Читать книгу The John Muir Trail. Through the Californian Sierra Nevada онлайн

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By walking from north to south, Yosemite to Whitney, all of these problems are overcome. The northern end of the Trail is at a much lower altitude than the southern half; compare the summit of Half Dome, 8836ft, with those of the 11,000ft+ passes further south and the 14,496ft of Mount Whitney itself. The climbs in the northern half of the Trail are generally not as long and hard as those further south, and altitude is gradually gained as the walker heads south, so allowing good acclimatisation. Furthermore, just three days (or even only two days if Half Dome is omitted) after leaving Yosemite Valley, Tuolumne Meadows on a main road is reached, where food supplies may be picked up and prepared foods purchased. Three and a half days later Reds Meadow is encountered, with similar facilities. Then, 2½ days after that, comes the comfort and hospitality of Vermilion. And only two days later comes Muir Trail Ranch, which allows pre-posted food packages (see ‘Posting food on ahead’, below) to be collected. So there is less of a wilderness aspect on the northern half of the JMT compared to the southern half; the walker can therefore build up his or her trail fitness and experience of the Californian wilderness before tackling the harder, higher, wilder sections in the south.