Yosemite National Park is one of my favorite places on the planet. I first went there two years ago (after dreaming of it for years) and as we entered the park via Tioga Pass, I cried. Cried. We spent 3 days in the park, hiked Cloud's Rest, did the tourist thing in the valley and laid in the meadow and stared at El Cap for many, many hours. I've been trying to figure out how to get back ever since so I was very happy to have a day to spend in the Valley before we started the hike. YARTS brought us in through the Mariposa Grove entrance and dropped us in the middle of the action in the Valley. We went to the Wilderness Permit office and picked up the coveted permit and then set off to find the backpacker's camp which turned into a hot, sweaty, frustrating adventure. That sucker was not easy to find! We did, many, many, many steps, wrong turns and maybe a few cursies (ok, I cursed, Dick did not) later find the camp and got ourselves all set up. Time to be a tourist! We heade
A little history. I have been dreaming of hiking the JMT (John Muir Trail) for a long time. Like years. Five years ago I actually started applying for a southbound permit. (This website was instrumental in assisting me in planning and getting my permit.) Getting a southbound permit from Yosemite is a lottery process. Yosemite limits the total number of hikers starting each day to 45. You can apply for a range of dates from a range of actual starting points. The golden ticket is a permit from Happy Isles, the classic north-to-south route and the official northern terminus of the trail. So, you enter your desired starting dates, starting trailhead, first night's camp and exit trailhead (Whitney Portal is the exit trailhead that allows you to summit Mt Whitney, the official southern terminus of the trail.) It's a rolling lottery so you then cross your fingers and obsessively check your email each day. You can enter up to 21 starting days. The first few days you are excited to c