JMT South of Devils Postpile Gear Checklist
This permit starts a trip on the John Muir Trail at the Devils Postpile and Reds Meadow end and heads south, past the Reds Meadow resort, Purple Lake and Lake Virginia, and over Silver Pass. The Forest Service ties your start to one date and one trail, requires a bear canister on the stretch that reaches Lake Virginia, closes the Purple Lake area to campfires, and does not allow food caches. People who walked this section pack the next leg of food in a canister at Reds Meadow, use the resort store and showers, and plan for a burned stretch with little shelter and a long first climb.
What shapes your gear on John Muir Trail south of Devils Postpile
- How many people start here
- The forest's 2021 list gives this entry 10 starting spaces a day, 6 reservable six months ahead and 4 reservable two weeks ahead. The forest's current page describes 60 percent six months out and 40 percent two weeks out, with canceled spaces returning to the calendar within 24 hours.
From Inyo National Forest (USFS): Wilderness Trail Names and Quotas for Inyo National Forest (June 2021) and Inyo National Forest (USFS): Wilderness Permits
- The permit is tied to one start
- The permit is valid only to start on the date and trail printed on it. If your trip is one continuous wilderness trip, one permit covers the parks and forests along the way. Hikers may leave the trail for a reasonable resupply break without a new permit.
- Getting into the Reds Meadow valley
- The National Park Service calls the shuttle into the Reds Meadow valley and the monument mandatory. The monument usually opens in mid-June and can see snow by mid to late October. A hiker in 2025 says almost everyone is required to ride the ESTA bus.
From Devils Postpile National Monument (NPS) and Matt Exploring
- How far the resort is from the trail
- Sources disagree. One guide puts the campground a quarter mile from the resort entrance, another says the resort sits about 2.5 miles off the trail. Check the current spur sign and your map before you plan a food stop around it.
From Live and Let Hike and Hikeset
- The first climb south
- One southbound hiker camped near Deer Creek, 5 miles and 1,500 feet above the Reds Meadow junction. An itinerary blogger counts 14 miles and 3,050 feet of gain from Reds Meadow to Purple Lake and says the day was hazy with few views. From Purple Lake the next day is another 14 miles and 2,500 feet of gain to Mono Creek.
From Matt Exploring and Backhacker Babe
- A burned stretch near the resort
- A northbound guide describes the approach to Reds Meadow as a burn area from a 1992 fire with limited shelter from afternoon storms, and says Boundary Creek there is often dry.
From Live and Let Hike
What the agency requires on John Muir Trail south of Devils Postpile
A bear-resistant food container
The Duck Pass and Purple Lake area, which includes the John Muir Trail to Lake Virginia, is one of eight places where food and scented items must be stored in a container made to keep bears out. The rule runs all year.
From Inyo National Forest (USFS): Wilderness Regulations and Inyo National Forest (USFS): Bears
A stove instead of a campfire
The Duck Creek and Purple Lake area is closed to campfires. Fires are banned year-round above 10,000 feet north of the Humphreys and Emerson ridgeline. Gas, petroleum and liquid-fuel stoves are allowed, and stoves that burn twigs or solid fuel are not.
A resupply plan with no caches
Leaving food or supplies for later in the wilderness is not allowed, even in a food storage locker. Plan resupply through a store, a post office or a business hold, as hikers do at Reds Meadow.
From Inyo National Forest (USFS): Wilderness Permits and Matt Exploring
A camp away from the Purple Lake outlet
Do not camp within 300 feet of the outlet of Purple Lake or Duck Lake. Choose a site that already exists and sits well back from trails and water.
What hikers carry on John Muir Trail south of Devils Postpile
A canister sized for the next leg, with only food for it
A trip report shows a hiker repacking food into the canister at the Reds Meadow resupply. The author says the advertised week is closer to six days for most people and that more than six days of food is not worth carrying. Another guide says a standard canister holds six to seven days.
From JM Peltier and Hikeset
A resupply plan for the resort
The Reds Meadow store holds mailed boxes or buckets for a fee and, in 2025, held drop-offs at a daily rate. A southbound pair bought about 2,000 calories of snacks there to reach their next stop, a two-day hop to the lake resort on Edison Lake. A leftover-food hiker box sits between the cafe and the store.
From Matt Exploring and Live and Let Hike
A gas or liquid-fuel stove that handles cold water
Silver Pass rises to 10,740 feet. One long-trail hiker's tablet stove struggled at 11,000 feet with cold glacial water, and that hiker let bottles warm in the sun before cooking. The forest does not allow solid-fuel stoves in its fire-restricted areas, which include the Purple Lake area.
From Live and Let Hike, JM Peltier and Inyo National Forest (USFS): Wilderness Regulations
Sun cover and a storm plan for the burn
The burn area near the resort gives little shelter. A northbound hiker arrived in early afternoon and beat threatening thunderstorms over Mammoth Mountain.
From Live and Let Hike
A water plan for a dry creek
Boundary Creek is often dry near the resort, but one writer says carrying more than a liter is rarely needed on the JMT except in a few five-mile gaps.
From Live and Let Hike and JM Peltier
A plan for a night or a rest day at Reds Meadow
Most trail walkers sleep at the resort campground, where the backpackers' site can be split among hikers. A pair stayed two hours for a meal and went on to camp at Deer Creek. A rest day there had showers, laundry and a hot-spring soak in the report.
From Live and Let Hike and Matt Exploring
Budget for the cafe and store
A 2025 report lists cafe entrees at $15 to $20 and milkshakes at $10 or more, with pricey freeze-dried meals in the store.
From Matt Exploring
15 people can go on one permit. Split this list between them so nobody carries two stoves.
Plan a trip hereWhat hikers regret or leave behind on John Muir Trail south of Devils Postpile
More than six days of food
The trip report says to plan on about six days of food at most, and the guide says a standard canister fits six to seven. A longer carry is heavy and will not fit.
From JM Peltier and Hikeset
A cache of food left on the trail
The forest does not allow leaving food or supplies for later in the wilderness or in food storage lockers, so a stash ahead of you is not an option.
A campfire kit
Purple Lake and the climbs above Reds Meadow are fire-free. A hiker at Purple Lake found many campsites overlooking the lake on the Ram Lake trail, but they come with a stove-only rule.
From Backhacker Babe and Inyo National Forest (USFS): Wilderness Regulations
Gear questions for John Muir Trail south of Devils Postpile
Do you need a bear canister on the John Muir Trail south of Devils Postpile?
Yes. Inyo National Forest requires a bear-resistant container in the Duck Pass and Purple Lake area, which includes the John Muir Trail to Lake Virginia. Hikers also use one to carry food between Reds Meadow and the next resupply.
From Inyo National Forest (USFS): Wilderness Regulations and JM Peltier
Can you resupply at Reds Meadow on the John Muir Trail south of Devils Postpile?
Yes. The resort holds mailed boxes or buckets and sells food, and guides call it the usual first southbound stop. You may not hide a cache on the trail.
From Matt Exploring, Hikeset and Inyo National Forest (USFS): Wilderness Permits
Can you have a campfire on the John Muir Trail south of Devils Postpile?
Not at Purple Lake. The forest lists the Duck Creek and Purple Lake area as closed to campfires and bans fires above 10,000 feet north of the Humphreys and Emerson ridgeline. Use a gas or liquid-fuel stove.
How many people can start on the John Muir Trail south of Devils Postpile?
The forest's 2021 list gives 10 starting spaces a day, 6 released six months ahead and 4 released two weeks ahead. Check the live calendar, because the forest now describes 60 and 40 percent releases.
From Inyo National Forest (USFS): Wilderness Trail Names and Quotas for Inyo National Forest (June 2021) and Inyo National Forest (USFS): Wilderness Permits
Sources
- Wilderness Permits · Inyo National Forest (USFS) · Agency
- Wilderness Regulations · Inyo National Forest (USFS) · Agency
- Bears · Inyo National Forest (USFS) · Agency
- Wilderness Trail Names and Quotas for Inyo National Forest (June 2021) · Inyo National Forest (USFS) · Agency
- Plan Your Visit · Devils Postpile National Monument (NPS) · Agency
- Ultimate Resupply Location Guide on the John Muir Trail (JMT) · Matt Exploring · Blog
- 20-Day Itinerary for the John Muir Trail · Backhacker Babe · Blog
- John Muir Trail Northbound Section 3 · Live and Let Hike, Andrew Wojtanik · Trip report
- John Muir Trail Trip Report · JM Peltier · Trip report
- JMT Resupply Guide: Where to Resupply on the John Muir Trail · Hikeset · Blog