Most people who hike the entire John Muir Trail resupply at least once to reduce the amount of food and consumables that must be carried. If you carry two pounds of food a day, that would be thirty pounds of food for a 15 day trip. That's a lot to carry in addition to your gear and other supplies.
JMT Monster in Big Pete Meadow
Because there are a few places to resupply along the trail, we can reduce the amount of food and consumables we have to carry which keeps our pack weight down. This is important when you are hiking 211 miles with 46,000 feet of altitude gain.
For the first half of our trip there are three places along the trail to purchase food and supplies. The first is on day two in Tuolumne Meadows where there is a small store and grill. It's basically a tourist stop and often very busy. Depending on the crowds and how well we are keeping our scheduled pace, we may make a quick stop for a burger and soda before hiking up Lyell Canyon. The next opportunity is day four at Red's Meadow where there is a small store and cafe. It is also a tourist stop and can be very busy, but by then I'll be ready to brave the crowds for a burger and some ICE CREAM! There are also free hot spring showers at a campground near by. Depending on how well we are keeping to our schedule, we might take time for a shower!
Two days later we will have a major resupply at Muir Trail Ranch which is at the half way point along the trail. For the remainder of the hike there will be no resupply, so everything we need for the next eight days we will cram in our bear canisters and backpacks. Our packs will be the heaviest they have been, but each day they will get lighter by about two pounds. In three to four days we will forget we are even carrying them. Early in July we'll plan our resupply and fill a five gallon paint bucket to mail it to MTR.
Resupply Bucket
"We don't stop hiking because we grow old - we grow old because we stop hiking". Finis Mitchell
