My 2021 John Muir Trail Hike
Permit Dates: July 29-August 19, 2021
Days on Trail: July 29-August 15, 2021
I spent 18 days on the JMT in the summer of 2021. During that time I hiked over 225 miles, enjoyed 1 zero day, and had to continue on without my husband when he became ill halfway through. Four of us started out in Yosemite and three of us summited Mount Whitney and killed our knees on the 99 switchbacks down to the Whitney Portal parking lot. During this time I managed to get lost once, was stalked by a bear, made questionable food choices to increase my caloric intake, and struggled with an old injury I definitely didn’t rehab correctly before doing this. If I could go again, I’d do a lot of things differently. But without further ado below is my gear list, followed by a narrative summary of the hike as I experienced it and a collection of images. If you have the good fortune to someday get a southbound permit on the John Muir Trail, I hope you have the time of your life!
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JMT Gear List
Clothing & Wearables
Hiking Shoes—Altra Lone Peak 5. Honestly, I hate them. I hate the “fad” of lightweight trail runners when backpacking, and the supposed benefits did not apply. I still got feet covered in blisters.
Camp Shoes—Chacos. My favorite shoes in this whole damn world. I’ve probably spent more than half my days the last 15 years in Chacos, and I have zero regrets. They’re a little too heavy to justify for camp shoes, but I ended up wearing them during quite a lot of the trail when my blisters from the Altras got too bad.
Pants—Mountain Hardware Dynama Ankle Pant. I can’t overstate how much I love these pants! They are insanely durable, lightweight, and the flat waistband is essential for comfort fit under a frame pack.
Shorts—I packed some casual Nike 5-inch shorts with a drawstring elastic waist. Honestly, they’re perfect shorts in every way expect I wish they had a totally flat waistband. However, I find it difficult to get baggy shorts with a flat waistband (they’re usually tight), so I don’t regret this.
Sunshirt—Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Long-Sleeve. This was the only shirt I needed. I brought along a tank top as well to have options, but I wore this every single day & it held up perfectly.
Socks—I’m a loyal fan of Darn Tough socks. I brought 3 pairs: a heavyweight that was only for sleeping & two midweight crew pairs for hiking. I alternated those each day so I’d be putting on dry socks in the morning. Wring them out all the way if you want them to dry overnight.
Underwear—I struggle with eczema, so I’m always on the look for underwear/bras that don’t irritate my skin. I’m currently a big fan of Knickey and brought along 4 pairs plus 1 set of Patagonia synthetic underwear that I used to love. The Patagonia pair held up and stayed drier throughout the day than the Knickey, but I still prefer organic cotton for my sensitive skin.
Bra—I brought two Branwyn bras and was generally happy with how they worked. They do not wick water well, but I felt less like I was dealing with boob soup than non-wool options, so maybe that’s as good as this D-cup will get. My biggest complaint is that as soon as I got home they shrunk in the wash.
Sleep Clothes—I always bring sleep-only clothes when I hike, and it’s a top and bottom set of Smartwool thermal wear. No complaints, but I also don’t love the way wool base layers fit, so I’m open to changing this up someday.
Insulated Jacket—The Patagonia Nano Air. Mine is a few years old and I don’t see them making the exact same jacket anymore, but it’s fucking incredible.
Rain Jacket—So I didn’t actually bring one. I just packed along an emergency poncho in my first aid kit. In the summer, I personally prefer to get rained on and dry off quickly, rather than trap wetness against my body with a waterproof layer. I figure that if it’s bad enough to want to take shelter, I’ll get in my tent or under cover and my insulating layer+poncho will be good enough.
Sunglasses—I brought along my tried & true Smith Founders Slim polarized glasses. I do highly recommend bringing along polarized lenses, but I also found that unless I was near something reflective, or the sun was low on the horizon, I actually just used my hat to block out the sun.
Sun Hat—I have a lightweight Dakine hat that I picked up at a local shop in San Francisco the day before driving down to Yosemite to start the JMT. I can’t find it online, and it doesn’t look like any of their other caps. It’s basically a mid-coverage normal baseball cap made from a wicking fabric. I do recommend you bring a hat, but it’s more important that it comfortable than anything else. This one Dakine hat has become my absolute favorite though, so if I ever find it again I will be buying them all.
Beanie—You’ll want a hat for when your head is cold too, and I recommend bringing along any old beanie to rep your favorite brewery back home. Or, get a more technical insulated hat if that’s your style.
Gloves—I always bring my Mountain Hardwear fleece gloves camping, and they’re incredible. I recently also started to enjoy sun gloves to protect the backs of my hands when I’m using hiking poles.
Hiking & Camping Gear
Backpack—I hiked the JMT with the Gregory Deva 70 and have since moved on to the Gregory Maven 55. I learned a lot on the JMT and decided I simply didn’t need that much space and could save weight if I went with smaller items. The 70 liters allowed me to bring everything, and I don’t think that was helpful.
Tent—Big Agnes Fly Creek. I have zero negative things to say about this tent beyond the fact I don’t like to share it. It’s sturdy, lightweight, packs down incredibly small, and takes up no more space in camp than necessary. If I were to do another long-distance hike alone, I’d definitely choose this same tent. Don’t forget to bring along the footprint too!
Sleeping Pad—Nemo Switchback. I much prefer a closed-cell foam sleeping pad on long backpacking trips. Sure, it might not be as comfy as an inflatable option, but it can’t fail you. If you puncture your inflatable bad, you’re just carrying along something useless. Also, a half-folded foam pad makes a great seat.
Sleeping Bag—I actually brought a quilt for the JMT. But I hated that so much let’s pretend I didn’t and instead brought my favorite sleeping bag, the Marmot 15-degree bag. It’s down, super packable, and has come with me on every backpacking trip since.
Headlamp—The Black Diamond Storm rechargable headlamp is my personal favorite. But don’t overthink this one either, just get something that works on easy-to-find batteries (AA or AAA).
Hiking Poles—I have a pair of carbon poles my mom got me from Costco back in 2020 when I broke my ankle, and I’ve been hiking with them ever since. They slip sometimes and I need to readjust the couplers, but otherwise zero complaints.
Food and Water
Bear Canister—Bear Vault 500 (BV500). Simple, easy, and makes a great camp chair. A bear canister will always be kind of clunky and obnoxious, but I’d rather bring along a structured one that doubles as a nice chair than a less-secure bag style.
Stove—The MSR Windburner stove is incredible. I love this thing so very much, and it was also overkill. The protection from the elements is so great that it saves an immense amount of fuel, and I barely went through half a canister. Also, I was mostly just boiling water to pour into dehydrated food packs, so I didn’t need the larger volume pot.
Mug—I don’t have an opinion on this. If you want to get a $45 titanium mug, whatever. If you bring along a $5 enamel mug like I did, great! If you want to haul your insulated Yeti mugs, I think you’re an idiot (I also did this, but sent them home halfway through). You just need something to hold your morning coffee, don’t overthink it.
Food—I personally love the Mountain House dehydrated packs, but what you bring is totally up to you. Just prioritize a high protein content, a decent amount of sodium and electrolytes, and likely 150-300% of your usual calorie intake.
Caffeine—I live for my morning coffee and this wasn’t going to change. My preference camping is a tea-style coffee, like Summit Steeper.
Water Bottles—I like to be able to carry 3 liters of water at any one time, and that number has served me well over the years. I love the Platypus Softbottle because I could carry as many as I want and it would take up no extra room unless they are filled.
Water Purifier—MSR Miniworks EX Purifier System has been around forever and I have zero complaints. I fucking love it.
Utensil—I don’t care what brand or material you get, buy yourself a metal spork. I also had a great pink glittery plastic one for over a decade before it was lost.
Accessories
Chafing Prevention—Bodyglide for Her. 10/10 always recommend this! It’s the reason I was able to hike in my shorts on hot afternoons. Without it I’d have had to wear my pants the whole time.
First Aid Kit—I love the Adventure Medical Kit. It’s simple, covers all the essentials, and works well for short trips. I would add a few things for a longer trip: more medical tape for blisters, more ibuprofen (my knees depend on it), and more sanitary wipes.
SPF—My favorite brand is ThinkSport. I’d say you need a minimum 3oz of sunblock. Personally, I like something I can put on my face and body that lasts a while and is safe in case I get in the water.
Dry Bags—The SeatoSummit compression bags are my favorite for packables. I have one I use for my sleeping bag that is big enough to also fit my sleeping clothes in there.
Bandana—This is my favorite multi-tool. Tie it around the neck for sun protection, use it to clean yourself or your gear, get it wet to cool you down. I usually bring two when I camp. One or washing my face, the other for everything else.
Toothbrush—I don’t like the mini camping toothbrushes, so I just pack a regular-sized biodegradable bamboo toothbrush.
Toothpaste—Don’t bother packing along a full-sized tube, but two travel-sized ones should get you through, one isn’t quite enough for 3 weeks.
Cleaning Wipes—I love the SeatoSummit Wilderness Wipes, and I recommend bringing along at least 1 wipe per day, 2 if you can splurge. The 36-pack lasted me comfortably and I felt like I was able to stay super clean (relatively).
Trowel—TheTentLab makes a trowel called The Deuce, and that’s about all you need to know about that. It does the job.
Gear Repair Kit—I have a pack of tenancious tape I’ve never had to use, but it does give me peace of mind in case my tent, pack, jacket, or bags rip.
Knife/Multitool—I have a tiny little mini multitool that is my favorite thing ever. It goes literally everywhere with me. I also like a more full-sized knife with a serrated edge, and backpack with my Gerber.
Garbage Bags—This is something a lot of folks forget, but I always backpack with small, biodegradable ziplock bags. This way I can compact my trash and easily dispose of it when I’m in an appropriate place to do so.
Toilet Paper—I like to just bring along a roll of my favorite TP, take out the cardboard, and compress it into a ziplock bag. I don’t bother with biodegradable or special outdoor paper because if you’re doing what you should be doing, you’re packing that shit out anyway.
WAG Bags—You’ll need to pack out your poop when you’re above treeline. It sucks, there’s no way you won’t hate it, but you have to do it. A WAG Bag is the only really clean option.
Maps—I had the Guthooks App downloaded on my phone, but I will never hike without a paper map too. I packed along the National Geographic John Muir Trail Topographic Map Guide.
Microspikes—I brought along my Black Diamond Blitz, which are minimalist microspikes, but sent them home halfway through the hike. I’d bring them along again if I hiked early in the season, but in August there was no snow or ice.
Chapstick—This is an essential! My favorite is the Chapstick brand Total Hydration. I can’t tell you why, but it’s just the best thing I’ve ever used that doesn’t irritate, and genuinely heals my lips when they’ve had too much dry air and sun exposure.
Bug Net—They look silly, but they are delightful for keeping the nasty critters off your face. Once again its the SeatoSummit that I think does the job just fine.
Camera—Don’t be like me and bring along multiple lenses and a bigger camera body. A Fujifilm X100V is all you need.
Battery Pack—So this I don’t really recommend. I brought my Goal Zero solar charging situation because I thought I’d spend a lot more time taking pictures, possibly relying more on my phone, and recharging along the way. Instead, just bring a charging cord because resupply stops offer the option, or extra batteries will do the trick.
Gear I Wish I Had
Garmin InReach—We had one amongst the group, but one time I got separated from everyone (a story I might elaborate on further down as I tell the trail tale) and I had to use the InReach of someone else to send a message. The stress of being “on my own” had more to do with the rest of my group being worried, and I would have liked to have a communicator of my own to tell them I was fine.
Any Other Hiking Shoes—Since getting off-trail I’ve invested in some Hoka trail runners. Honestly, I’m still not sure if they would do it for it on another backpacking trip. As much as I loved the light-weightiness, I think I would have preferred the security of real boots. Full disclosure: I have a titanium plate in one of my ankles, so shoe fit/security is something I struggle with more than someone without this past injury.
Bedrock Sandals—I loved wearing my Chacos at every opportunity. In fact, I believe I wore them for about 1/3 of the JMT miles, so they are epic shoes. However, if I had better hiking boots and only used the Chacos as camp shoes, they would have not carried their weight (pun intended). My bedrock sandals also don’t put pressure on the outsides of my feet, which I found to be an issue when hiking downhill in my Chacos.
My JMT Hiking Experience
Now that you’ve seen what you came to see—the gear list—I’ll give you a rundown on my own hiking experience! If you’re still reading, that’s so sweet of you. Everyone has to hike their own hike, and as cheesy as that saying is…it’s true. So if you’re preparing, reminiscing, or simply daydreaming, I hope this summary and subsequent images put a smile on your face, stoke the motivation to make things happen, and encourage you to plan your next adventure.
I started out on the JMT from Yosemite—the northern terminus. We spent the day before picking dropping off a car at Whitey Portal trailhead so we’d have a ride at the end, then drove our other car up to Yosemite and got our permits from the Yosemite Ranger Station. We arrived late and set up our tent at Camp 4 amongst a loud collection of overnight campers who were probably equally ready to start their own adventures. The morning of our permit, we drove up to the Glacier Point parking lot, which was our permitted entrance trailhead, and hiked back down toward the valley. We stayed the first night at Little Yosemite Valley, which was a very full campsite with a ton of folks who had Half-Dome permits in hand for the next day.
We woke up early, in the rain, and hiked on toward Cathedral Lakes. It was a very soggy day, and we camped just shy of the lakes so that we might visit them early on our third day. It was a rough start to the hike, but now that I’m looking back on everything I am so glad it was a trip that began with rain and ended with sun. That was so much better than the other way around! I felt bad for all the northbound hikers who were dealing with a soggy end to their weeks-long adventure.
Day three we were setting ourselves up for our first pass—Donohue. We packed up camp early and sauntered the last mile or so to Cathedral Lakes and went for a swim. We didn’t know it at the time, but this is when one of our group most likely contracted a parasite from the water and would end up having a very bad time in about five days. After going for a swim we went on to Tuolome Meadows and enjoyed a delightful lunch at the grill. We made it to camp later that evening, with full stomachs and excitement to be leaving Yosemite the next day. Donohue Pass is the point in the southbound trip when we tend to leave behind a lot of dayhikers and experience more of a wilderness setting.
After Donohue Pass we camped at one of my personal favorite location, 1000 Island Lake, which was just one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever had the joy of witnessing. I stayed up late that evening taking photos, and they turned out to be a few of my favorite landscapes from the entire hike (admittedly because I ended up too busy walking to take many pictures).
The next couple days become a bit of a blur in my memory. There were so many stunning sites, hilarious marmots, heartfelt conversations, and a deep appreciation shared that we were witnessing something so incredible. We resupplied at Red’s Meadow and a couple of friends joined us for a single night near Deer Creek. At the end of our first week, we camped at Lake Virginia and I didn’t know it, but it was the last night we would share as a group of four, and it was perfect. The sunset was beautiful, we camped early enough to really relax, and I remember laughing a lot.
Day 8 we planned to make it almost to VVR for our second resupply, but instead we went all the way because the parasites picked up in Cathedral Lakes began to make themselves known. My husband, Dillen, started throwing up a few hours before sunset and we were 7-ish miles from VVR at that point. We made the decision as a group to keep on and walked in a single-file line through charred forest during twilight while Dillen paused every once in a while to heave what little was in his stomach. It was surreal, and exhausting.
Because we made it to VVR a day early, we took a zero day on Day 9 to see how Dillen was feeling. Thankfully, our planned resupply there was delivered by one of his best friends, and ultimately Dillen decided to leave the trail with him and spend a week catching up in San Francisco. I was sad to go on without him, but I was able to unload a couple of items I’d deemed unnecessary and lighten my pack. This turned out to be a really good thing, because we sped up during the second half of our hike as a group of three.
I really missed Dillen, because he had been content to hike at my pace. With him gone, we quickly created a new system where my two hiking partners went their pace and I caught up. If they stepped off trail, they agreed to hang a hat up so I wouldn’t accidentally pass them. Between us there was only one Garmin InReach, which turned out to be an issue on Day 14 when they forgot to hang up the hat.
We’d just managed a two-pass day, beginning with Mather in the morning then Pinchot Pass in the afternoon. We met a couple of folks we had been leap-frogging with, and I got to talking to this woman named Catherine. The plan after Pinchot Pass was to camp somewhere around Twin Lakes but as usual, my hiking partners went on ahead of me. The way they tell it, they stepped off trail to find a campsite for only a few minutes, but I must have passed during that time. Because Catherine and I continued further downhill than I thought we needed to, and it was starting to get dark. Catherine had an InReach, and a 2-person tent (I forgot to mention my hiking partners also had the tent we were sharing after I left mine with Dillen), so I didn’t want to turn around without her in case I needed shelter. So Catherine stopped to set up camp and we used her InReach to contact Dillen, who was able to send a message directly to my hiking partners that I was OK. I knew they planned to go to Rae Lakes the next day, so I figured I’d see them there if nothing else.
In the middle of the night I saw headlamps coming down the trail. It turns out my friends had realized I must have passed them and started freaking out, running up and down the trail. They got the message from Dillen eventually, and rather than find me in the morning they hiked the additional 3-ish miles I had continued past them, and camped with me and Catherine.
You’d think they would learn their lesson not to leave me, but the next day they went on ahead (this time with clear instructions exactly where we would meet for lunch), and while I was alone I looked over my shoulder to find a cinnamon black bear staring directly at my backpack and walking slowly toward me. I’ve never seen a bear in the wild when I wasn’t in a vehicle, so it really surprised me how terrified and reactive I felt. It took everything I had to keep walking at a reasonable pace and start yelling. Instead of (hey bear, which is dumb, I just yelled the names of my companions). They didn’t hear me, but eventually the bear wandered out of sight behind a hill and I kept walking.
At lunch time I saw my friends sitting calming on the shore of a lake and I sat down next to them and immediately started crying. I couldn’t help it. I’d been wound up so tightly for 8+ miles after seeing that bear, and my body was exhausted. They agreed to hike my pace the rest of the way to Rae Lakes, which was only a couple more miles. That night we camped together and couldn’t believe all that we’d seen in just two weeks. It was this night that I remember starting to really feel hungry, and I added some definitely expired cheese that one of my friends refused to eat onto my own dinner. It also stormed that night, with massive chunks of frozen rain/hail falling on the tent and collecting almost like snow, which left us all pretty tired the next day.
After Rae lakes we felt like we were near the end of everything. We crossed over Forester Pass, the highest point on the trail except for Mount Whitney, and we felt really strong. We’d spent the last couple days in lower elevations in some smoke, but Forester was clear and the air was thin. I remember we hiked over Forester Pass with a couple of loose horses who seemed to know the trail, and I really loved their company and was amazed that they seemed to know their way home.
The last night before summiting Whitney we considered getting up in the middle of the night for a sunrise summit. We event tried to cowboy camp (camp without the tent), to make packing up in the dark easier. Unfortunately it started raining on us in the middle of the night, so we quickly set up the tent and then slept in. We had a late-morning summit of Whitney, and a lot of the view was obscured by smoke, but it was one of the most special moments of my life. I was able to call Dillen from the top of the mountain and tell him I made it, which felt like I was sharing in this moment with him.
The last 11 miles back down to Whitney Portal were brutal. I went way too fast, which my knees made me regret for weeks afterward, but all I could think about was the basket of fries waiting for me at the bottom.
Camping Locations & Daily Milage
Day 1—Glacier Point to Little Yosemite Valley, 6.5 miles
Day 2—Little Yosemite Valley to Cathedral Lakes, 11.2 miles
Day 3—Cathedral Lakes to Lyell Canyon, 16 miles
Day 4—Lyell Canyon to 1000 Island Lake, 12.5 miles
Day 5—1000 Island Lake to Devil’s Postpile, 11.3 miles
Day 6—Devil’s Postpile to Deer Creek, 9.5 miles
Day 7—Deer Creek to Lake Virginia, 9.1 miles
Day 8—Lake Virginia to VVR, 20.2 miles
Day 9—VVR Zero Day
Day 10—VVR to Bear Creek, 9.6 miles
Day 11—Bear Creek to Piute Canyon, 14.4 miles
Day 12—Piute Canyon to Helen Lake, 18.7 miles
Day 13—Helen Lake to Palisade Lakes, 17.3 miles
Day 14—Palisade Lakes to Twin Lakes, 16.9 miles
Day 15—Twin Lakes to Rae Lakes, 12.3 miles
Day 16—Rae Lakes to Forester Pass, 10.6 miles
Day 17—Forester Pass to Crabtree, 15.5 miles
Day 18—Crabtree to Whitney Portal, 17.3 miles
Trail Acknowledgement
The John Muir Trail is actually the Nüümü Poyo. It’s a locally significant route built by the indigenous people of the Sierra Nevada and Owen’s Valley back before the time of the modern conservation movement. You can read more about the historical significance here.
