The Crooked Atlas

The Crooked Atlas is a travel blog by an adventurous couple about camping, hiking, backpacking, and roadtripping. The Crooked Atlas is Mariah's voice and Michael's eyes. Oakland, CA. All content is original.

[thecrookedatlas]

10 Tips for the John Muir Trail

After finishing our trip on a portion of the JMT from Tuolumne Meadows to Vermillion Valley Resort, we wanted to share some of our best tips and tricks that we picked up on the trail as you start to plan your own trip! But first, some essential resources.

Essential Resources

John Muir Trail: The Essential Guide to Hiking America’s Most Famous Trail - This is the go-to guide for your JMT trip. Whether you are doing the whole trail, or just a portion of it, this is a must have. It has detailed maps, descriptions of what you will see, precise locations of established campsites, mileage and elevation details, and anything else you would ever need to know. Buy it. Read it. Photocopy the pages about your trip and bring it with you. You won’t even need a compass (but still bring one just in case).

Tom Harrison John Muir Trail Map-Pack - Water resistant and detailed topo maps of the whole trail. The book mentioned above also has maps, but these are more detailed, easy to find when you’re on the go, and the color makes the details easy to see.

SoCal Hiker’s JMT Guide - Jeff Hester maintains the SoCal Hiker blog and has a ton of info about the JMT (and hiking in general). I would definitely read through his trip description. He tends to be a bit faster than we are so he really packs in the miles but he has a ton of great info about what to expect on the trail.

Mile…Mile and a Half - Chances are that if you have any interest in the JMT, you have seen this film but if not, it’s a must watch. It’s a really inspiring documentary about a bunch of photographers and film makers doing the JMT that is beautifully shot. Another great resource when trip planning. And best of all, it is on Netflix.

Now to the top 10 list…

1. Didn’t get your permit ahead of time? If you are getting walk-up permits, as of 2015, they are only available at Tuolumne Meadows. What you won’t find on the NPS website is that walk-up permits for the next day will not be issued until 11:00AM. We weren’t aware of that and thought we could get them at 8:00AM when the office opens so we waited for 6 hours. Based on what we saw (when we tried on a Sunday in late August), you could arrive around 8:00AM and still get your permit. We’ve heard that it’s a little more difficult earlier in the season so plan accordingly, and bring a chair. 

2. Don’t plan on having a campfire every night. If you want to have campfires, the easiest way to tell whether or not they are allowed is if you campsite has a fire ring. If not, don’t do it. Use only fallen wood and never build a new fire ring. As of 2015, each park has their own rules about where fires are permitted:

Yosemite allows fires only below 9,600 feet.

Ansel Adams Wilderness allows fires only below 10,000 feet and does not allow fires at the following places that are below 10,000 feet: Badger Lakes, Clark Lakes, Lower Davis Lake, Ediza Lake, Emerald Lake, Garnet Lake, Gem Lake, Iceberg Lake, King Creek (includes Ashley, Anona, Beck, Fern, Holcomb, and Noname Lakes), Minaret Lake, Parker Lake, Ruby Lake, Rush Forks, Lower Sardine Lake, Shadow Lake and Creek, Sullivan Lake, Thousand Island Lake, Waugh Lake, and Weber Lake.

Sierra National Forest prohibits all wood fires.

John Muir Wilderness allows fires only below 10,000 feet north of Mt. Emerson/Glacier Divide and only below 10,400 feet south of the Divide. Additional areas closed are: Big Pine Creek, Coldwater Canyon, Duck Creek, Hilton Lakes and Creek, Lower Horton Lake, Kearsarge Pass/Onion Valley, McGee Canyon, Meysan Canyon, Mildred Lake, Mt. Whitney Zone, Pine Creek, Purple Creek, Sabrina, Shepherd Pass (within 1,000 of Anvil Camp), Taboose Creek, and Tyee Lakes.

3. Staying hydrated is easy. Even though it was a really dry year in 2015, water was never an issue. I would never carry more than 2L of water because there are always creeks, lakes, and streams to stop and refill. The JMT book by Elizabeth Wenk does a great job of telling you when you might be coming across dry patches.

4. BYOB to the Red’s Meadow Cafe. No, you don’t have to pack it in but the cafe at Red’s doesn’t sell beer so if you want a beer (and trust me, you do), go to the general store first and buy a beer to bring over to the cafe.

5. Soak your sore muscles in a slightly secret hot spring. There used to be a hot spring fed bath house at Red’s campground that has since closed. But if you walk behind the building and up the hill, there is a pool that used to be the holding tank for the bath house, and now acts as the actual hot spring. It was open when we were there so we had a nice hot spring pool, big enough for about 4-6 people.

6. Need to make a call at your resupply location? We got full cell service and LTE at Red’s with Verizon. There is also a payphone if you didn’t bring your cell phone. I don’t think anyone gets any cell service at VVR, regardless of their carrier. VVR does have a phone that I think they will let you use.

7. Charge up your dying batteries. If you need to charge your phones, cameras, or electronics, both Red’s and VVR have charging stations. The place at Red’s is at the resort right by the laundry room. The place at VVR is on the patio of the cafe by the board games.

8. Getting to VVR by car: pay an arm and a leg or risk losing an arm and a leg. If you plan to end or start at VVR, getting to or from isn’t easy. If you plan to leave a car there, you can do so for $2 a day but the road in and out is pretty treacherous! The only other option is to use the shuttle service that VVR offers, which is $195 for 2 hikers and  $37.50 for each additional hiker. Sounds expensive but we drove that road and it might be worth it. They will take you to/from Fresno where you can catch YARTS, Greyhound, Amtrak, or the airport.

9. Like free beer? Of course you do. VVR offers a free beer to thru hikers who have done or are doing more than 100 miles. So take advantage if you qualify.

10. Use the ferry but don’t trust your map. If you are resupplying and/or taking a zero day at Vermillion Valley Resort, the ferry is a great way to cut 5-6 miles out of your side trip. The last boat picks up at 11:30AM (not 5:00PM) and due to the low water level, the pickup location is no longer at the spot designated on any map that we’ve seen. There is a cut off further down the Mono Creek Trail and once you hit the new cutoff, you have to walk (or run) through the dried lake bed to reach water. Make sure you allow extra time to avoid rushing to the last boat (like we had to do).

Still have specific questions?

Ask us, tweet us, or leave a comment below - We’d love to answer any questions you have. We only hiked from Tuolumne Meadows to VVR but we'd love to help with your planning in whatever way we can.

SoCal Hiker Forums - SoCal Hiker also has some great forums specifically for the JMT. Jeff is great about answering any questions you may have.

JMT Yahoo Forum - This is where the PCTA will send you with questions. Seems like a good resource with a lot of active participants.

Now get out there and explore, leave no trace, and hike your own hike.

[thecrookedatlas]

Sticker Giveaway

We are back from our trip on the John Muir Trail, and are ready to give away FIVE of these awesome stickers. Great for decorating your bear canister! 

Incredibly easy to enter: just like, reblog, or comment on this post and you will be entered into a random drawing to win one of these beauties. Or do all three and get three entries. Make sure to get your entry in by 11:59 p.m. on September 25th. We’ll be drawing names the next day, and will notify winners then. Good luck and thanks for reading!

[thecrookedatlas]

John Muir Trail: Day 7

Squaw Lake to Vermillion Valley Resort - 10.5 miles

Violent wind flapped and ruffled and rustled our tent the whole night through, making sleep pretty difficult. This was the first undesirable weather we experienced the whole trip. We woke up first thing and skipped breakfast to escape the wind. The smoke from the fires further south was getting worse, making breathing while hiking a little difficult. Moving quickly away from the smoke and wind, we decided to try to make it to the VVR ferry by the last pickup at 11:30. It was 8:30, and we still had a ways to go. The clicking of our trekking poles kept us in rhythm as we descended down from the mountains toward the exit from the JMT. When we reached it, sadness set in, as we realized we were leaving this place we had called home all week. Even though we were rushing to make the ferry, I had to take a moment to look at the sign and think about our amazing week on the trail. We continued on to the Mono Creek Trail to the VVR ferry, only to realize that the ferry was actually a whole mile further than the map stated because of the drought along the dry lake bed that was Lake Thomas Edison. Our bodies exhausted from our quick pace, we struggled across the lake bed and made it to the ferry at the last possible moment. 

Our perfect end to the JMT. Putting our entire selves into something, and doing it. Realizing that challenges aren’t quick, and they aren’t easy. With focus, persistence and desire, you can do anything. As we sat at VVR, drinking our cold beer, we reflected on our trip and everything that we experienced together, and how much we grew together. 7 nights, 73 miles, and we loved every fucking minute of it.

We can’t wait to do our next segment soon.

[thecrookedatlas]

John Muir Trail: Day 6

Duck Creek to Squaw Lake - 9.6 miles

Back to the forests. Back to the land of lakes. Back to meadows, rocks and creeks. Purple lake, Virginia Lake, and Tully Hole were all refreshingly beautiful. It is so amazing to see such beauty in places that you can only get to by foot. We both started to see the end ahead of us. I felt myself thinking of how little time we had left rather than how much time had passed. Backpacking is a funny thing. It really is a rollercoaster of emotions and experiences. That day, we felt motivated, defeated, exhausted, happy, at peace, frustrated, angry, hurting, inspired, and happy again. We decided to stop half way through our climb up Silver Pass at Squaw lake. A hidden gem. An oasis enclosed among a circle of cliffs. This unassuming lake felt as if it were a secret that we had discovered. So small, that you could easily hike by it without giving it a second thought. This charming lake made us feel protected. It felt like it was ours. And our last plunge of the trip with fish jumping around us was bitter sweet.

[thecrookedatlas]

John Muir Trail: Day 5

Red’s Meadow to Duck Creek - 13 miles

Resupply day. When your back goes from the lightest it will be…to the heaviest it will be. Coupled with the huge breakfast we had, the day got off to a sluggish start. After a morning detour to Devil’s Postpile, we made our way through the most desolate part of the JMT that we encountered. The charred remains of trees that stretched for miles under the hazy sun obscured by smoke from the wildfires felt post-apocalyptic. Quite a contrast to the day before. We reached our destination at Deer Creek at 1:00PM and realized we weren’t ready to stop. We decided to push on 5.5 miles further to Duck Creek. Exhaustion set in during the last couple of miles, as we hobbled into our campsite. This section of the trail was the least interesting so far. We debated pushing on another 2 miles and up a significant set of switchbacks, to the much more picturesque Purple Lake. But as our muscles stiffened, we decided to call it a day.

[thecrookedatlas]

John Muir Trail: Day 4

Rosalie Lake to Red’s Meadow - 9 miles

A great night’s sleep does wonders, and the beauty of the trail distracted us from our aching feet. Or maybe it was the promise of a burger and a beer. I noticed the colors on the trees in the meadows. The bark on fallen logs that seemed to be begging to be peeled off. Motivated by cold, hoppy beer and hot burgers, we made the long descent down through Devil’s Postpile and to the restaurant in Red’s Meadow. The refreshing gulp of Torpedo IPA never tasted so good. A five minute shower, more beer, and the discovery of hidden hot springs were exactly what we needed at our halfway point. After a while, we couldn’t help but feel a bit off at Red’s. As we got further from civilization on the first half of our hike, everyone became smellier, more tired, and more crazy about the hike. Like us. All of our passing conversations with people have been about the where they are going on the trail or trail lore about the fires down south. We all immediately had something in common and understood what the other person was going through. But now we were surrounded by tourists walking around in dresses, driving cars, talking about their jobs, and lazily wandering about the store. While the beer and food was delicious, we were both ready to seek the comfortable refuge of our tent.

[thecrookedatlas]

John Muir Trail: Day 3

Thousand Island Lake to Rosalie Lake - 10 miles

There were no ripples on the glassy Thousand Island Lake in the early morning. Only the distinct reflection of Banner Peak as the sun rose over the mountains in the distance. I couldn’t help but be inspired while the sun rose in the most beautiful place I’d ever been. Blistered feet, sore knees, and lack of sleep made for low morale, and prevented us from fully appreciating the beauty around us as we hiked. Pounding downhills followed by a towering wall of switchbacks led to Rosalie Lake. Refreshed by our second ceremonial lake plunge, we went to sleep after feeling the warm glow of the first fire of our trip.

[thecrookedatlas]

John Muir Trail: Day 2

Lyell Bridge to Thousand Island Lake - 10.6 miles

We were pumped. Ready to kick Donahue Pass’s ass at 11,000′. Cool mountain air brushed our faces as we hiked up to meet the biggest challenge of our trip, along with a few other hikers taking on the challenge first thing in the morning. The terrain increasingly rocky, and the views considerably more expansive, our climbing was greeted with vibrant, fresh pools of blue-green water in between slabs of exposed granite. Step by step we pushed on up the mountain until we reached the pass. The threshold between Yosemite National Park and Ansel Adams Wilderness. Then down, down, down before our second large pass at the end of the day over Island Pass. Our campsite at Thousand Island Lake was a breathtaking experience, complete with our first ceremonial lake plunge into the cold water. Gazing at the etherial reflection of the Banner Peak on the glassy lake, and the orange-yellow rays of sunlight peeking over the nearby mountains was the perfect way to end the day.

[thecrookedatlas]

John Muir Trail: Day 1

Tuolumne Meadows to Lyell Bridge - 10.2 miles

After driving for 14 hours on only one hour of sleep, we saw our first glimpse of the JMT. The winding Lyell Forks River runs for miles through beautiful and badass meadows. Badass isn’t usually used to describe meadows but these definitely were. Badass meadows. I felt so inspired by John Muir as I hiked, trying to take every moment to appreciate the sound of the wind through the grassy meadows, the river tumbling over long rock slabs, and the prickles of the pine needles I sat upon. An unexpected 700 foot climb on our last mile of the day led us above the meadows to Lyell Forks Bridge. Totally worth it. We camped right along the river among mountain hemlocks and ended the day watching a doe and her fawns grazing nearby while we sipped tequila and soaked our feet in the cool water.

[thecrookedatlas]

Day Trip to Yosemite

We went up to Yosemite Valley for the day to meet up with some friends and get a little taste of what was to come on the JMT. We took in the sights, drank some cold brews in the sweltering heat at the Upper Pines campground, and went on a short hike to Mirror Lake (which was more like Mirror-Lake-Bottom due to the drought). Only one week to go before we venture beyond this valley and begin our adventure on the John Muir Trail.

[thecrookedatlas]

JMT Gear Part 2

The last few weeks have been full of REI trips, resupply mailing, youtube video watching, trail report reading, and conditioning. We are ready for the JMT. Prep for this trip really started when I first heard about the trail, its history and its significance. Over the past year, this exciting idea in my mind has grown into a reality that I cannot wait to live. We are only able to escape for a week this time, but the entire through-hike is on our list in the next couple of years.

This gear is everything that I deemed essential, all 37 pounds of it. Mariah and I can’t express how excited we are to share our experience with everyone and if anyone reading this has done or will be doing the JMT, we would love to hear about it. Message us your tips, leave us a comment, or give us a follow!

[thecrookedatlas]

We’re Changing it Up

Change is good. And what better way to show how much we have changed than by reinventing and rebranding what The Crooked Atlas looks and feels like. As we get ready to tackle a piece of the John Muir Trail later this month, we felt like it was time to change things up with a new logo, new colors, and a new website. What we started as way to privately keep track of the trips we experience together, has grown to be a platform where we can share experiences—from hiking, to backpacking, camping and traveling—with all of you. Our new format means larger photos, a clean design, and a better flow through all of our posts.

Check out our fully redesigned website, and be sure to look out for some exciting new developments (hint: they can help you decorate your bear canister, a trail sign, or your laptop), and stay tuned for our exciting experience taking on a piece of the John Muir Trail later this month. Here’s a preview of (most of) Mariah’s gear, weighing in at 27.8 lbs.

[thecrookedatlas]

Skyline-to-Sea Trail

Waterman Gap to Waddell Beach

20 miles

From towering redwoods all the way to a kite-surfing hub at the beach, the Skyline-to-sea trail was a beautiful hike through Castle Rock and Big Basin state parks. We began our trip at Waterman Gap trail camp, a quick detour off of the nearby road, with a six-pack of Corona for the night. All five campsites were full, and we cooked our freeze-dried goods surrounded by a circle of Redwoods. The next morning, we woke to the sound of dew drip-dropping over our tent from the dense fog.

[thecrookedatlas]

The trail from Waterman to Big Basin changed immensely throughout, from the dew filled forest, to the sunny outcrops right along the road, to chapparal complete with Manzanita trees. Seven miles later, we made it to Big Basin headquarters for lunch and a few IPAs before our last six miles to sunset trail camp.

Most of the second leg was downhill, but in the last mile and a half, the trail turned increasingly rocky and treacherous. After climbing to the top of what felt like 10 waterfalls, we finally saw the sign for Sunset camp. The Nalgene full of tequila, and freeze-dried macaroni and cheese made the epic climb worth it.

[thecrookedatlas]

Our final day on the trail was seven miles to Waddell beach, which turned out to be one of our favorite pieces of the trail. Tall redwoods, perky ferns, and clovers stretching toward the sun lined the trail, which ran along Waddell creek. The last piece of the trail was lively and green, before eventually opening up to views of the ocean at the trail’s end. We celebrated the trip with tacos and coronas at the nearby town in Davenport.

[thecrookedatlas]

Mt Diablo North Peak

Mt Diablo State Park

Donner Canyon Trail - Olympia Trail - North Peak Trail - Prospector’s Gap Road

10 miles

The best hiking spot in the East Bay with views that go on for miles. An ass kicking hike to the top of the mountain followed by a steep descent. The state park has trails that go through canyons and meadows, up hills and over ridges. Giant dandelions and bleeding flowers line the trails toward the top, before the beautiful view that spans 35 California counties.

Configuration: Loop

Difficulty: Strenuous

[thecrookedatlas]

Multnomah Falls

We decided to take a somewhat spontaneous road trip up to the Portland area for the weekend for some delicious beer, some tasty food, and some insane Voodoo donuts. Our first stop was Multnomah Falls in the Columbia River Gorge, an area known for beautiful views and stunning waterfalls. Heavy traffic and hard-to-find parking was an accurate tip-off to how crowded the short trek up to the falls would be. Memorial day meant even bigger crowds. Some of the visitors carried water and were prepared for a long hike, while others were literally carrying nachos with jalapeños and extra cheese. The 620 foot falls were nothing short of breathtaking, with two separate drop-offs split by a footbridge. Despite the crowds, it was definitely a great glimpse into the beauty found in the Columbia Gorge.