Has anyone done the John muir trail in a hammock?

**tonejones** · 07-23-2015, 02:22

Looking for advice on hammock possibilities on the John muir trail. Just moved to northern California from the great pacific northwest and have my sights set on the JMT after doing to wonderland last year in 7 days. I have not seen of the trail but do know there are spots; just not the entire way.

**Rigger94** · 07-23-2015, 11:05

I watched a documentary on the JMT; "Mile, Mile in a half" is what is was called. Film team got great shots of pretty much the entire trip. You may want to check it out because as far as I could tell the hanging options were very limited the majority of the way. Good Luck!

**WaffleBox** · 07-23-2015, 11:13

Originally Posted by tonejones

Looking for advice on hammock possibilities on the John muir trail. Just moved to northern California from the great pacific northwest and have my sights set on the JMT after doing to wonderland last year in 7 days. I have not seen of the trail but do know there are spots; just not the entire way.

Not to derail your thread, but I'd love to hear about your experience with the Wonderland Trail. It's #1 on my "I want to hike" list.

**Gqgeek81** · 07-23-2015, 11:50

Originally Posted by Rigger94

I watched a documentary on the JMT; "Mile, Mile in a half" is what is was called. Film team got great shots of pretty much the entire trip. You may want to check it out because as far as I could tell the hanging options were very limited the majority of the way. Good Luck!

Same here. It looked like there were a few places but a lot of it that's even near trees would take some awfully long straps to go around and bit trees often mean lots of bit dead branches even if you can get a strap on them.

**mountain_man_mike** · 07-23-2015, 12:19

Our troop did a three year segmented trip of the JMT and I used a hammock for most all nights. The southern section is where the tallest passes are and more of it is above treeline than the other sections but if you use a plan to hike over the passes and find lower campsites you should be able to hike most all of it with a comfy night's sleep.

**tonejones** · 07-24-2015, 02:34

No problem, that is the crown jewel of all my hikes. It was strenuous and I would have taken 10 days and done 2 resupply points not just one. the up an down is killer but thats how you get the killer views! ill post a long long over due trip report once i get a min or tow to sit down and get all the pictures together.

**tonejones** · 07-24-2015, 02:35

Originally Posted by mountain_man_mike

Our troop did a three year segmented trip of the JMT and I used a hammock for most all nights. The southern section is where the tallest passes are and more of it is above treeline than the other sections but if you use a plan to hike over the passes and find lower campsites you should be able to hike most all of it with a comfy night's sleep.

That my friend is just what I wanted to hear.

**jlink79** · 07-24-2015, 05:47

Isn't the rule "Hike-High, Hang(camp)-Low"? As in get up to see the view, then get down to a leeward side for protection. Remember you want to stay out of the bottom of a valley also.

**mountain_man_mike** · 07-27-2015, 13:36

Originally Posted by jlink79

Isn't the rule "Hike-High, Hang(camp)-Low"? As in get up to see the view, then get down to a leeward side for protection. Remember you want to stay out of the bottom of a valley also.

That's a great approach to the JMT. The scenery is spectacular and if there is anyway to awake in a hammock it's even better.