The JMT nearly broke me but the High Sierra Trail changed my mind about California

I spent 6 days on the John Muir Trail last summer and honestly, I was over it by day 4. Too many people, too much dust from the mule trains, and I got sick of the same alpine lake views over and over. I swore I would never do another Sierra trip. Then my buddy convinced me to try the High Sierra Trail from Crescent Meadow to Whitney Portal this spring. It's only 72 miles compared to the JMT's 210 but it packs in way more variety. The first section through the giant sequoias blew my mind, totally different from the high granite stuff. And that stretch through the Big Arroyo felt like I had the whole place to myself, I saw maybe 3 other people in a full day of hiking. Has anyone else tried a shorter Sierra route and liked it more than the classic long ones?

2 comments

2 Comments

abbyr9621d ago

Did you actually give the JMT a fair chance though? I've hiked both trails and I think the JMT gets a bad rap from people who go in expecting a wilderness adventure when it's really more of a corridor trail with amenities. The High Sierra Trail is nice but it's basically the JMT's little brother - you get the same scenery just compressed into a shorter distance. The reason the JMT is popular is because it earns that reputation, the variety of terrain over 210 miles is unmatched compared to anything else in California. Three people in a day on the Big Arroyo sounds appealing but that also means no ranger stations, no emergency help nearby if something goes wrong. I'll take the crowds and the mule dust any day over feeling isolated and exposed on a route that doesn't have the same infrastructure.

abby_palmer21d ago

Oh, I actually just read an article about this in the Sierra Club magazine. They talked about how the JMT's popularity has changed the whole ecosystem around it - more trail erosion, more trash, more bear incidents from people not hanging food right. I get the safety angle, it's a solid point, but I'd rather carry a satellite messenger than deal with a line of people at Guitar Lake at sunrise. The variety on the JMT is real though, can't argue with that.