Back in May due to a variety of issues expounded on elsewhere I quit my job and went about seeing just how much trouble of an outdoor variety I could realistically get up to when not tied to a desk during the week. While still gainfully employed I had committed to a number of weekend backpacks for the Sierra Club Wilderness Travel Course but even sticking with those I ended up with a few tantalizingly long periods here and there that were just begging for the longer sort of a trips I always had to say no to. And hell, if I wasn't going to go big then I might as well still be working right?

The John Muir Trail is a well known 220 ish mile wilderness trail stretching from Yosemite Valley in the north and Mount Whitney in the south. I'd attempted it once before in 2013 setting an aggressive 25 mile a day pace that had been proven...challenging. And painful to the point I practically had PTSD about the whole experience for years after. And after all of that thanks to an early winter storm I'd had to exit at Kearsarge Pass instead of over Mount Whitney.

So while I'd seen *most* of the trail I'd had it on my list to go back at some point and do it propper. And seeing as how my girlfriend Jen had never done it and that as a teacher she has summers off plans started to solidify around a 12 day plan in early August which would mean a reasonable 20 mile a day average. And in the end we did it in 11! With side trips to Half Dome, Whitney, and Mount Muir thrown in for good measure. And far less pain and trauma. But a whole hell of a lot more mosquitos.

Mount Muir (14,012')

I have been occasionally observed to not be the biggest fan of Mount Whitney. I love almost every aspect of the Sierra Nevada and after over a decade  backpacking and climbing my way across it it does make me a bit sad that the thing people are most familiar with is the highly trampled wag bag strewn mess that is the Mount Whitney Trail.

Don't get me wrong marching yourself up the well groomed trail is a physical challenge due to the altitude. And the views of the High Sierra are always impressive. And yes it is technically the highest point in the continental US. And what do you get at the top?


Big flat area. With a building. And it looks down on civilization (assuming you agree Lone Pine qualifies as civilization).

There are more adventurous routes like the excitingly named yet surprisingly simple Mountaineers Route or the technical east face routes but they all end somewhat anticlimactically on said plateau.

If you love it more power to you I just wish I could take you up something like Seven Gables, Mount Winchell, Spanish Mountain, or any of about 50 others in various spots in the Sierra that would absolutely knock your socks off.

Seven Gables: Cooler Than Mount Whitney

Now, lest I start sounding like some bitter climbing hipster the point of this post is actually to point out the far less visited yet far more interesting Mount Muir located a short distance of the trail just after leaving Trail Crest.

August 15th, 2019

Mount Muir (14,012')

The  John Muir Trail is 220 miles of some of the more spectacular scenery the Sierra has to offer.  The trail runs from Yosemite Valley in the north to Mount Whitney (the highpoint of the continental US) in the south and its a popular goal to hike it from end to end resupplying along the way.

September 14th to the 22nd, 2013

The John Muir Trail

Happy Isles to Kearsarge Pass

[Pics] [CalTopo] [Map] 

I've eyed doing the John Muir Trail for the last few years but always stopped well short of making serious plans due to not having 2+ weeks away from work.

Then came this year where the eternally "it's really bound to end sometime" Boise project was in a convenient place and a combination of events in my personal life left me with more flexibility than I figured I was likely to see again anytime soon.

And so I went for it.

Ah winter / early spring. Nothing like looking back at what was supposed to be a tightly packed climbing schedule to see the scattered weather wrecked remains.

Admittedly I’d set out a rather optimistic schedule trying to fit in Snowcreek, Whitney Mountaineer’s Route, and Red Slate all within a one month period but hey, one can dream.

Snowcreek was canceled due to a large snow dump leading to dangerous avalanche conditions and instead I ran around the desert with James Barlow grabbing 3 DPS peaks and poking around a few mines.

Whitney MR was initially derailed at the last minute to an unpleasant cold front sweeping in. The forecast called for 40-50 mph winds with a low of 9 degrees and my partner Steve Eckert neglected to be blown off the ridge like a frozen mountaineer shaped kite. Not wanting to do something drastic like stay home I repurposed the weekend and ran up three 3rd class DPS peaks out near Las Vegas with Jen Blackie and Kim Breul.

When Red Slate rolled around I was eyeing snow conditions and not liking what I was seeing. Things were still unconsolidated with fresh snow falling just the weekend before. After chatting with Steve we decided to repurpose the weekend and go grab Whitney MR as the weather looked much more promising.

April 16th to 18th, 2011

Mount Whitney (14,495')

[Pics] [Map]