This year I hiked the JMT North to South in 11 days in early September.





I started out in Yosemite Valley on September 3rd after receiving a walk up permit that morning and spent the first day climbing out of the crowds to my first nights camp at Sunrise Meadows.





Day two began with an early morning hike Past Cathedral Peak, through some more crowds around Toulomne Meadows and then up and over Donohue Pass in the afternoon to a high camp under the stars.








I spent the next few days making my way south through fields of wildflowers, still at peak thanks to the late snow year, and enjoying perfectly temperate weather. I never pitched my tarp at night, just lay out under the stars.

















At almost exactly the halfway point on the hike I pulled into the Muir Trail Ranch for my resupply. This marked my entry into the higher passes of the southern Sierra as well as a turning point in the weather. As I climbed the hill out of the ranch the first big raindrops began to fall.




The next morning I hustled up Muir Pass in a mix of drizzle and sleet after finding out from the backcountry ranger that there was an extreme lightening warning out and then made my way down and through LeConte Canyon in steady rain which slowly tapered off in time for me to make camp before sundown. This pattern repeated itself for the rest of the trip - but the clouds always cleared away.















































My last nights campsite in Crabtree Meadows. A perfect crisp clear mornings hike up Mt Whitney. A few fleeting minutes of view from the summit as the fog rolled over and the last snow flakes of the trip wafted down.











My only regret is that I don't live closer so as to be able to explore all the side trails passed, basins unvisited and passes yet to be crossed, but Sierra High Route I will be back for you soon.

Great shots Andrew....recognized many of your photos from my own jaunts in the Sierras. Thanks for sharing

Looks like a great trip...thanks for sharing!

Great tr and pxts Andrew, thanx for posting. I miss being on the Jmt! I started a few days after you heading south from mammoth and hit a crazy thunderstorm on Pinchot pass. The SHR awaits!

Nice shots. 11 days - wow, fast! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for sharing. Looks like a great trip. What do you have to say about the gear you used? Anything stand out good or bad?

Amen to the "I'll be back for the Sierra High Route"

Thanks for sharing the trip report. We just missed you by a couple of days.

Hey Tom, how are you doing, I met you and I think it was your brother in law at Trail Days this year.

Ken, I feel like I have my gear pretty dialed in for this sort of trip. I did bust a seem on the MLD Silnylon Zip pack at the hostel in Lone Pine on the way home so I guess I'll be looking for a new larger size pack at some point. I also bought a third pair of socks at Reds Meadows on the way through because the trail was super dusty at that point and I wanted to be able to wash a pair out and keep a clean sleeping pair. I had a Thermawrap and an R1 hoody and never touched the R1 until the last 2 nights but needed it then. Otherwise my main gear was a Spinntwinn with custom floor, WM Alpinlite, Bearvault and Golite Virga and Reeds which got a workout - Virga always soaks through under the packstraps but works well enough otherwise.

Brad, it would have been crazy if we would have crossed paths, I had one eye out for you guys even though I knew we were porbably 2 days or so apart.