Going northbound, how well labeled is the trail?

I'm planning a hike of the JMT this July, entering at Cottonwood Lakes. I've been following the trail on Google Maps, and it looks like there are several places along the way where the trail merges with another trail, and you have to make a hard right turn, or sometimes left. Furthermore, using google maps, a couple of times I actually took the "wrong turn" and followed an approach trail out.

So in real life, how easy is it to follow the trail? Are there any times when you don't know which way to go? Or is it all well labeled?

in JMTby UltraHiker26

60%

26d

rayfound

26d

I've not hiked the entire trail... But everywhere a trail I've been on intersected with JMT, it was extremely obvious from both signage and just trail conditions/maintenance.

seemslikesalvation

26d

I have hiked nearly the entire trail, and this statement is true for its entire coincidence with the PCT. (And I can't imagine Happy Isles <-> Tuolomne is suddenly missing all trail signage.)

That said, I recommend bringing a paper map anyway (the NatGeo booklet is great), and/or a mapping / GPS app on your phone (FarOut, Gaia GPS, or both).

Atlas-Scrubbed

26d

The only caveat to the above statement is some short sections that have been washed out or something similar. Short as in ~100 yards or maybe less. An example is where the bridge is washed out.

[deleted]

26d

It is extremely well marked, but bring a proper offline map for your phone. I reccomend GaiaGPS.

Igoos99

26d

It’s extraordinarily well marked for a back country trail. By far the clearest trail I’ve ever hiked.

You should still carry a map and have FarOut loaded onto your phone.

dirwin84

26d

Super easy, but some basic awareness of where you're going is required.

For example, heading NOBO, you will run into this sign the first time you intersect with the JMT: https://imgur.com/uJe1WDS . You would need to know to continue to the Crabtree Ranger Station and then to Mt Whitney to get to the true southern terminus. And then when you come back to this sign after you summit Mt Whitney you would need to know to continue over Forester Pass. This should be pretty straightfoward and all of the junctions have signs like this, but you won't find the JMT itself labeled on all of them.

RockleyBob

26d

So in real life, how easy is it to follow the trail? Are there any times when you don't know which way to go? Or is it all well labeled?

I did the JMT last year. The trail is not labeled in the traditional sense, other than at junctions. In other words, there are no blazes like you'd find on the Appalachian Trail. I'm not positive but I believe that there used to be blazes but they were removed to enhance the sense of wilderness.

So I'm not sure what others in this thread mean when they say the trail is "extremely well marked". No, it's not, and that's by design.

That doesn't mean it's necessarily hard to follow the trail though. The trail itself is often the only marking you need, and it's usually very obvious which way you're supposed to go. So if you combine situational awareness and common sense along with junction signs which are placed consistently at every crossroads, you should have no issues 98% of the time.

As for the other 2% of the time, a variety of factors might lead to you not knowing where the trail lies. Here is a non-exhaustive list of examples:

- The trail sometimes goes over expanses of exposed, smooth rock. A large, bald patch of rock like this won't look like a trail. Often there will be cairns or rocks placed to indicate how to proceed, but not always.

- The trail might be obscured by snow. I went in late August last year after a record winter for snowfall, and there was still snow at elevation. This made finding the exact location of the trail difficult at times, and care needs to be taken not to tread over dangerously thin sections where a fall through might twist or break something. Muir Pass in particular was challenging, and instead of trying to find the trail at all, we relied on the boot pack.

- I saw numerous places where the snow pack had caused rock slides and washouts. One specific instance was coming down from Mt. Whitney, going towards Guitar Lake (like you, I was going NOBO). The switchbacks coming down from Trail Crest were eroded in some areas, with swathes of the trail lost to erosion. These areas were wide enough that it was not immediately apparent where the trail picked back up again on the other side. One had to scramble over the loose scree and then scout for the path again.

- Blow downs - as noted above, the previous winter had been brutal, and there were several places where avalanches had swept trees down off the hillsides and over the trail. This was most notable just before the Woods Creek suspension bridge (again, coming from the south). That particular blowdown field was at least half a mile in length. Hundreds of trees had been combed over the trail. Even in late August/early September, there was still snow under these trees, making any attempt to stick to the trail precarious. It was necessary at this location to take a high route up and around the valley floor.

- Bridges/water crossings - no doubt you have heard that the bridge crossing the San Joaquin river is out, and will not be back up anytime soon. You will either need to take the detour out Bishop Pass and back via Piute Pass, go around the dangerous section of the river by scouting a route up the cliff side (known as the "Over the Top" detour), or fording the river downstream. Obviously Bishop and Piute passes are trails which can be followed easily, but the other two options will require some path finding. Depending on the timing of your trip and recent weather, some water crossings may not be safe, and you'll need to route around.

So, all this is to say, you will need to do some navigation. I'm a sucker for modern conveniences, so I referred to the CalTopo and Gaia maps on my iPhone often. In case your electronics fail, you also need a current map and compass set to the proper declination, along with an understanding of how to locate your position on the map using landmarks. This is a great, easy-to-follow video from REI. You should watch it as many times as it takes for those concepts to click for you. A map and compass are useless if the map isn't current, the compass isn't calibrated, or you don't know how to use them.

None of this is meant to fear monger. Like I said, the vast majority of the route will be very apparent. There will also be other people on the trail. People coming toward you going the other way are your best resource for getting up-to-date reports. Talk to everyone you pass!

1119king

26d

On top of what others have said (general agreement that the trail is very well maintained and marked), there are a few spots that it can be easy to mistakenly take the wrong way or stray off the trail without realizing. I'd highly suggest using Farout or some other digital map (Caltopo, Avenza, Gaia)

asolohiker

26d

I went NOBO out of the Cottonwood Lakes TH 3 years ago. I was glad to intersect with the JMT by Crabtree Meadows as that's where the FarOut app kicked in. I had pics of paper maps but it was just so much easier to check the app. Having said that it's very strange when you get to MTR and Devils Postpile as the apps seem to go wonky. Just ask though and people will send you in the right direction. Otherwise I found the trail very easy to follow.

-Poacher-

26d

One of the 10 Essentials. A Map…and how to use it.