Caroline Himbert returned to the John Muir Trail and did what only she could — she beat her own record by more than 12 hours. On 31 July 2026 the Salt Lake City ultrarunner completed the 223-mile Sierra Nevada crossing unsupported, alone, and faster than any woman before her.
223 miles, ten passes, one runner
The route climbs over ten High Sierra passes between Yosemite Valley and Mount Whitney. Himbert carried all her food from the start and filtered water along the way. She pushed through the same blisters that had torn open her heel the year before.
A margin wider than most races
Her previous record, set in 2025, stood at 4 days, 4 hours and 48 minutes. She had taken that mark from Amber Monforte's 2016 time by only eight minutes. This time she carved away more than half a day, a gap that in mountain terms is barely comprehensible.
Most hikers need two to three weeks to cover the same ground. Himbert first walked long trails on the Pacific Crest Trail in 2016, then raced at the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc. The high granite of the Sierra pulled her back to the JMT, where she has stamped a quiet authority on the route.
"At some point, the tree bark was moving really weird, and I must have just laid down and slept," she said after her 2025 run. In 2026 the visions came again, and again she kept moving through the thin air above the treeline.
The record tightens her grip on a trail that rarely gives the same person two perfect windows. She took the first by minutes, the second by more than half a day.
