John Muir Trail Hiker Survey (2022)

The John Muir Trail Hiker Survey is distributed to JMT hikers at the end of the hiking season with the goal of capturing a snapshot of the year’s class and providing a useful resource to future JMT hikers and recreators. A huge THANK YOU to everyone who took the time to participate and provide feedback.

This year’s survey is the most comprehensive yet and I’ve devoted a tremendous amount of time to compiling the results. Again, the JMT Survey is meant to be a useful resource to help anyone interested in hiking the John Muir Trail figure out how to approach the seemingly-monstrous journey. Every year, I try to improve the data collected and fine-tune the presentation to best help hikers. I would love to hear what you think in the comments below.

Congratulations on arriving at a spot in the JMT Survey most readers probably skip. Here are the results of Halfway Anywhere’s 2022 John Muir Trail Hiker Survey!

Notes on the Data

• This year we had 262 completed surveys – a 120% increase over last year. If you’re hiking the John Muir Trail in 2023, sign up to receive the survey here.
• Some responses have been sorted and colored to present the data in a friendlier manner (e.g. northbound vs. southbound responses).
• I ask that respondents do their best to accurately respond to questions. Not every hiker answers every question and not every answer is guaranteed 100% accurate (e.g. someone may mistakenly report hiking 30 mi / 48 km on their long day hike instead of 28 mi / 45 km).
• I refer to survey respondents collectively as this year’s “class“. Remember, this is a sample and not a comprehensive survey of every hiker who hiked the JMT this year.
• For stats requiring the length of the John Muir Trail for a calculation (e.g. average mileage per day for the trail), I use 220 mi / 354 km.
• I will be releasing more detailed posts focused on JMT Gear, JMT Resupply, JMT Demographics, JMT Horror Stories, and JMT Advice. If you would like to be notified of new surveys, click here.

Colors differentiating hiker segments:

• Thru-Hikers
• Northbound Thru-Hikers
• Southbound Thru-Hikers
• The number (1) will be appended when only using data from hikers who completed the trail
• The number (0) will be appended when only using data from hikers who did not complete the trail

If no color/label has been appended to a data point, I used all data collected (i.e. it also includes section hiker data and data from hikers who did not complete the trail).

Demographics

First, we look at information from the John Muir Trail Class of 2022 that isn’t going to help anyone plan a thru-hike, but that’s interesting nonetheless. We’ll look at JMT hiker gender, age, race, education, sexual orientation, marital status, and children.

Where Hikers Are From

Every year, people come from all over the country and the world to hike the John Muir Trail. Here’s a look at where hikers on the trail this year were from.

• Countries: Brazil, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Scotland, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States (18 total)
• States/Territories: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin (38 total)

Hiker Jobs & Working Conditions

How are people able to take time off to hike the John Muir Trail? Sure, you could do it in less than a week, but most people on the JMT will want to take their time.

I asked hikers what they do for work and how they were able to take time off to hike the JMT.

Planning & Experience Levels

Here’s a look at what the John Muir Trail Class of 2022 looked like during the planning phase of their hikes. This section examines time spent planning, first-time hikers, hiker experience level, and other trails hiked.

Hiking Experience

Instead of asking respondents whether this would be/was their first long-distance hike, I asked the distance of their longest hike to date (pre-JMT). I decided to use 100 mi / 160 km as the cutoff (sorry, Wonderland Trail hikers). If you want to yell at me for the arbitrary number I chose here (or suggest a better one), feel free to do so in the comments at the end of this post.

Pre-Hike Training

Next, we’ll look at whether thru-hikers trained in preparation for their thru-hikes, what they did (if anything) to train, and how thru-hikers rated their fitness (pre-JMT).

Money Spent on Hike

The question of how much money is required for a John Muir Trail thru-hike is one that gets asked by a lot of would-be JMT hikers each year – especially if they’re starting out with little or no gear.

I ask John Muir Trail hikers if they encountered any unexpected expenses while hiking the JMT. Even if you purchase and test all your gear beforehand and pre-package all of your resupplies (I strongly recommend against this resupply strategy), you can’t predict what’s going to happen during a JMT thru-hike. As part of this breakdown, I also ask thru-hikers how much they spend on gear during their thru-hikes – this could be either repairing, replacing, or supplementing gear.

Hiking Partners & Alone Time

Starting a long hike alone can be scary and intimidating, but it turns out many thru-hikers (and hikers in general) begin their hikes alone. Here, we’ll look at who hikers began with, how much time they spent hiking and camping alone, how many nights hikers cowboy camped, and whether they stayed with their hiking partner(s), hiker relationships, and hiking group sizes.

Hiking Partner(s)

Beginning a hike with someone is one thing, but managing to remain together and finishing a hike with someone is arguably as impressive as the trail itself. Here’s how things worked out for those who began their hikes with another person.

Permits & Starting Dates

Getting a John Muir Trail permit can be the first obstacle for many hikers. For 2023, permit registration takes place via a weekly lottery on Recreation.gov. When to begin the JMT is a question of debate every year. There could be snow, bugs, or fires depending on when you’re traveling through the Sierra, and gauging when to hit the JMT can be a tricky decision.

Hiker Start Months

The John Muir Trail is traditionally hiked southbound – beginning at Happy Isles Trailhead in Yosemite National Park and ending at Whitney Portal Trailhead in Inyo National Forest.

However, with more competition for permits and due to personal circumstances or logistics, many hikers have started to explore alternatives to the traditional route. This could mean either beginning elsewhere in Yosemite or reversing the route and hiking northbound.

Hiking Stats & Dates

In this section, we look at a breakdown of hike lengths and averages, and a look at how many days hikers took off (zero days) or did very few miles (nearo days).

Length of Thru-hikes

Zero and Nearo Days (i.e. Days Off)

Alternate Routes

The John Muir Trail is well-defined, but there are a number of alternates (sometimes also known as “shortcuts”) hikers can take either in lieu of or in addition to the official JMT. I ask about these alternates to get an idea of what the most common JMT thru-hike looks like. Alternates are listed in geographical order from north to south.

The following colors indicate the popularity of each alternate (the percentage of hikers who reported taking each): over 75%, 50-75%, 25-50%, less than 25%.

• Tuolumne Campground Trail 11.1%
• Pacific Crest Trail (between Thousand Island Lake and Agnew Meadows) 3.9%
• Devils Postpile Trail 55.0%
• Mammoth Pass Trail 1.7%
• Duck Pass Trail 5.0%
• Cascade/Fish Valley Trail 0.0%
• Goodale Pass Trail (in and/or out of VVR) 10.6%
• Bear Ridge Trail (in and/or out of VVR) 28.9%
• Bear Creek Trail (in and/or out of VVR) 3.9%
• Blayney Meadows Trail 3.9%
• Piute Pass Trail (to/from North Lake) 0.6%
• Bishop Pass Trail (to/from South Lake) 2.2%
• Sawmill Pass Trail 0.6%
• Kearsarge Pass Trail (to/from Onion Valley) 42.2%
• New Army Pass Trail (to/from Horseshoe Meadow) 15.0%
• Cottonwood Lakes/Army Pass Trail (to/from Horseshoe Meadow) 2.8%
• Cottonwood Pass Trail (to/from Horseshoe Meadow) 22.8%
• Trail Pass Trail (to/from Horseshoe Meadow) 0.6%

Not an alternate, but instead the official destination of a traditional southbound JMT thru-hike, Mount Whitney is not an objective that all JMT hikers find themselves atop. Here’s a look at the number of thru-hikers who summited the highest peak in the Continental United States and the reasons some decided to skip it.

JMT Completion Rates

Most people begin a John Muir Trail thru-hike intending to complete the trail. Unfortunately, not everyone who sets out on this most epic adventure completes the trail. Every year, a large percentage of people hoping to hike the JMT will fail to complete the trail.

Resupply

The word “resupply” can be anxiety-inducing if you’re new to the idea of a thru-hike. What is resupply? Where does it come from? How much of it is there? How do you get it? Will it hurt?

Basically, resupply is getting yourself more food to power more hiking. Nothing that needs to be too scary or intimidating. Resupply on a John Muir Trail is fairly straightforward since you only have so many options as far as getting yourself more calories to carry in your bear canister (yes, please bring and use a bear canister – it’s required), but when and where hikers resupply is still a question many find quite scary.

Here we have this year’s resupply stats, resupply strategy/boxes, resupply box suggestions, where hikers resupplied, favorite and least favorite resupply stops, favorite meals and snacks, and resupply advice.

JMT Resupply Stats

Where to Send Resupply Boxes

I ask hikers where, if anywhere, they would highly recommend mailing a resupply box. The following percentages are based on answers from the 93% of thru-hikers (1) who recommend sending at least one resupply box.

1. Muir Trail Ranch 63%
2. Red’s Meadow 46%
3. Vermilion Valley Resort (VVR) 31%
4. Independence 21%

Where Hikers Resupplied

I ask hikers to report where they resupply – not where they stopped/passed through, but where they actually purchased, picked up, were given, or otherwise came into a new stock of food.

Locations are listed in geographical order from north to south. Again, I used the following colors to indicate each resupply stop’s popularity: over 75%, 50-75%, 25-50%, less than 25%.

Favorite & Least Favorite Resupply Stops

Now we know the most popular stops for resupplying and for sending boxes, but what about hikers’ favorite and least favorite resupply stops?

Favorite Meals & Snacks

As part of my quest for better backpacking meals, I ask John Muir Trail hikers to share their favorite sources of calories whilst on the trail. More on this is to come in the JMT Resupply Guide.

Resupply Changes

Hindsight is 20/20 (unless you’re looking back through the darkness for that mountain lion you think might be following you – but that’s likely a deer). Here is what hikers said they would change about their resupply strategies if they had the chance to do it all over again. These don’t change much from year to year, so I would highly encourage you to heed this advice when considering your resupply options.

I’ll be following up on this article with a more detailed breakdown of this year’s JMT resupply. If you would like to be notified of new posts, click here.

Thru-hiking Gear

John Muir Trail hikers spend a lot of time deciding on their gear. Gear choices play an essential role in a thru-hike, but there is no magical gear combination that will guarantee you success. I will do a deep dive into the gear used by JMT hikers this year, but the following will give a taste of what the gear choices were this year and what’s to come.

Let’s take a look at what this year’s JMT Class had with them out on the trail.

There are more detailed and more interesting breakdowns of this information on the way in this year’s JMT Gear Guide. For now, let’s take a peek at some of the gear thru-hikers were using on the trail this year. Here are the most common “Big 4” items: packs, shelters, sleeping bags/quilts, and sleeping pads (I know it’s the “Big 3”, but I include sleeping pads, get over it) along with the most common insulated jackets and shells.

This is just the tip of the proverbial thru-hiking iceberg in the gear department. As mentioned above, I will soon be publishing a detailed breakdown of this year’s JMT gear. This will include the all-important shoes, snow gear, luxury items, what hikers didn’t like about their gear, what gear decisions (might have) helped hikers to a successful thru-hike, how hikers would change/adapt their gear for a future hike, and more.

For more on gear, check out more of the best backpacking gear.

Technology on Trail

Gone are the days of the John Muir Trail requiring everyone to navigate their trips with a paper map and compass using sketches from former hikers to identify landmarks. That said, a map and compass aren’t necessarily terrible things to have with you and many would never leave home without them. But the reality is that there are apps available to JMT hikers and there’s no reason you shouldn’t take advantage of the tools available.

Here are the phones and apps hikers were using out on the trail this year.

Hiker Health & Water Sources

Water treatment and personal hygiene are (or should be) big considerations for hikers. Typically thru-hikers worry less about these as the trail goes on; experience isn’t always your friend.

Some hikers religiously filter all water that passes through their face hole – it doesn’t matter if it comes out of a hotel sink or a puddle with a cow pooping in it. Other hikers will “not filter above 10,000 ft / 3,048 m” or “not filter running water” (this last one is not a good idea – running water can 100% get you sick).

Everyone wants to look cool in front of their friends by not filtering water (note: not filtering your water does not make you cool), but there are risks to the badass thru-hiker lifestyle (and to drinking dirty, giardia-infested water).

To find out how good a job everyone is doing filtering their water and sanitizing their hands after pooping (another way to get yourself sick), I ask hikers if they got sick (defined as 3+ days of digestive issues or diagnosed giardia), how often they treated water sources, and how these two things compare to one another.

Looking at this another way, we can see the following.

• 90.5% of hikers always treated their water and 1% of these hikers got sick
• 9.0% of hikers usually treated their water and 1% of these hikers got sick
• 0.5% of hikers sometimes treated their water and 0% of these hikers got sick

In total, a reported 1.8% of hikers came down with something akin to (or diagnosed) giardia.

Favorite/Least Favorite Sections

The John Muir Trail is a relatively long hike with a lot to see (mostly bears). Here is a look at the favorite and least favorite sections of the trail.

Fear, Regrets, and Advice

When asked if hikers ever felt legitimately afraid on the trail, this is what they had to report. If you’ve never experienced a thunderstorm directly overhead while in the mountains above treeline, you may be surprised at how much more threatening it is than watching that same storm through a window while warm inside your car or home.

• I was a solo female. There were two significant water crossings that were a little scary, the worst one being Evolution Creek, which was flowing strongly and came up to my hips.
• We experienced lots of rain and flooding in Le Conte Canyon. It rained from about 2:30 pm, all night, and most of the day as we decided to exit at Bishop Pass because of all the flooding.
• We got caught in a scary lightning storm and hail shower coming up out of Purple Lake on the way to Deer Creek. We saw lightning strike three different trees (luckily one mountain over from where we were). It was a solid reminder that nowhere (other than inside) is safe from lightning.
• Coming down the south side of Muir pass, the trail disappeared frequently, and crossed a couple of snow fields. Worried that late in the day, some of our crew would get injured, fall into a stream under the snow, or get lost.

Now for John Muir Trail thru-hiker wisdom. I asked hikers what they would have done differently before their hikes if they were to do it all over again.

In addition to asking hikers what they would have done differently before their thru-hikes, I asked them what they wish they had done differently during their hikes.

I ask hikers what advice they have for future JMT hikers. This will be thoroughly documented in the upcoming article JMT: Advice For The Future, but for now, here is a sampling.

• Lock and close your bear can unless you are actively taking food out or putting food in. We crossed paths with two girls who had just resupplied at Red’s Meadow (we saw them there). While they were brushing their teeth at camp at Deer Creek, they left their full bear cans open. They saw a bear, ran away, and the bear ate all their food. They didn’t even try to scare the bear away or defend their food. That bear is now a dead bear, and it makes me really sad.
• Enjoy the journey, every step of the way, and don’t rush just to get to the next checkpoint or campsite. There’s too much beauty and opportunity to connect with nature and with oneself.
• Plan for it to take longer than you think you’ll need and be flexible. I gave myself extra time to take a spontaneous zero or spend more time at lakes or beautiful spots on the trail, and that was the #1 thing I heard from other hikers they wished they’d done as well.
• Be a decent human being – acknowledge and even talk to your fellow hikers; bury your shit (and pack out your toilet paper); leave no trace. Most of all have fun – there is really no need to be nervous – so many amazing people out there who will share their knowledge and experience.

Social Issues

The John Muir Trail is, for the most part, an amazing place filled with incredible people. However, just as the trail itself can be not so amazing at times – thunderstorms, fires, cows and their poops – the people too, can occasionally be trash humans.

Here were the social issues experienced by JMT hikers this year.

Ageism

Overall, 2.8% of hikers experienced ageism on the John Muir Trail from other hikers.

*As ageism was reported by hikers with a wide variety of ages, these percentages are for all hikers.

Homophobia/Transphobia

Overall, 5.6% of LGBTQIA+ hikers experienced homophobia or transphobia on the JMT from other hikers.

Racism

Overall, 4.2% of BIPOC hikers experienced racism on the JMT from people in town.

Sexism

Overall, 9.3% of female hikers experienced sexism on the JMT. 5.3% experienced sexism from other hikers and 4.0% from both their fellow hikers and people in town.

Animal Sightings

Lastly, we have some data that I don’t really feel fits anywhere else and so I’ve just decided to tack it on at the end. What kind of wildlife did John Muir Trail hikers see in the Sierra Nevada?

The most common animals? Marmots. The rarest of the animal kingdom? Mountain lions.

Finally, another HUGE THANK YOU to all the hikers who completed this year’s survey, including (but not limited to): ACL (American Cornhole League), Al Dente, Allmight, ANGEL, Bad Ass Mama, Bear Bait, Bearrister, Beaumont, Bloodhound, Bluebird, Bodywarmer, Boogie, Boston, Bougie Red, Brows, Camp Host, Caspar, Chainsaw, Charlie, Chip, Coach Bitter, Cool Trail Mom, CrazyQuilt, Crunch, Crusher, Double-knot, Easy Bake, Escalator, Fiak, Fire/RX, Firefly, Flat Top, Fun”A”, Galieo, Gills the Weatherman, Gravel, Grease Balls, Handstand, Happy, Henry, Hobbit, Hot Heels, Hot Sauce, Hurricane, Hyena, Java, Karma Kid, Landline, Lisa, Lost Ticket, LowCal Cat, Lucky Charm, Mama Goat, Melody, Miss Go-Go, Miss Lemon Hat, Morning Thunder, Neon, Obi Wan, Pack Rat, Shirpa Summer, Peanut, Philly, Pilot, Pitcher, Poptart, Properly Chill, Quesadilla, Quiet Storm, Recon, Retro, Road Runner, Rocky, Roo, Santa, Second Wind, Shark Bait, Sheep Dog, Sister Golden Hair, Sky Mountain, Sleepwalker, Smooth aka Old Mule, Snapstick, Snickers, Splat, Steady, Strider, Sugar, Superman, TeeBeeDee, The Ace, The General, Tidbits, Time Traveller, Tree Beard, Trudge, Turnaround, Two Mile, Whoopsie, Wild Woman, Will E. MakeIt, wizard, Wizard, Yosemite Slam, and Zen.

If you have any feedback, comments, suggestions to improve the survey, or data you would like to see in future posts or surveys, leave a comment below and let me know!

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