The John Muir Trail: Trekking in the High Sierra of California

I bought this, along with the Wenk guidebook, in preparation for a John Muir Trail thru-hike in July 2009. I recommend both books. Castle provides a nice overview of the trail, plus he recommends a specific itinerary, with the number of days & places to camp each night, which is quite realistic. I found it very helpful as a point of reference when planning my own (which was similar to his, though I didn't often camp where he did.) If you take one guidebook (or pages from) on the trail, however, take Wenk's. She gives more detailed information, particularly the location of all possible campsites, which is especially helpful if you're not following Castle's exact itinerary. But for folks back home who want to follow your John Muir Trail hike from their armchair, Castle's book is the better choice, and anyone planning to hike the trail should read his, regardless!

I purchased this book last summer as part of a planning effort for hiking the trail in September. Even though I was quite familiar with the Sierra, I had no idea on how to plan the trip out as far as legs and campsites. I found this book to be invaluable as far as proposing a reasonable itinerary and giving the person a good idea of what to expect on each leg and where to find campsites. Castle first gives an overview of what should be done before the trip, and then breaks it out into a very doable 21-day itinerary (with 2 layover days) that range from 10-15 miles per day. He gives you a quick-hit overview of elevation gains and mileage and then a more detailed description of the day's hike. Also, he does a good job of planning the days so that you start with a climb and end with a descent. The one unfortunate is that the book is a bit heavy, though compact in size to actually carry with you -- the person I hiked with did carry it though and we enjoyed reading it along the trail as well as at night. I suppose one might xerox the pages you found necessary. By the way, I also had the Winnett book and found that far less helpful, and less organized as far as actually planning the trip. This is an awesome trip, and I strongly recommend both the book as well as doing the JMT -- it is a life-changing experience!