TIL the actual mileage of the John Muir Trail is different than I always thought

I was planning a trip and reading the official NPS page for the trail. It clearly states the total distance is 211 miles from Yosemite Valley to Mount Whitney. For years, I'd heard and repeated the round number of 220 miles from other hikers and blogs. That 9-mile difference might not sound like much, but it changes my daily mileage targets and food carry calculations. Has anyone else had their planning thrown off by a common piece of trail info being wrong?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_joseph1mo ago

Yeah, I read something similar about the Appalachian Trail recently. The official length changed because they rerouted a section to avoid private land. It added a few miles, and people who had their resupply points mapped out had to redo all their math. It's frustrating how these little details can ripple through your whole plan. You're right to go straight to the source like the NPS site.

lindab491mo ago

Actually the Appalachian Trail length change was from a major reroute in Tennessee, not just private land. It fixed old logging roads and made the hike way better. Those extra miles were a good trade for the improved trail.

felixfisher27d ago

The reroute you mentioned wasn't just in Tennessee, it was actually a big chunk in Maine that got changed too. Some of those old logging road sections in the 2000s really needed fixing, they were getting washed out every spring. But the Tennessee reroute was earlier, around 2004 or so. Both added miles but made the trail way more sustainable in the long run. So kind of a small mixup, but you're right about the overall tradeoff being worth it.