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

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 JMT from Vermilion Valley resort or Muir Trail Ranch to le conte canyon, where the JMT can be left by a good trail over the Bishop Pass and so on to the town of Bishop: 5–7 days. Similarly, the JMT could be joined from Bishop by this route and then followed via Mount Whitney to Whitney Portal: 9–10 days.

When to go

The JMT is a high-level route over the High Sierras, mostly above 9000ft in altitude and often above 11,000ft. Very considerable quantities of snow fall on these mountains during the winter months. Snow remains on the high passes usually well into early summer. July is the first month of the year when the JMT could sensibly be considered, but in years of late spring snows it is likely that the higher sections of the Trail will still have a covering of snow, at least in the early days of that month. Melting snow also means swollen rivers, so an early summer crossing increases the risk of encountering difficult and dangerous river crossings.

The recommended month to hike the JMT is August, when the risk of lying snow and rivers in spate is at its lowest. Mosquitoes, which can be a menace in some areas, tend to be less of a nuisance later in the summer. The temperature even at the high altitudes of the High Sierras will probably be fairly high at this time of year (at least in the high 20s Celcius and probably well into the 30s), with some low temperatures at night (often at or below freezing), but with relatively low risk of severely low night-time temperatures. Precipitation, either rain or snow, will probably be very low. However, violent thunderstorms with heavy rain, snow and hail can occur even during the summer months. This mountain range has one of the best climates of any high mountain area in the world, and most days during the summer months have blue skies and wall-to-wall sunshine.