There is reliable bus transport Eastern Sierra and Yarts will get you to yosemite valley and down 395 which should cover the whole thing. ?Will need to hitch or hire a shuttle to the trailheads off 395. Overall pretty easy logistics. ?I do think NOBO creates acclimatization challenges unless you start at KM and even then you go up pretty fast. ?I agree that the JMT is physically challenging.
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On Feb 18, 2024, at 11:07?AM, Granola <kljensen64@...> wrote:
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Having only done two sections of the JMT - Tuolumne to Reds, and Duck pass to Kearsearge pass - I don't think the JMT is easy. I found it more challenging than the northernmost 200 miles of the CDT through Montana, and the Tahoe Rim Trail. The JMT was substantially more physically challenging than either of those hikes. Also more beautiful, by a long mile. I didn't find it crowded either, and I usually do 3 day backpacks in Alaska where I will see no one, or maybe one other party in 3 days time. The popular lake campsites always have people, but it never ever felt crowded to me.
I will keep trying for the permit out of Happy isles, because it's an amazing trail. It's not easy to piece together logistics to do alternatives in the Sierra without a car or time spent hitching or in towns. If I'm wrong about that, please let me know of a month long hike somewhere! I also am sensitive to altitude, so going NOBO is probably not ever going to be the best option for me. I also think it would be pretty jarring to walk off the trail and into Yosemite valley! whereas starting there you get to leave it all behind you.
Lots of reasons people want to do the "actual" JMT, as people think of it today. Of course social media plays into it to a large degree. As here we are on a social media forum dedicated to it! Y'all get to guess the photo location.
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