RidgeSyncJohn Muir Trail Planning: Permits, Direction, and Resupply
The John Muir Trail runs 211 miles from Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley to the summit of Mount Whitney, crossing the spine of the Sierra Nevada over roughly a dozen major passes above 10,000 ft. Most thru-hikers take two to three weeks, and the trip lives or dies on three planning decisions made months in advance: which permit lottery to enter, which direction to hike, and how you'll resupply across a trail with almost no road access.
This is a planning overview, not a day-by-day itinerary, because the right day-by-day plan depends heavily on your direction, pace, and resupply choices below. Once those are set, split your own days against the trail's real elevation profile.
Permits: the hardest part of the trip
Most JMT hikers exit via Mount Whitney, which means the trip requires a Yosemite wilderness permit for the specific trailhead and entry date, allocated through a competitive advance lottery, plus compliance with the Whitney exit quota if you're finishing there. Permit strategy is its own subject: some hikers apply for alternate, less competitive trailheads that join the JMT a few miles in, trading a slightly longer or different start for a much better shot at a permit.
Apply as early as the lottery window allows, and have a backup trailhead or date in mind, popular start dates in July and August are heavily oversubscribed.
Direction: northbound vs southbound
Southbound, Yosemite to Whitney (the traditional direction), front-loads a gentler start and saves the trail's high, dramatic passes and the Whitney summit finish for the end, a satisfying way to build both fitness and altitude tolerance as the trip gets harder. Northbound, Whitney to Yosemite, front-loads the hardest climbing and altitude immediately, which suits hikers who want the crux early while they're freshest, but demands better acclimatization going in since you're at extreme altitude from day one.
Permit availability also differs meaningfully by direction and trailhead, so for many hikers the practical permit lottery result ends up deciding the direction as much as preference does.
Resupply points along the trail
- Tuolumne Meadows (around mile 22): a store and post office, an easy first resupply if you're southbound
- Red's Meadow / Mammoth Lakes (around mile 60): a full resupply with a shuttle into Mammoth Lakes for a real town stop, showers, and restaurants
- Vermilion Valley Resort (around mile 88, via a short detour and ferry or trail): mail drops and a small store, a common stop for hikers wanting to avoid the longer Muir Trail Ranch carry
- Muir Trail Ranch (around mile 108): mail-drop only, no store, a popular resupply point precisely because it sits before the trail's longest and most remote stretch
- Onion Valley via Kearsarge Pass (around mile 179): a demanding but common detour, roughly 15 miles round trip over an 11,800 ft pass, to reach a trailhead with car or shuttle access
Bear canisters, altitude, and sizing your own days
A bear canister is required for the entire route (Yosemite and the Sierra corridor both mandate it), and its fixed volume, generally 5 to 7 days of food, is what actually determines how far apart your resupply points can realistically be, plan food logistics around the canister, not the other way around. Altitude is a constant companion, long stretches sit above 10,000 ft, and multiple passes exceed 11,000 to 13,000 ft, give your body real time to adjust in the first several days rather than pushing big mileage immediately.
Once you've locked in direction and resupply points, treat each resupply-to-resupply stretch as its own mini-itinerary: split it into days based on the actual elevation profile between passes, not a flat mileage average, the JMT's daily difficulty swings enormously depending on which pass, if any, sits in that day's path.
Frequently asked questions
How do you get a John Muir Trail permit?
Through Yosemite's competitive wilderness permit lottery for a specific trailhead and start date, combined with the Mount Whitney exit quota if you're finishing there. Applying early and having a backup trailhead or date significantly improves your odds.
Should I hike the JMT northbound or southbound?
Southbound (Yosemite to Whitney) saves the hardest passes and the summit finish for the end and is the traditional choice. Northbound front-loads the toughest climbing and altitude, which suits hikers who are already well acclimatized. Permit availability often decides it in practice.
How many resupply points does the John Muir Trail have?
Most hikers use 3 to 5 resupply points along the 211-mile trail, commonly Tuolumne Meadows, Red's Meadow, Vermilion Valley Resort or Muir Trail Ranch, and sometimes a detour to Onion Valley via Kearsarge Pass.
How long does it take to hike the John Muir Trail?
Most thru-hikers take 2 to 3 weeks, though fast hikers finish in under 2 weeks and slower, more leisurely itineraries can take a month, largely driven by daily mileage and how many rest or resupply days are built in.