The John Muir Trail goes through a number of National Parks including Yosemite National Park which is where we start our Southbound thru-hike.
National Parks are underfunded and are in high demand. There are so many visitors both domestic and international that want to take in the beauty of a park like Yosemite and so the wilderness permit system was established to manage demand for overnight camping for the safety and management of these parks.
Every season when JMT hikers like us are planning for our trips, there is a lot of logistics involved in entering weekly lotteries to begin the hike at the desired trailheads.
If we don’t secure a permit, we don’t get to do this thru-hike.
I have been stressing since Christmas to make sure I entered lotteries and picked up the post-lottery spot release every week.
I managed to secure some dates in June but June is a sketchy shoulder season month. Depending on how much snow there is this winter, the trail could be snow-covered in sections and water crossings could be extra treacherous due to snow melt.
Today, I was successful in getting the July dates we wanted. A lot still needs to line up in specific travel plans and my itinerary but it is a huge milestone.
