Mile... Mile & a Half

Great movie about hiking the John Muir Trail. One thing I feel good about is not all of them look healthier than me. I could do this. Inspired. Interesting from beginning to end. Hi I am reviewing this movie from the perspective of a non-fiction movie about nature or sport. In that category it could not be much better.

Hiking the 211 mile John Muir Trail is an epic adventure. It's also one of the great hiking trails that can be experienced without quitting your job and devoting five months of your life. The JMT is an adventure that lies within reach.

I've thru-hiked the JMT twice. The first time was in 1980. I was young and fit, and loved every mile. It was the experience of a lifetime. Three decades later — almost to the day — I hiked the JMT once again. I was older, wiser, and while no longer the strapping lad I once was, I still completed the trail three days faster. Another experience of a lifetime.

Sharing the JMT experience is a challenge. When you return from the mountain, you want to share this experience, but words alone cannot express the grandeur. Photos can delight, but they don't capture the majesty of the soaring crags or the ache in your bones after descending from Silver Pass. How do you share the magnificence of sunrise over Thousand Island Lake? How do you convey the real and perceived highs and lows as you climb over Forester Pass? How can you describe the physical and mental challenges, and the sheer triumphant joy of hiking the John Muir Trail? This is the challenge a team of creative artists took on.

The MMAAH team began their JMT trek in July 2011–a year notable for a 200% snow pack. What does this mean? Twice as much snow as usual. Higher water crossings. A challenging trail, made even more challenging. Which at least in part, led to the film's name. As in, "How much further 'til we reach camp today?" "Oh, about a mile…mile and a half."

The film follows the team on their southbound hike, from Yosemite Valley, up and over 10 passes, over 80,000 feet of elevation change, resupply points, meeting friends — both old and new — on the trail, and ultimately reaching the highest point in the contiguous United States — 14,505 feet tall Mt. Whitney.

"People are amazing. That was the biggest impression this experience left on me." – Hiroshi, a Japanese solo hiker who joined the team for the trek up Mt. Whitney

After both of my JMT hikes, I had a sense of sharing this experience with those who hiked these trails before me, and those who will hike them after. I longed to share the experience. Mile… Mile and a Half gives you a very real sense of what it's like to hike the John Muir Trail. The film expresses the beauty, the challenge, and the joy of this beautiful trail better than anything short of hiking it yourself.

Mile…Mile and a Half is beautifully filmed, scored and edited. It features fantastic titles illustrated by trail journal extraordinaire Kolby "Condor" Kirk. MMAAH is not a dramatization. It's the real deal–real people doing something amazing, and sharing the journey. As their story unfolds, you feel like you're there with them. It grips you, and inspires you.

"You don't need to go to the Himalayas. You don't need to climb Mt. Everest or go to the deepest jungles of Africa to find adventure. You can find it in your own backyard." – Jason Fitzpatrick

You can probably tell, I love this film. I REALLY LOVE this film. Should you see it? Hell yeah! Mile…Mile and a Half is for anyone who loves the outdoors and the beauty of the mountains. It might even inspire you to lace up your boots and hike the JMT as well.

The "Range of Light" piece in the extra features is enough to inspire, but the film does an even better job of bringing to life the beauty of the world around us, a world described in the film as "in our own backyard."

The passion the film-makers have for their work is evidenced by their dedication - carrying pounds and pounds of extra gear through 211 grueling miles. They are not actors, they are film-makers who love the outdoors. This fact rings true throughout the film.

While so many of us don't have the ability to leave our lives for a month and take on such a venture, this film brings that experience, as best it can, to your living room. However, I believe their goal is accomplished -- inspire you to get out and do it yourself.

The soundtrack to the film is beautiful and perfectly accompanies the beautiful scenery.

Five stars!

I first heard about Mile...Mile & A Half on Facebook. They had a screening in San Diego in August 2013! What an amazing movie by some amazing people. My wife and I just got married in July 2013 and The JMT is our honeymoon for June/July 2014! This movie just made us more excited than we were. Such a beautiful movie, well put together, and absolutely stunning and hilarious. I loved it so much I saw it a second time earlier this month in the actual movie theater screenings! I would recommend this to any one. If you love to hike and backpack and love the Sierras, this movie will blow your mind! GO SEE IT!!! Bring the entire family! I bought the Blu Ray copy to show all my family and friends. Do yourself a favor, don't miss a screening in your town!

I've hiked the JMT for years, usually as a solo but sometimes in groups. This movie is very true to the crazy, collective experience of the trail. It catches the exhaustion, the exhilaration, the inevitable problems that arise, the feeling that the trail is going on forever. Every JMT hiker who has seen it has been very, very impressed with how well the experience has been captured.

I am not the movie expert that many reviewers here are, but I at least think it holds its own as a documentary. Good humor, great visuals, and the sound recording is awesome and really adds to the film. I bought the DVD after viewing the film in a preview session and I plan to show it to anyone who asks me about the experience.