Hiwassee River is a stocked trout fishery managed by Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. A 3-mile section between Big Bend and the L&N railroad bridge is designated as a quality trout fishing area.

Article continues below this ad For the John Muir Trail, you must get a trailhead reservation and wilderness permit. Inyo National Forest enforces daily hiker quotas at 55 trailheads.

The trail that bears John Muir's name was finished in 1938, 100 years after his birth. As I first walked the John Muir Trail, I felt it was like a magic tunnel through his world.

That’s how it is with backpacking the John Muir Trail. The 210-mile wilderness trek in the Sierra Nevada range of California, named for Scottish naturalist John Muir, takes a toll.

Dry trail. Of the 58.9 miles I would hike on the John Muir Trail in August, I fretted about the 4.6 miles up Bear Ridge the most. We first caught sight of the ridge from the top of Silver Pass.