The John Muir Trail in Pictures: Part 1 of 4

A sum­ma­ry, or pic­ture-by-day of my 28 days on the John Muir Trail (JMT).

300+ miles walk­ing through some of the most beau­ti­ful wilder­ness in my coun­try. Straight through the heart of the Sier­ra Neva­da Mountains.

Some days I hiked a lot, some days I rest­ed, some days I took side trips and explored peaks, lakes, and val­leys along the way. Some days I hiked with peo­ple, I usu­al­ly hiked alone. Some days I ate crusty dehy­drat­ed meals and under­cooked mac­a­roni (I’d nev­er cooked mac and cheese and I ruined it).…one day I ate 15 fresh trout (Thanks Tex­ans)! A few times I show­ered and even did laun­dry twice, most­ly I stank. Some­times I laughed and talked to peo­ple along the way, some­times I con­tem­plat­ed life, I was con­stant­ly in awe of the beau­ty of the world around me, one time I cried. I was hap­py and free!

(Click on a pic­ture to enlarge it and use the arrow keys to browse the rest of the gallery.)

Day 1: Happy Isles to Clouds Rest Junction

First view on the John Muir Trail: Clark Point. From left to right: Half Dome, Mount Brod­er­ick, Lib­er­ty Cap and Neva­da Falls.

Day 2: Half Dome and a little further down the trail

On top of Quater Dome, look­ing at the breath­tak­ing view of the back side of Half Dome. Hik­ers climb the cables in the dis­tance. It’s a hum­bling awe-inspir­ing sight.

On top of Half Dome look­ing out over Yosemite Val­ley. A per­fect place to stop, take in the views and fill your heart and head with the beau­ty of the earth.

Day 3: To Cathedral Lake

Stormy skies over Cathe­dral Peak, from the John Muir Trail.

Day 4: Cathedral Lake to Tuolumne

Sun­rise over Cathe­dral Lake and Cathe­dral Peak. Most days I woke before sun­rise to see the beau­ti­ful light. To wit­ness the start of a new day in this beau­ti­ful land.

Day 5: In Tuolumne

Sun­rise in Tuolumne Mead­ows, look­ing at Lem­bert Dome.

Day 6: Tuolumne to Mount Lyell base camp

Hik­ing along Lyell Creek in Lyell Canyon. Mount Lyell (High­est peak in Yosemite) in the dis­tance with the Lyell Glacier.

Day 7: Mount Lyell and over Donohue Pass (11,506′)

The first glac­i­er I set foot on. The largest glac­i­er in Yosemite. The Lyell Glac­i­er dis­cov­ered by John Muir in 1871. In the foot­steps of a great man. Although sad­ly it is no longer mov­ing and there­fore may no longer be con­sid­ered a glac­i­er but an icefield.

A tarn (small moun­tain lake) beneath Mount Lyell, just below Dono­hue Pass.

 

First views of the Ansel Adams Wilder­ness over Dono­hue Pass.

I walk down this trail alone with my thoughts. Over­whelmed, exhil­a­rat­ed with these mead­ows, peaks, val­leys, lakes. Fills my heart with peace. Happiness.