Legend: Blue – 2021; Red- 2025 – Click an icon to read the story
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The John Muir Trail (JMT) is a 211-mile route that traverses through the Sierra Nevada Mountains from Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley to Mount Whitney in California. The JMT passes through three national parks (Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Yosemite), as well as two wilderness areas. Along the way, the path also climbs over numerous passes, as high as 13,000 feet, and to the top of Mount Whitney, the tallest mountain in the lower 48 United States at 14,505 feet.
When we trekked the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in 2016 and 2021, we also hiked concurrently on about 168 miles of the JMT. However, there are a couple of sections (near Mammoth Lakes and at Tuolumne Meadows) where the JMT diverges from the PCT.
2021: John Muir Trail between Mather and Muir Passes; 2025: John Muir Trail before Tuolumne Meadows
In 2025 we decided to trek the Southern Sierra Nevada portion of the PCT to revisit a section that was covered in snow when we first hiked it in 2016. We began our hike at Cottonwood Pass, where many JMT hikers also start because of permit difficulties with other trailheads. Beginning at Cottonwood Pass does add 20 miles of PCT trekking before meeting the JMT at Crabtree Meadow, but we enjoyed the beauty of the section with better trail conditions than our journey nine years prior.
Once we reached the JMT at Crabtree Meadow, we continued north on the combined PCT path. Since we had already climbed Mount Whitney in 2000, we felt no need to complete that portion of the trail again. After ascending the 13,100-foot Forester Pass, we ended the trek in Onion Valley.
In 2021 we trekked from Onion Valley to Tuolumne Meadows. Since we had also perfect conditions that year (other than some rain), we also decided to forego that section again. Instead, we ventured out a couple of weeks after our Southern Sierra trek to Mammoth Lakes and completed the two sections where the JMT diverges from the PCT. After six stages, we hiked our final JMT miles to Yosemite Valley.
The John Muir Trail is surely a special trek through some of the most spectacular scenery in the world.
Read more about our journey below (these stories include our PCT / JMT treks from 2021 and 2025):
A Return to the Sierra Nevada Mountains: Section Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail
We are back in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains to hike on one of our favorite sections of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). In June 2016 we last hiked this portion of the PCT, encountering high water crossings and snowy passes. So we looked forward to a much different trail experience in August 2025.
The Third Time's the Charm: Beginning the Sierra Nevada Pacific Crest Trail
Keeping a Weather Eye: Continuing the Sierra Nevada PCT
Climb the Mountains and Get their Good Tidings: Completing the John Muir Trail
After finishing our five-day, 50-mile Pacific Crest Trail / John Muir Trail trek a few weeks earlier, we realized that we had just a few stages left to complete the entire 211-mile JMT. So we returned to the Sierra Nevada Mountains for a final six stage trek.