Reaching the start of the John Muir Trail at Yosemite

It was a very early start the next morning for our trip to Yosemite to start the John Muir Trail. This involved a complex series of trains and buses and, above all, a lot of time. We started off at Union Station. It does amaze me how nice some of the public buildings are in the United States. We had an early morning bus ride out of LA to our first stop in Bakersfield, CA. The last time I was at Union Station was in 1997 when I did a rail trip across the US from New York. I was interconnecting here to catch the train up to San Franscisco.

The bus ride to Bakersfield

The first thing we noticed at Bakersfield was that it was suddenly a lot warmer than it had been in LA. We connected here with the Amtrak train which took us onto Merced, CA.

The Amtrak station at Bakersfield

Heading to Merced

From Merced, it was another bus ride up to Yosemite. The photos imprinted on our minds of the JMT seemed so far away from the dry nature of Southern California, which was in the midst of its biggest drought for a long time.

The bus ride to Merced complete with cowboy hat

The bus ride seemed to take an eternity but it was just amazing to know that we were finally about to reach the start point of the trail. It was really interesting to see the change in the scenery as we slowly climbed higher to Yosemite Valley.

When we eventually reached Yosemite, it was an amazing experience as we drove through the valley past El Capitan and then Half-Dome. Even though it was a very dry year, Yosemite Falls was still impressive, although nowhere near as flowing as the last time I saw it in 1997 when it literally thundered down the cliff face.

Yosemite Falls

Our first stop in Yosemite was the visitor centre to pick up our permits and speak to the Rangers about the conditions, what to expect and the various backcountry restrictions in place. Then, it was off to the campground to set up camp.

The campground was really busy with lots of people ready to start their hikes, and there was a real buzz around the place. We had dinner and then headed down to watch the sun setting over Half Dome at Ahwahnee Meadow. Yosemite is one of the most beautiful places I’ve been to and it was exciting to be starting the JMT the next day.