No crowds except maybe near population centers. For someone coming from "my only hiking thus far has been Virginia and pa and the mountains are calling but this all so far seems overwhelming!", any place west of Amarillo, TX will be overwhelmingly fabulous.

Wayne

[QiWiz]

Where might such a manboy look to find out about shuttles and such? Is there a shuttle from one terminus to the other? Rent a car then hitch to the opposite trail head?
assemble a food drop there and leave it as I've seen some do, or ship em all from home?

then there's the matter of permits, which so far has been confusing. I need a permit by my entrance trailhead and I apply 183 days before I mean to hike? And yet it seems required to reserve a spot to camp? You you guys really plan your hikes to such degree? Surely one can just find a flat space off trail and pitch a tent?

my only hiking thus far has been Virginia and pa and the mountains are calling but this all so far seems overwhelming!

Did the JMT in 2014, SOBO. I flew into San Francisco and made my way to Yosemite (I got a ride, but you can get there by a combination of BART, train, and bus). After finishing up in Lone Pine, took a bus to Reno and flew home from there. You will need a permit for a specific date and a specific first night's campsite if you go SOBO from Yosemite. After that, you can go as far as you want each day and camp anywhere except for occasional area closures due to rehab of vegetation (not many of these). You will not need a Whitney permit if going SOBO. It is a life list trail IMO, well worth the hassle of getting there and back. Fires were an issue for JMT hikers this season; next year who knows?

[Dogwood]

The only parts of getting between Whitney Portal TH/Parking Lot AND Yosemite Valley that take logistical consideration are:

1) getting from Whitney Portal to the tiny dusty eastern sierra "town" of Lone Pine. Already said, but again, walkable if you really want but not really advised by me and not an absolute necessity. Usually, when I've walked it when not hitchiking oustdoorsy or local folks will stop and offer a ride. Again, there are two or three taxi services(last time I checked) that service the Lone Pine area IF you wish to explore those options. When I twice shared a taxi with other hikers it was about a 25-35$ total fare ONE WAY divided up among the group(2-4 of us). Last I took a a taxi was 2010 or 2011. Again, Whitney Portal is a hugely popular and busy location. 98% of all leaving this lot in automobiles are heading right through Lone Pine. The drivers are all campers, hikers, sight seers, tourists, climbers, fishermen, and all manner of other outdoorsy types. While wearing a backpack, you have alliances. Easy enough to employ some social mojo to get a ride into Lone Pine OR PERHAPS FURTHER! Folks leaving Whitney Portal are heading north and south on Hwy 395.

2) connecting with a scheduled Lone Pine to Reno Eastern Sierra bus. I gave the link for the schedule. NOTE: Even if you do take this bus you have options for getting into Yosemite Valley, or some place further north on busy certainly hitchable Hwy 395! AND THIS IS NOT THE ONLY Eastern Sierra Bus scheduled to head north from Lone Pine! L OO K AT the provided link! You may elect to NOT STOP in Mammoth Lake to transfer onto the YARTS bus system that can take you into Yosemite Valley! You COULD take the Eastern Sierra Transit bus to the small town of Lee Vining at the junction of Tioga Pass Rd(Hwy 120, a MAIN road heading into Yosemite NP passing through Tuolomne Meadows) and Hwy 395 where the YARTS also stops at a very nearby BUSY larger gas station/larger gas station sized convenience store. ie; a GOOD place to drum up a ride INTO Y NP OR N/S on Hwy 395! A lot of what will be applicable depends on indivudual itinerary and preferences.

3) transferring to a YARTS bus. It should seem logistically obvious for those on a tight got to go gotta go go go itinerary NOT wanting to hitch hike, pay for a shuttle, have acces to their own vehicle, possibly spend an unexpected night in town, arriving late after dark at destinations, etc making transfers by having an awarness of schedules is important.

4) you have about $33 cash according to 2016 ESTA and YARTS fare prices(excluding taxis).

Should seem obvious, viable combinations of travel are possible. It's not gloom and doom as some make the transportation between Northern and Southern JMT termini/THs seem for one willing to be flexible, having consideration to making transfers!, and do some of their own research to find what is individually appropriate for THEIR JOURNEY. Questions certainly welcomed but attempting to explore what amounts to all the pros and cons regarding all the options that COULD be personally acceptable for someone else who has made little to no effort to know what info is already available or does not share the details of their journey or themselves amounts to some ignorance and laziness. The button says POST QUICK REPLY. It's EASY ENOUGH to type 2-3 words into a GOOGLE JMT search and find these questions answered already in a concise condensed manner! The excuse that one has to pour over mounds of JMT info to find they have had their questions already answered does NOT fly.

http://www.jmt-hiker.com/prep/prep_1.html

http://johnmuirtrail.org/

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/johnmuirtrail/info

http://www.backpack45.com/johnmuirtrail.html A GOOD source for researching shuttles.

The info is there. You don't have to read it all just the parts that apply to your current questions.

[saltysack]

I have done many a trip in the Sierra and the easiest logistically was probably the time I flew in and out of Reno. At least at the time the ESTA bus ran down the east side of the Sierra all the way to Lone Pine and beyond. There is a second bus that goes from Mammoth to Yosemite leaving only Whitney Portal to Lone Pine which is an easy hitch. this also allows some interesting route variation because you could do a Mammoth to Whitney then a Mammoth to Yosemite trip. Or just forget Yosemite completely and go from June Lake to Whitney with countless side trips. The area in Kings Canyon is far nicer IMHO anyway. (Unfortunately I hiked hundreds of hundreds of miles in Yosemite before discover the secret to the south.) Bottom line on permits, don't get hung up on doing the JMT start to finish. there are many equally or better routes in the Sierra. (if I were doing the JMT again I would bypass the VVR to MTR section and do the Sierra High Route instead of Bear Ridge.)

I flew from Fl into mammoth and out of Reno....peace of cake and reasonable cost. Hiked mammoth via Devils north to Yosemite(4 days)...Yarts back to mammoth stay overnight/Resupply at cinnamon bear inn then Devils south to Whitney(9 days with reapply at MTR)...very easy and Rudy at cinnamon bear will shuttle you to the Devils.....very easy logistics and permits via Inyo.


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[LuckyMan]

Ha, this summer I planned to hike the JMT and TRT, last Christmas got trail guides for both - then NPS rejected all of my many requests for JMT permits. Turned out to be a good thing, ended up joining PCTA and getting free permit from PCTA to hike 500-plus miles from Donner Pass to Walker Pass including side trip to Whitney, favorite hike ever. Got cheap flights from ft lauderdale to Reno, city bus to downtown Reno, greyhound to truckee, local bus to Donner Lake (alleged truckee trail angel listed in Yogi's book refused to help despite lavish promises of rides in book), easy hitch to Donner Pass. Great hike southbound. From Walker took three buses and train to LA, stayed at home of friend from CT the year before, cheap nonstop flight to Miami and train home to WPB. Had a great time and it all worked out. If I can do it you can too.

[Dogwood]

There ya go. Awesome perspective LuckyMan! Did the majority of the JMT without dealing with the JMT specific thru-hiking permit application. That's being solution minded. Like your attitude, creativity, and critical thinking LuckyMan! WOW...how very refreshing.

See, he didn't get hung up on a label, being called a JMT thru-hiker, but largely got a JMT thru-hike experience. LuckyMan did his own Thru-Hike...the Walker Pass to Donner Pass THRU-HIKE!!!...a freakin AWESOME THRU-HIKE IN ITSELF!!! That's a GREAT HIKE!

We get too hung up on named trails or named notoriously published "thru-hikes!"

[Coffee]

Lots of great information here that I won't repeat other than to say that the eastern Sierra (Whitney portal to Lone Pine in particular) is easy when it comes to hitching. And other than Whitney portal to lone pine, all transportation for a JMT thru hike can be dealt with using public transit options. I don't think that logistics are particularly hard at all and a half day of planning should be more than enough to gain confidence in the plan.

[MuddyWaters]

The difficult part about logistics, is sorting thru all the options to know you have the best for you.

If extra day on either end, and $ for hotel stays, and higher airline prices into different airports, and flight schedules for getting there and home dont matter, its not hard. Thing is, most people are not willing to waste $ 200 or two days vacation time, if they could have saved it by picking the best option for them.

The good thing is they have lots of time to beat it to death.

[evyck da fleet]

You'll have an easy hitch to Lone Pine, if you don't want to call a taxi, from Whitney Portal if you get there in the afternoon when the day hikers start to leave. Otherwise, public transportation will get you to and from the trail. You just need to decide what city you want to fly in and out of and whether you want to spend a night somewhere between home and the terminus if the transportation schedules necessary to get to the trail in one day don't line up for your liking.

[colorado_rob]

The difficult part about logistics, is sorting thru all the options to know you have the best for you.... The good thing is they have lots of time to beat it to death.

This is so true. We did precisely this when we NOBO'd the JMT in2012. So many logistic options on both ends.

I agree, no sweat hitching from Lone Pine to Whitney portal trailhead, the only little section w/o public transportation.

The only reasons we chose the Las Vegas option were super cheap flights to Vegas (<$50), we had a larger group so the rental car one-way from there to Lone Pine was dirt cheap/per person, but I think most of all we wanted to cruise through Death Valley NP on the way, terrific place to see if you have an extra day's time, but maybe not so much at the end of a trip (ours was before the JMT). Flying into SFO and out of Reno for SOBO's does indeed seem like the easiest and cheapest option. We're planning a repeat NOBO next year and plan on this (reversed, of course).

One aspect of our JMT repeat: we were kinda on a mission, pressed for time, so we did it in 18 days. Next time we plan on quite a few more days, 22-24 or so, just so we can better enjoy some of our favorite spots, plus climb a few side peaks along the way.

[HooKooDooKu]

... we were kinda on a mission, pressed for time, so we did it in 18 days. Next time we plan on quite a few more days, 22-24 or so, just so we can better enjoy some of our favorite spots, plus climb a few side peaks along the way.

I'm going to be pressed for time and will only have about 18-21 days to devote to the JMT. Do you have a listing of about where you camped each night?