Is JMT very busy?

[hikerinmotion]

A friend of mine found this page, which gave him the impression that the JMT is literally crawling with people, which neither of us fancy.

https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/jmtfaq.htm

Is this an accurate reflection? How busy does the trail get? Does it depend on the month?

Very grateful for all answers. Thanks.

[rafe]

In my limited very experience, yes. My nephew and I jumped on the trail at Mammoth Lakes on 2008, heading sobo. We were only on the trail for two nights, but both campsites were quite busy. The site near Ducks Pass must have had three dozen hikers or more. I have no way of knowing how many of those were thru hikers. The trail itself did not feel crowded.

[Trance]

The JMT is crowded till you escape Yosemite...... and also, especially around Devils Postpile/Rainbow Falls.

I was in Yosemite last October, which is their lighter season. Glacier point was packed at sunrise, the JMT hike from Yosemite Valley to Vernal/Nevada Falls was packed full to Vernal... sparse to Nevada.

Otherwise.... there's no roads really, so no day hikers.

[wornoutboots]

Yes but if you really want to hike it, do it late in tthe year, starting mid to late August & the crowd will thin considerably. I did that in 13' & 14' & the weather was perfect with temps in the mid to lower 40's at night & the 70's during the day zero bugs.

[saltysack]

Perfect weather and not crowded mid September last year. I walked solo mostly but ended up camping around others.


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[Trance]

Don't forget, you need a permit to do anything other than day hike any trailhead in Yosemite.... and many of the trails down by Whitney you also need some type of entry permit.

[QiWiz]

Perfect weather and not crowded mid September . . .

+1 Agree that hiking the JMT after Labor Day is a good time to have nice weather and less people. A Yosemite SOBO start will still feel crowded, but not once you get S of Tuolumne Meadows.

[MuddyWaters]

Yes.......and no.
Its less crowded than AT in spring. But there are many people.
You often dont see them though. It doesnt feel that crowded.
It has little of the problems the AT has
Why?
Limits on access
No shelters that congregate people, they stay dispersed
No trash, hikers and management agency value the WILDERNESS aspect. Its.....respected.
Attract better quality of hiker, people hiking because they love the land and wilderness..not want to party town to town

[ndwoods]

They only issue 35 permits a day. I spent many days on the JMT not seeing one hiker! Near trailheads we would see more....

[MuddyWaters]

They only issue 35 permits a day. I spent many days on the JMT not seeing one hiker! Near trailheads we would see more....

From donahue pass in yosemite

There is access from other trailheads , nobo too, as well as others hiking parts of it

Many people are hiking isberg pass out posemite and meeting up at reds meadow now due to lack of donahue permits.

[Maui Rhino]

Over 3000 people hiked the JMT last year... Up several hundred from the year before, and several hundred percent from a few years ago. I found large crowds at the start, as well as at TM. At 1000 Island Lake, it took me a while to find a campsite because of the crowds. Guitar Lake was also full of people. Otherwise, it was usually easy to find a campsite just for yourself... Especially if you went a bit off trail.

[HighLiner]

I applied for a JMT permit every day for a month with the hope of a mid August to mid September start date. I was denied each and every time. From that respect, very crowded indeed. I need to get a permit via a side trail, I suppose.

[saltysack]

Does a bear shi! In the woods?


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[Venchka]

Does a bear shi! In the woods?


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Direct and to the point. Perfect answer.
There are less crowded trails. Find them on your own or they too will become crowded. The Internet is terrible in that respect.
Good luck.

Wayne

[Dogwood]

Don't conform to Group Think! THINK…for yourself, for your parties hike! Even think beyond what you're hearing here, which includes what you're hearing from me. Don't do what the crowds do and you'll basically have solitude in the Sierras. A big part of experiencing solitude and enjoying hiking is about expanding comfort zones. This begins before a foot ever steps on a trail. It begins with the willingness to be thoughtful beyond ceding to others your own decision making and critical thinking skills. None of this is a secret. But, it can be uncomfortable…uhh, why it's called expanding comfort zones. So, I'm not trying to intentionally offend. I'm trying to inspire, to stimulate foremost.

Being willing to crank up the degree of adventure by not always doing what or how others do things. That is what adventure is…not doing the usual. The masses gravitate to what they perceive as the most convenient which is usually much of what others have done before…the familiar….the usual…

Have you looked at a trail map of the region? Lots of awesome hiking which can include the JMT but aren't rigidly absorbed with only the JMT…if….

[lonehiker]

The best way to beat overcrowded (seemingly) trails is to go into your hike in trail shape and travel in the direction of the general flow. Last year I began my 640 mile section hike on the PCT at Agua Dulce. Obviously the thru-hikers where in better trail shape than I was as they had 450+ miles of conditioning. Consequently I was having 15-20 (or more) people pass me on trail or after I had set up camp each day. But, by the end of my section I was rarely being passed while on trail and saw very few after I set up camp. The difference being I was able to hike faster and cover greater distances. In essence keeping my "spacing" from other hikers. I know the other hikers were still around me as I would see them come into town in droves as I re-supplied. I anticipate a similar situation when I begin another section this summer. The trail will be crowded at first (although there will be some natural thinning after Echo Lake anyway) but as I get into my section the trail will seem less crowded. I am actually really working on my conditioning this year so as to avoid some of the crowd (and to take more advantage of some easier terrain).

Would also take this time to plug shorter but practically, relatively speaking, unused trails. The Ouachita trail for instance. When I hiked it a few years ago I literally did not see a soul 14 of the 17 days that I hiked it. Of the people I saw, 11 total, 6 of them were trail maintainers. There are numerous of these shorter long distance trails just begging for the attention. Honestly, you have a much greater likelihood of success on a shorter trail anyway.

[saltysack]

Direct and to the point. Perfect answer.
There are less crowded trails. Find them on your own or they too will become crowded. The Internet is terrible in that respect.
Good luck.

Wayne

[colorado_rob]

My wife and I have been considering a threepeat this September (hands down, best time, even into Oct)...

But sounds crazy these days. Time to scheme up alternate routes.

Though definitely beautiful, Yosemite was our least favorite part of trail, so should be easy to dream up alternate that collects jmt best of and avoids most crowded section.

More later, just returning from 10 days of fire dodging in SNP