Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Eating on the JMT

I have heard people extol the wonders of the 214 mile JMT, from Yosemite to Whitney. I have never considered it because I have "heard" you have to hike food in to drop off points, not an easy task. What do most people actually do about food, if it takes 3-4 weeks to complete the hike? The photos of the trail are wonderful.

There are at least two locations along the trail that you can pre-mail your food supplies. They will hold your food packages for you. One of them is Reds meadow by mammoth and I'm not positive, but I believe the other one is by T.A.Edison lake.

Resupplying on the JMT just takes some planning and preparation work. there are a few places that you can mail a package to yourself that can be picked up on or near the trail: Tuolomne Meadows, Reds Meadow, Vermillion Valley Resort (at the end of Edison Lake) and Muir Trail Ranch. Unfortunately, all of these are located in the northern half of the JMT.

Options to resupply in the southern half would involve either:
A) getting someone to hike in to meet you on the trail with your resupply package,
B)hiring a pack outfit (expensive)
C) hiking out the trail to one of the traiheads and hitch a ride to one of the nearby towns to pick up a package you previously had mailed to yourself c/o that postoffice (time consuming, but PCTers do it all the time)
D)hiking in yourself and stashing your cache to pick up later. I've never considered this last option myself... the only way you can keep it "safe" is by burying it. You can't leave the package in one of the bear boxes along the way, they are for for overnight use only. Besides, it's not safe - there have been reports of pilfered supplies in bear boxes, something I'm really sad to report.

Anyway,60inchestall, it's a wonderful trail and worth the planning and preparation. If and when you decide to go, feel free to Email me for websites for more information.

Thanks Rosabella, that is exactly what I was looking for. I surfed the web for answers and saw the packoutfitters ($375 to deliver) and a few other references...nothing which made much sense. Food supplies seem like the biggest challenge to figure out. Maybe I will start by just doing sections of the trail....just to test out if a short person like myself can carry enough for 1 week.

Hey UtahHiker, good to hear other vertically challenged folks would consider a long tough hike, like the JMT. I just found out it was only 211 miles from Happy Isles in Yosemite to Mt Whitney. Cutting off that 3 miles makes it seem a little easier. See you on the trail.

Hey, I'm 5'6", but everyone I hike with is taller, so they think I'M short! Hiking segments of the trail is a great way to start out. this summer my son and I are doing the thru hike, but previously I've done one or two weeks segments of the trail. I think I've done the Onion Valley-to-Whitney segement at least 5 times (it's one of my favorite).

There's a lot of good information out about the trails, but as far as breaking down the segments, I really like the Boy Scouts' "Guide to John Muir Trail High Sierra Treks for Explorers". I've got the copy my father used when he was a scout leader, so I don't know if they even print it any more. But it's just a 10 page publication, so if you'd like a copy Email me and I'll mail it.

If my memory serves there is suitable food for sale at the little shop in Tuolumne meadows. The store at Reds Meadow didn't have quite the supplies I would have wanted. I packed more than enough food to go from Yosemite Valley to Vermillion Valley Resort (8 days for me, I think) considering that I bought full meals at the Reds Meadow Cafe while I was there. The national forest campground at Reds Meadow is not to be missed for of the hot showers.

The VVR on Edison Lake fit my idea of a trailer park more than a resort, but it's not to be missed. The folks who run it are terrific. It's easy to run up a huge bill eating in their fabulous cafe. I mailed my resupply package there. I found I could get by with 1.5 lbs of food a day or so, and the real challenge was to fit it all in my Garcia bear canister. We were nearly out of food by the time we ended our 10 day stretch to Whitney Portal.

I pack fairly light but not ultralight. A smallish person should be able to carry enough food. The weight goes down if you're sharing a tent, stove, and water filter with others. You could supplement food supplies by trout fishing, but if you want to hang around and fish you may need more days and more food.

By the way, it may be 211 miles from Yosemite to the summit of Whitney, the end of the JMT, but you still have 11 or so miles out to Whitney Portal!

Hey thanks for all the comments. I am starting to believe I could really do it. On being short...its cool it you are a chick, great things come in small packages...not so cool if you are a guy...kind of hard to buy mens size 7 shoes..My 14 year old son already has a size 9 shoes ...guess who will be carrrying all my stuff in a few years? He will....pay back for when I carried his stuff. ha ha

We like little people...food for the bears while we run.....

We did the JMT in 30 days in 2001. We allowed the extra days because we wanted to be out for 30 days and no less. We were 1/2 way thru in 10 days, so we took our time for the next 20 days, and included side trips. Our heaviest load was 10 days of food, which was about 38 lbs for me and 43 lbs for SnowDude. We resupplied at Tuolumne, Reds, Muir Ranch, and Charlotte Lake. My packweight included a chair and a 35mm camera with film. We had a day of rain (thunder & lightning) and one day of snow (on Split Mtn) and were prepared for all seasons. We're doing it again in 2004 in 30 days, but will plan more side trips this time. Can't wait!

JMT photos at <a href="http://www.snow-nymph.com"> Snow Nymph website </a>

btw, I'm 59" and I'm a girl.

Obviously size isn't an issue. Most of the girls up on the trail, pound for pound, have proven they can go "Mano a Mano" with any guy. They are like energizer bunnies. I saw the pictures Snow Nymph posted...She has the pictures to prove she has been there and done that...peak after peak after peak.

I wish we could take a month to do the JMT. We still have to work for a living so we are taking 17 days to do the trip in. We leave on the 7.11.03. We can't wait. We are doing one re-supply at VVR. Ouch! We have been doing a lot of testing of foods, packing and re-packing our canisters to see how much we can cram in the Garcia. It's amazing if you use your imagination. We have found the best advise and most informative information from this message board. It's a great resourse place! We purshased a book last year in Yosemite on the JMT and it has been a great help with planning this trip. Hope you do it someday!

Dito on the wish for more time! My son and I have 22 days scheduled which includes a few layover days in some of the areas that I particularly want to explore (Evolution Valley is top on the list). I would love to take more time and savor every bit of the trail... Snow-Nymph, I envy you, but it's wonderful seeing someone who is able to so thoroughly enjoys the mountains! We'll have a great time with our allotted time, and it will be fun hearing everyone's trip reports when we finish.