Has anyone done the John muir trail in a hammock?

**clean** · 07-29-2015, 01:28

The JMT was a fantastic hike. My 12 year old son and I hiked SOBO from 6/15/15 to 7/5/15 from Happy Isles to Whitney Portal.

We slept in a ZPacks Duplex for shelter because we were concerned about whether we could hang it every night. On the first night I thought "I could hang here" and then proceeded to have the same thought *every night* except for two nights. The first was by Lake Wanda (below Muir Pass) and at Guitar Lake (our final night, below Whitney). Truthfully, we could have hung less than one mile north of Guitar as well.

I'd like to hike the JMT again and I will definitely take a hammock next time. I'm not sure how I'd deal with going to ground... I hate hanging with a pad but my UQ/TQ would not be a good setup on the ground. Maybe I'd take half a ZLite and use it as a luxurious sit pad most days and then sleep on that when on the ground?

I'd absolutely take a tarp with doors. Recent weather has proven that snow/hail is possible any month of the year. I also hike with two trekking poles which would would allow me to set my Superfly up on a granite slab when sleeping on the ground.

The trees are relatively large. You'd want long straps... Many trees are 2-3' in diameter. I'd take big straps as well as Amsteel dogbones as extenders. I'd take whoopies with toggles for maximum adjustability. I'd definitely take a bugnet/UQ protector like Dutch's Argon Vented Sock (summer version). There where plenty of mosquitos and then the weather...

There were several nights where we had trouble finding a durable, flat surface for our tent and I looked around and thought "I could hang there, there, there or there" without any problem. I think the trip would be great in a hammock.

Ask me any questions. It was a great trip and I'm happy to share my experiences.

**jonskiles** · 07-29-2015, 15:33

I am preparing to do my 5th JMT through-hike this September. The first 4 were all done with some variety of ground sleeping. This year I will be taking a WBBB xlc hammock. I don't think there should be any problem hanging a hammock as long as you plan your milage. It is a little more planning up front, but I think it will be worth it. I would echo everything Clean said. Have fun!!!

**clean** · 07-29-2015, 18:11

Jon, have you done the JMT in September before? I bet it's really nice with fewer people on the trail.

Where are you entering/exiting?

**Hang-n-Around** · 07-29-2015, 18:35

So glad someone asked this question. I would like to to the JMT sometime and would prefer to hang the whole way

**clean** · 07-29-2015, 20:13

I miss it so bad already. I'm broiling here in Phoenix and have massive cabin fever.

**Gqgeek81** · 07-29-2015, 22:58

I'm enjoying this thread after watching Mile... Mile and a Half a few weeks ago. I was wondering about hammocks as I watched it and would love to do the trail eventually.

**SGT Rock** · 07-30-2015, 06:43

I've been dreaming about doing the JMT and have a couple of things I'd like to point out.

1. John Amorosano has one of my all time favorite videos of this hike. A must see. And one of his friends that is hiking with him is using a hammock (you can see it in some of the shots of camp)

I write trail guides and have a fascination with reading them and maps. So of course I already got a JMT guide. It is not written the way I would put one together and I probably won't carry it on the trail myself (maybe some pages out of it), but "John Muir Trail: The Essential Guide to Hiking America's Most Famous Trail" by Elizabeth Wenk has one great advantage for hammockers: it describes every established campsite on the trail including the type of trees! So you can sort of get details on the campsites before you get there and pick those that sound like they present the best possible hammock hangs. As clean has stated from real experience, it is doable.

**clean** · 07-30-2015, 08:57

I had Wenk's book (and Ray Rippel's book) on my iPhone and referred to them exactly zero times on the trail.

I found Guthook's app to be extremely accurate and useful. Definitely worth the $5 or whatever to see photos of upcoming campsites and locations of water sources.

I strongly recommend the Nat Geo JMT map booklet over the Tom Harrison or Eric the Black guides. http://www.amazon.com/National-Geogr.../dp/B00PXGSRZG

**clean** · 07-30-2015, 08:59

Also the Facebook JMT group is extremely active and useful. The associated Yahoo JMT group is quieter and more professional and has a huge library of useful PDFs.

**SGT Rock** · 07-30-2015, 09:37

Originally Posted by clean

I had Wenk's book (and Ray Rippel's book) on my iPhone and referred to them exactly zero times on the trail.

I found Guthook's app to be extremely accurate and useful. Definitely worth the $5 or whatever to see photos of upcoming campsites and locations of water sources.

I strongly recommend the Nat Geo JMT map booklet over the Tom Harrison or Eric the Black guides. http://www.amazon.com/National-Geogr.../dp/B00PXGSRZG

I would a gree with you on Guthooks app. The good thing about that too is you can include pictures of the site in the app which would help us hammockers know if there are spots to hang. I'm currently working with him on getting an app for the BMT.