Everyone says the JMT is the crown jewel, but my trip on the Sierra High Route last month broke me
I spent 11 days on the Sierra High Route from Roads End to Twin Lakes and had to bail early when a loose scree field near Frozen Lake Pass wrecked my ankle on day 6. The route gets called the "best high route in the lower 48" but nobody warns you that most of it is talus hopping with a 35 pound pack, and I limped 14 miles out to a trailhead off Pine Creek just to get cell service. Curious if anyone here has actually finished the full thing, or if the JMT bubble has just made people scared to admit this route is mostly type 2 sufferfests.