John Muir Trail Northbound: Florence Lake to Yosemite Valley

Your trip begins in Fresno, CA at the Fairfield Inn & Suites, located across from the Fresno airport. You can check in at the hotel anytime after 4pm. At 6pm you will meet your guides and group for a trip orientation, where you’ll do a final gear check and discuss the details of the trip. Dinner tonight is on your own at the hotel.

Meet at 7:00 a.m. after a complimentary hotel breakfast. Our private shuttle will then drive us to Florence Lake (about 3 hrs drive) where we’ll start hiking. The first leg of the trip starts with a ferry ride across Florence Lake (7,325′) into the John Muir Wilderness. Today’s hike will be as we approach the junction of the John Muir Trail.

4.5 miles, Elevation: +820’ / -435’

Today we’ll hike past the picturesque Sallie Keyes Lakes as we approach our first pass, Selden Pass (10,880′). We’ll finish our day of hiking to our camp just beyond Marie Lakes.

9 miles, Elevation: +3470’ / -1103’

Today’s hike is mostly downhill (except for a stout, but brief uphill climb of Bear Ridge) into the Mono Creek Drainage at 7,870′.

11.5 miles, Elevation: +1192′ / -3375′

We’ll have another uphill day of 7.5 miles to Chief Lake over Silver Pass (10,880′) across the Silver Divide, named because of its silvery appearance.

7.5 miles, Elevation: +3150’ / -413’

Descending from Silver Pass, we’ll follow Silver Creek down into Tully Hole (9,520’). From there, a short but steep climb takes us to the stunning Virginia Lake for lunch and swimming. From there, rolling terrain will take us past Purple Lake and then to Duck Creek where we’ll make camp for the evening.

11 miles, Elevation: +2210’ / -2870’

We’ll have a relatively easy day today on rolling, downhill terrain into Red’s Meadow. We’ll arrive late afternoon and meet our resupply in the front-country campground. A small camp store, payphones and showers are available here.

11.5 miles, Elevation: +670’ / -2984’

Our next day will take us up and over a volcanic ridge, down into Shadow Lake, and then up again to our secluded camp along Shadow Creek. Along the way, we’ll pass into Devil’s Postpile National Monument where we’ll make time for a visit to the otherworldly geologic features of the area.

11 miles, Elevation: +2905 / -1482’

Today has some of the most scenic mountain-scapes on all of the John Muir Trail (which puts it in the running for most scenic world wide). We’ll hike underneath the imposing Ritter Range, past Garnett and Thousand Island Lakes. We’ll camp alongside the creek, with sweeping panoramic views of the region.

10 miles, Elevation: +2656’ / -1533’

This morning we’ll climb up and over mighty Donahue Pass (11,050’) and into Yosemite National Park. After dropping off the pass we’ll descend along the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River, camping among the sprawling meadows within the canyon.

12 miles, Elevation: +1074 / -2263’

A morning of cruiser flat hiking gets us to the trailhead at Tuolumne Meadows in time for lunch. From there, we’ll hike through the meadows and then up to our camp at the iconic and spectacular Cathedral Lakes.

13 miles, Elevation: +1591 / -839’

From Cathedral, we’ll pop over the inconspicuous Cathedral Pass and then begin our descent toward Yosemite Valley. We’ll camp along Sunrise Creek in the evening, where we can watch the sunset over Half Dome.

10 miles, Elevation: +924 / -2483’

From Sunrise Creek, we’ll descend the mist trail below Nevada and Vernal Falls Plan to arrive back to Fresno around 4pm. We recommend a night at the Fairfield Inn & Suites to shower up and regroup before flying home in the morning. Alternatively, late evening flights on this day are an option.

7 miles, Elevation: +245 / -4227’