Hot take: I skipped the John Muir Trail and did the Tahoe Rim Trail instead

Everyone said JMT is the gold standard but I liked the variety around Lake Tahoe, 170 miles with way fewer permit headaches. Did it last September and the views were killer. Anyone else pick a less hyped route and feel it was the better call?

2 comments

2 Comments

daniel_walker24d ago

September is smart timing at least, the crowds drop off hard after Labor Day. I gotta say though, calling TRT better than JMT feels like comparing a great burger to a steak, they're both good but I know which one I'm ordering when I want the classic experience. The permit thing is real, JMT waitlists are brutal, but that's kind of the price for the hype.

emma_clark23d ago

Feeling the same way about a lot of things these days, honestly... everything popular gets this weird hype tax on it. Like, the JMT's a classic for a reason, but sometimes the "best" trail just means the one everyone's fighting to get a permit for. I think we do this with restaurants too, wait two hours for a place that's just okay because the name's known, while the spot down the street is better and empty. TRT might not have the fame, but if you're actually out there walking it, that's what counts, not the story you tell later. Guess we all just gotta decide if we're chasing the thing or the status of the thing.