John Muir Trail by Elizabeth Wenk

John Muir Trail by Elizabeth Wenk

This authoritative guide for hikers and backpackers describes the 220-mile John Muir Trail, from Yosemite Valley to the summit of Mount Whitney.

Stretching 220 miles from Yosemite Valley to Mount Whitney and onward to Whitney Portal, California's famed John Muir Trail (JMT) is one of the most popular backpacking routes in the US. It passes through some of the most dramatic scenery in the country: massive granite peaks, dizzying waterfalls, pristine alpine lakes, and vibrant meadows filled with Sierra wildflowers. Plus, it offers the mildest, sunniest climate of any major mountain range in the world

The John Muir Trail contains the information you need for hiking or backpacking the route. The comprehensive guide describes the entire passage, with detailed directions as well as UTM coordinates for important junctions, lateral trails, campsites, food-storage boxes, and other points of interest. The book divides the trail into 13 sections, and each section includes an elevation profile and a table that lists elevation, distance from the previous point, and total mileage.

Inside you'll find

• Detailed description of the entire trail from an expert author
• Trail junction locations and distances between junctions
• Comprehensive table of campsites
• 17 topographic maps plus elevation profiles
• Side trips to 15 notable peaks
• Pre-trip planning information about food resupplies, gear, permits, and more

Whether you're hiking the entire JMT or just sections of it, you'll find expert start-to-finish advice in the updated edition of this guidebook

Elizabeth Lizzy Wenk has been hiking and climbing in the Sierra Nevada with her family since she was a toddler. She found excuses to spend every summer in the Sierra, with its captivating terrain, plentiful flowers, and near-perfect weather, after she started college. She worked as a research assistant for others and finished her Ph.D. throughout those summers. The impacts of rock type on alpine plant distribution and physiology are the subject of my master's thesis. Yet, she hikes for pleasure most of the time.

She has trekked thousands of on- and off-trail kilometers and climbed more than 600 peaks in the Sierra because she is obsessed with exploring every inch of the mountain range. Her wanderings are now mostly focused on gathering information for many Wilderness Press books and introducing her two young girls to the marvels of the mountains. Yosemite is quickly becoming a favored destination for them as well. Wenk, who lived in Bishop, California until recently, now lives in Sydney, Australia, with her husband, Douglas, and daughters, Eleanor and Sophia.

Except during the Northern Hemisphere summer, when she continues to explore the Sierra, she is working as a research fellow at Macquarie University and enjoying Australia's gorgeous eucalyptus forests, vegetated slot canyons, and wonderful birds.