Piece by Piece: The Best Ways to Section-Hike the John Muir Trail
For those of us who can't hike the JMT in one go
The full 211-mile John Muir Trail is a masterpiece, but for most working hikers, blocking out 21 consecutive days to thru-hike it is a logistical luxury (for a slow hiker like me, it is close to 28 days). Permits are an absolute lottery nightmare on Recreation.gov, life gets in the way, and finding that massive window of time is rare.
But here is the great secret of the High Sierra: The JMT sections are often better than the whole.
By leveraging the spectacular lateral trails that climb out of the Eastern Sierra Owens Valley, you can break the JMT into bite-sized, world-class chunks. Having chipped away at these sections myself over the years—including my trek from Cottonwood Pass up north and my upcoming journey from South Lake—here is a strategic blueprint on how to slice up the JMT. I hope to complete the JMT this year.
In general, you can split the JMT into the following sections.
Yosemite Valley ----> Reds Meadow ----> Muir Trail Ranch ----> Onion Valley ----> Whitney Portal
Section 1: The Northern Gateway (Yosemite Valley to Reds Meadow)
Distance: ~60 miles
The Vibe: Iconic granite, massive tourist crowds transitioning into deep backcountry pine forest.
The Reality: This is the traditional start. You get the brutal climb up out of Yosemite Valley past Nevada Fall, traverse the Cathedral Range, drop into Tuolumne Meadows, and climb over Donohue Pass (11,060’) before dropping into the volcanic landscape of Devils Postpile and Reds Meadow.
Logistics: Getting a traditional northbound or southbound permit out of Yosemite is the hardest ticket in backpacking. If you score it, logistically it’s easy because YARTS buses connect Yosemite Valley, Tuolumne, and Mammoth Lakes seamlessly.
Note: Currently all JMT permits start from Lyell Canyon trailhead in Tuolumne Meadows, so you have to TM to Happy Isles separately. For this purpose, starting at Red's meadow is better if you want to finish this in one go.
Note 2: Reds Meadow and Agnew Meadows are notoriously hard to score permits. My cheat sheet is to use Rush Creek (which is what I did on two sections), but Day 1 from Rush Creek is punishing.
Section 2: The High Lakes Wilderness (Reds Meadow to Muir Trail Ranch)
Distance: ~50 miles
The Vibe: Volcanic rock meets pristine, high-alpine lake basins.
The Reality: This stretch takes you through the Ansel Adams Wilderness. You’ll cross Silver Pass (10,750’) and wander past spectacular waters like Thousand Island Lake and Marie Lake. It’s arguably the most visually classic “sub-alpine” stretch of the trail.
Logistics: You can exit or enter via Vermilion Valley Resort (VVR) at Edison Lake or Muir Trail Ranch (MTR) via Florence Lake. Both offer ferries and excellent resupply points, making this section incredibly friendly for pack weights.
Note: Both MTR and VVR are great entry / exit points to the JMT, but if you start on the eastern entrances and exit west, car logistics is a pain.
Section 3: The Rugged Heart (South Lake to Onion Valley)
Distance: ~55 miles
The Vibe: Extreme elevation, stark moonscapes, and pure, raw granite.
The Reality: This is the section I am tackling next to close out my own JMT journey. By entering through South Lake (Bishop), you climb up the gorgeous Dusy Basin, cross Bishop Pass (11,972’), and drop into the deep trough of Le Conte Canyon.
From there, you enter the true gauntlet: climbing the blasted stone of the Golden Staircase, tracking past the Palisade Lakes, and crossing three massive, consecutive giants: Mather Pass (12,100’), Pinchot Pass (12,130’), and Glenn Pass (11,978’) before exiting over Kearsarge Pass into Onion Valley.
Logistics: Eastern lateral entry. It requires two vehicles or a local shuttle service to bridge the gap between the Bishop/South Lake trailhead and the Independence/Onion Valley exit. It is arguably the most physically demanding section mile-for-mile, with knee-jarring descents and relentless elevation changes.
Section 4: The High Southern Wilderness (Cottonwood Pass to Onion Valley)
Distance: ~50-60 miles (depending on New Army vs. Cottonwood entry)
The Vibe: Wide, sweeping lodgepole pine plateaus turning into massive, jagged monoliths.
The Reality: This is a section I’ve logged before, and it remains one of my absolute favorites for pure expansiveness. Entering via Cottonwood Pass or New Army Pass south of Lone Pine allows you to bypass the traditional Whitney portal permit nightmare while still accessing the true southern terminus of the JMT.
You wander through the vast Siberian Outpost, hook into the JMT near Crabtree Meadows, track through the stunning Wallace and Wright Creek basins, and cross the spectacular Forester Pass (13,153’)—the highest point on the entire JMT. You then head over Kearsarge Pass to exit at Onion Valley.
Logistics: Horseshoe Meadow (Cottonwood) is sitting at a cool 10,000 feet of elevation, which gives you a massive head start on acclimating compared to starting down in the valleys.
Note: This is what I did last year. I wrote about this in detail here.
The Section-Hiker’s Playbook: My Top Tips
Don’t Fight Recreation.gov for the Main Termini If you try to get a permit that says “Donohue Pass Exit” or “Whitney Portal,” you are competing with the entire global backpacking community. Instead, look for Inyo National Forest permits using lateral entry points like Rush Creek, Bishop Pass, Piute Pass, or Kearsarge Pass. You still get to hike the majestic heart of the JMT, but the permit availability is vastly more forgiving.
Train for the Knee Braking, Not Just the Climbing Everyone prepares their legs for the big climbs by doing squats and presses. But as I noted in my recent logistics post, dropping 2,500 vertical feet down relentless granite steps (like the descent into Le Conte Canyon) is what destroys a trip. Train your core and eccentrically condition your quads for the descents.
Pack for Accessibility When section-hiking, you are constantly changing terrain. Keep your densest gear (food, battery power banks, and hand-held camera setups) easily accessible up front—whether you use an integrated bodypack system like an Aarn or a modular chest rig. You want to save every bit of energy when clearing multiple 11,000-foot passes back-to-back.
Are you chipping away at the JMT piece by piece, or are you holding out for the full thru-hike? What’s your favorite lateral pass to get into the High Sierra? Let’s talk in the comments below.
Note: If you want to see a full 3D visual preview of the southern mountain contours, check out my previous JMT Flyby Post to trace the exact lines from Cottonwood Pass over Forester and out through Kearsarge.