When Mandy Keathley began hiking the John Muir Trail, she expected the over 200-mile journey to take about 18 days. The 32-year-old hadn’t made plans for the summer. So when she got a month off from work, she figured it was the perfect time to spend a few weeks in the open air. She packed a 45-liter backpack with her tent, sleeping bag, stove, food, water filtration and...
Learn MoreA survey of backpackers’ tactics on the 220-mile high-country route offers insights on what works and what doesn’t. A new paper in the journal Wilderness & Environmental Medicine takes a look at this. Over the last few years, a retired San Francisco lawyer has run an annual online survey of people who hike the John Muir Trail, a famous route...
Learn MoreThe John Muir Trail passes through what many backpackers say is the finest mountain scenery in the United States. This is a land of 13,000-foot and 14,000-foot peaks, of lakes in the thousands, and of canyons and granite cliffs. The John Muir Trail is also a land blessed with the mildest, sunniest climate of any major mountain range in the world. The trail is 211 miles...
Learn MoreDisclosure: The DVD distributor for the Muir Project produced documentary “Mile…Mile and a Half” contacted me to watch this film at no cost to myself. My only responsibility was an agreement to complete a review. I was not pressured in any way to make a positive endorsement. A group of artists leave their daily lives behind to hike the John Muir Trail...
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