The John Muir Trail. Alan Castle

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      View south from Forester Pass of two large unnamed lakes (Day 18)

      Making a Permit Reservation by Fax

      It is no longer possible to make a reservation on line but it is possible to fax a permit request. This will not have the delay associated with ‘snail mail’, but you have no opportunity to ask questions about availability and so on. The form and instructions for its completion can be downloaded from www.nps.gov in the Plan Your Visit area under Yosemite.

      Once completed the form must be faxed to (209) 372 0739 (preceded by the international code for the US, 001 from the UK). Provided a legible email address has been supplied, a confirmatory email will be sent within two business days but it will not show which of the dates applied for has been allocated. A confirmatory letter will confirm the date allocated. The availability of permits for various trailheads can also be checked out on this website.

      A Yosemite permit reservation can be made up to 24 weeks (168 days), but no later than two days, in advance of your start date, but you are strongly recommended to obtain a permit as early as possible.

      The National Parks Service website (www.nps.gov) shows the dates that are fully allocated for permits in the Wilderness Permits area of the website. The price for a wilderness permit was $5 per person plus $5 processing fee in 2014. Backpacking the JMT from north-to-south (as in this guidebook) automatically includes a permit for Mount Whitney, but if the walk is made from south to north, then an additional fee of $15 may be levied for the ascent of Whitney.

      Note that permits are also issued at Happy Valley, and may be available there if the Yosemite ones have all been issued.

      It is advisable to pick up your permit from the Rangers’ Office the afternoon before you plan to set out on your hike.

      TREKKING PERMITS

      The whole concept of trekking permits is alien to the British and European way of managing wilderness areas, and imposes restrictions on freedoms which elsewhere are considered to be fundamental rights. Do remember, however, that America has much greater areas of unspoilt wilderness than the Old World, and its conservation of these areas is to be congratulated. Restricting and controlling the numbers of humans allowed into the wilderness areas of its national parks has done much to protect and preserve these mountain wonderlands for future generations. As a guest in the US, do respect their way of doing things. Be patient and tolerant of the permit system.

Flights to California

      The nearest major international airport to the northern terminus of the John Muir Trail at Yosemite is San Francisco; however Lone Pine, the town nearest to Whitney Portal, at the end of the Trail, is closer to Los Angeles than to San Francisco. The best airline ticket to purchase is therefore an ‘open-jaw’ ticket inward to San Francisco and outward from Los Angeles. Such tickets are often no more expensive than buying a return from the airport of entry.

      Many of the major European and American carriers fly from London to San Francisco and LA. It is just a matter of getting the best deal on flights. Good deals are often to be had by booking on the internet. It is advisable to make a booking several months in advance, as the optimum time to walk the JMT coincides with the main summer holiday season, when there is likely to be greatest demand for trans-Atlantic flights and prices are liable to be high.

      There are airport buses from San Francisco International Air port into the centre of the city, and similarly ample public transport in Los Angeles to the international airport.

Public Transport to and from the Trailhead

      For the most technologically advanced nation in the world the United States of America has a limited public transport system, and there is little provision for the few who do not have cars. This is not good news for foreign long-distance hikers who visit the States. Hiring a car is not practical for JMT walkers, except possibly at the end of the hike, provided that the hire company agrees to let you drop the car off at Los Angeles airport prior to your departure. As overseas JMT walkers are likely to fly into San Francisco and out of Los Angeles, they will need to travel from San Francisco to Yosemite Valley for the start of the Trail, and at the end to travel to Los Angeles for the homeward flight. The former journey is relatively easy by public transport, but the latter much less so. Both are described below.

      To the Trailhead: San Francisco to Yosemite Valley via Merced

      There is a Greyhound bus service that runs from San Francisco to Merced. Alternatively, it is a relatively straightforward journey by bus and train from San Francisco to Yosemite Valley via the town of Merced. Not only that, but the super Amtrak double-decker train ride between Emeryville and Merced is likely to be one of the highlights of your time in the States.

      The journey is split into three sections: from San Francisco to Emeryville by bus; by train from Emeryville to Merced; and by bus from Merced to Yosemite Valley. It is recommended that the first two sections of the journey are taken in succession (the bus and train timetables are co-ordinated for these two parts of the journey), but that the journey is then broken in Merced for a couple of overnights there. This will allow time for buying provisions for the trip and packaging and posting them to various pick-up points further along the Trail.