John Muir Trail Itinerary

I have the ambitious idea to finish the John Muir Trail in 12 days. Most hikers take 18-21 days to finish the trail, but I was only able to get 2 weeks off of work. For the 211 mile trail I will need to average 17.5 miles a day. I know it sounds like a lot but if I start hiking early in the day I should give myself enough time to make my miles while keeping a good pace.

I have used data from various resources to find great campsites at each of my "Ending Locations". I tried my best to only pick campsites that had a description that included "great views" or "incredible views". If I am only going to be out there for 12 days, I want every campsite to be memorable.

Here is my itinerary for my hike on the JMT:

Day	Date	Starting Location	Ending Location	Daily Miles	Total Miles
1	8/31/2014	Happy Isles Trailhead (Yosemite)	Upper Cathedral Lake	17	17
2	9/1/2014	Upper Cathedral Lake	Lyell Canyon	15	32
3	9/2/2014	Lyell Canyon	Rosalie Lake	15.5	47.5
4	9/3/2014	Rosalie Lake	Duck Creek	22.6	70.1
5	9/4/2014	Duck Creek	Vermillion Valley Resort	17.5	87.6
6	9/5/2014	Vermillion Valley Resort	Heart Lake	14.5	102.1
7	9/6/2014	Heart Lake	McClure Meadow	16	118.1
8	9/7/2014	McClure Meadow	Grouse Meadows	20.1	138.2
9	9/8/2014	Grouse Meadows	Upper Basin	18.7	156.9
10	9/9/2014	Upper Basin	Rae Lakes	15.1	172
11	9/10/2014	Rae Lakes	Bighorn Plateau	21.8	193.8
12	9/11/2014	Bighorn Plateau	Guitar Lake	9.5	203.3
13	9/12/2014	Guitar Lake	Mt. Whitney Summit	7.7	211

Here are some images of where I'll be campaign on the trail. I think it is pretty cool to note the different terrain and landscape that the trail crosses.

Upper Cathedral Lake	Lyell Canyon
McClure Meadow	Rae Lakes
Bighorn Plataeu	Guitar Lake