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The dramatic peak of Half Dome lies a little off the route of the JMT at the northern end of the trail in Yosemite National Park, and few adventurous walkers would want to pass by without making a detour to climb this sensational mountain.

With these two extensions to the JMT the total distance of the trek amounts to some 233 miles, with a total cumulative ascent of about 46,700ft (14,234m), over 1½ times the height of Everest. By walking from north to south the total descent is only around 42,000ft (12,800m), as Yosemite Valley lies at a much lower altitude than Whitney Portal.

Much of the JMT is coincident with the ultra-long-distance Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) that crosses the western US north to south between the Canadian and Mexican borders.

Half Dome from Yosemite Valley (Day 1)

The first section of the JMT heads eastwards through Yosemite, passing Vernal and Nevada waterfalls and to the south of Half Dome to Sunrise High Sierra Camp and then north-eastwards over the Cathedral Range to reach a second roadhead at Tuolumne Meadows. A café/snack bar, store and post office here are useful to JMT walkers before the long journey south to Whitney begins.