Hello, new to the forum and looking for some thoughts/advice. First, a little background. I have some extended time off this June/early July and my wife and I were hoping to spend around a week doing a section of the John Muir Trail. However, with the snow situation in the Sierras, I am wondering if this is going to be an option for us. The latest we could do our trip would be the first week of July. I know this time of year can be iffy in the high elevations in a normal year, so I am thinking we might be out of luck and started considering other options.

First of all, anyone with knowledge of the JMT/Sierras, is it worth it for me to entertain this as a possibility or would we be better served looking elsewhere? The JMT is absolutely my No. 1 choice for a destination, but my priority is that this be a safe and fun trip for us. We are experienced short-range backpackers, but this will be our first trip of more than two nights.

Secondly, if not the JMT, any thoughts on the feasibility/enjoyability of a June/first week of July trip any of the below destinations that we have tossed around as possibilities?

-Grand Canyon (we have done South Rim to Phantom Ranch and if we go back, would like to do either the Jewels Route or Escalante Route - water could be an issue here)

-Mount Rainier-section of the Wonderland Trail (if the JMT is out, I know this likely is as well due to snow, but it would definitely be high on our list...)

-Yosemite (lower elevation trip - North Rim Trail looks nice to me)

-Zion (weeklong traverse - again, water may be an issue this time of year?)

Other places we'd like to go someday: North Cascades, Olympic, Sequoia-Kings Canyon

Anyway, thanks in advance for any advice/suggestions.