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View Full Version : Southern JMT resupply ?



flemdawg1
01-03-2012, 17:18
Still 1.5 years out from going, but I thought I'd ask now anyway. Anyone use the Onion Valley CG (I think Sierra Kings does drops there) for resupply or how about Parchers Resort? Both are a-ways off trail, but still shorter than going all the way to town.

Also has anyone flown into and out of Reno? Thinking taking the bus to mammoth from Reno, then the Yarts to YNP (next day), and the bus all the way from Lone Pine afterwards.

wcgornto
01-03-2012, 17:28
I am flying directly into Mammoth Lakes this year. There is an Alaska Air / Horizon flight from LAX every day (code share with Delta and American).

tuswm
01-03-2012, 21:12
Still 1.5 years out from going, but I thought I'd ask now anyway. Anyone use the Onion Valley CG (I think Sierra Kings does drops there) for resupply or how about Parchers Resort? Both are a-ways off trail, but still shorter than going all the way to town.

Also has anyone flown into and out of Reno? Thinking taking the bus to mammoth from Reno, then the Yarts to YNP (next day), and the bus all the way from Lone Pine afterwards.
We went north to south and had left over food at every resupply. we resupplied at reds meadows and JMT ranch. there were other places but those worked fine. we took one bear can for two people on the first two stretches, and one bear can each from JMT ranch south. we then hitched from whitney portel to lone pine. we then spent the night in the great hostel. but that bus wasnt running that day so we hitched to reno.

schnikel
01-07-2012, 10:42
We went north to south and had left over food at every resupply. we resupplied at reds meadows and JMT ranch. there were other places but those worked fine. we took one bear can for two people on the first two stretches, and one bear can each from JMT ranch south. we then hitched from whitney portel to lone pine. we then spent the night in the great hostel. but that bus wasnt running that day so we hitched to reno.

Odd. Same with my wife and I. No leftover food though. Resupplied at Toulumne, Red's, and MTR.
Schnikel

Sly
01-07-2012, 15:42
If the timing is right I think you can take the bus from Reno to Lee Vining, then to Yosemite. I'd stay a day or two in Toulemne Meadows to help get acclimated . You can also leave a food drop in the bear boxes at the backpacker camp (no need carrying the food back up from the valley), or resupply ay the store there.

Grab a meal at Red's, (rhe resupply sucks) and do a drop at VVR ($15 drop & free night stay) or Muir Trail Ranch ($45 drop). If you go to VVR and you're not a JMT purist try the Goodale pass Trail in and Bear Creek or Ridge Trail out)

Although you may be able to send a drop to Onion Valley, IMO it's worth taking the Kearsarge Pass Trail to Onion Valley and hitching to Independence if you have too. The trail is gorgeous and well switchbacked.

flemdawg1
01-10-2012, 16:39
I am flying directly into Mammoth Lakes this year. There is an Alaska Air / Horizon flight from LAX every day (code share with Delta and American).

I checked the airline ticket prices. It'd be >$500 extra for 2 tickets, so I don't think that'll work for us.


If the timing is right I think you can take the bus from Reno to Lee Vining, then to Yosemite. I'd stay a day or two in Toulemne Meadows to help get acclimated . You can also leave a food drop in the bear boxes at the backpacker camp (no need carrying the food back up from the valley), or resupply ay the store there.

Grab a meal at Red's, (rhe resupply sucks) and do a drop at VVR ($15 drop & free night stay) or Muir Trail Ranch ($45 drop). If you go to VVR and you're not a JMT purist try the Goodale pass Trail in and Bear Creek or Ridge Trail out)

Although you may be able to send a drop to Onion Valley, IMO it's worth taking the Kearsarge Pass Trail to Onion Valley and hitching to Independence if you have too. The trail is gorgeous and well switchbacked.

Thanks for the heads-up on Red's. So far the plan is:
Fly into Reno, bus to Lee Vining, spend night.
Bus to YV, spend night, pickup permits.
3 days to Toulomne Meadow pick up maildrop, shower, night in lodge.
5 days to VVR, Maildrop, shower, laundry, spend night.
2 days to MTR, maildrop.
7 days to Onion Valley CG, maildrop.
5 days to Whitnet Portal, exit. 22 days total. 10 miles/day (we like to sleep in).
Spend night in Lone Pine.
Bus from Lone Pine to Reno, spend night.
Fly out.
22 days of hiking, 4 nights in hotels inbound/outbound.
Plus 5 extra days, incase we feel like being slow or want to visit some of the NPs more indepth. Basically the whole month of August.

Malto
01-10-2012, 17:30
I have flown out of Reno after taking the bus up from Mammoth. When I did the JMT I started at TM hiked to Whitney, hitched to TM, drove to Yosemite Valley, took the shuttle to TM and then day hked TM to the Valley. While this looks convulted, it was the easiest for us logistically.

The bus up Owens Valley is quite acceptable. It takes a while but it's a pretty long way. You shouldn'y have trouble hitching from Whitney Portal, talk to folks in the parking lot.

As far as resupply, I only used MTR and we grabbed a meal at Reds. If I were to do it again starting at the valley then I would use TM, Reds and MTR. There is enough at Reds to get by to get to MTR. IMHO, VVR is a pain to get to, very sore subject for me since I had to do the hike around the lake on my PCT hike. It was also only a day away from Reds (we did a fast hike) and MTR was very convenient. It also helps that it's a day south of VVR, it makes the last carry that much easier. We were easily able to carry the remaining days food out of MTR without resupply. It didn't fit in the bear canister but it doesn't need to fit until you pass over Pinchot Pass. Just bring a bear hang and know how to do it right.

I would not do Onion Valley. I have done Kearsarge several times in the winter on snowshoe trips and it will cost you a day plus what you spend in town. May be worth it for you though.

Have fun, it's a great trip.

wornoutboots
06-29-2014, 12:45
I checked the airline ticket prices. It'd be >$500 extra for 2 tickets, so I don't think that'll work for us.



Thanks for the heads-up on Red's. So far the plan is:
Fly into Reno, bus to Lee Vining, spend night.
Bus to YV, spend night, pickup permits.
3 days to Toulomne Meadow pick up maildrop, shower, night in lodge.
5 days to VVR, Maildrop, shower, laundry, spend night.
2 days to MTR, maildrop.
7 days to Onion Valley CG, maildrop.
5 days to Whitnet Portal, exit. 22 days total. 10 miles/day (we like to sleep in).
Spend night in Lone Pine.
Bus from Lone Pine to Reno, spend night.
Fly out.
22 days of hiking, 4 nights in hotels inbound/outbound.
Plus 5 extra days, incase we feel like being slow or want to visit some of the NPs more indepth. Basically the whole month of August.

Flemdog, I'm curious of you completed this plan? I'm particularly interested in your final resupply into Onion Valley & how that worked out? Also anyone else who has done this, how was it? I'm looking at this option so I don;t feel like I need to plow right through the section form MTR to Whitney & really enjoy it. Also I found one hotel in Independence, Mt. Williamson motel, has anyone stayed there? how is it? are there any other option to grab a room there?

Thanks!

Dogwood
06-29-2014, 14:27
OV CG is right at the TH once you drop down from over Kearsarge Pass. Nice CG with some trees(but can be hot too with a few treeless campsites) near/on a creek. Actually, very few of the campsites, if I'm recalling correctly, were on the creek but pull up the CG site map. http://www.campsitephotos.com/campground/Onion-Valley I was going to stay there once setting my tent up and then hitching the 12-13 miles or so into Indy to pick up a mailed resupply box at the USPO and coming right back out to the CG but decided against it because of the hustle bustle of the weekend in Aug typical loud car camping crowd. They have sites for smaller RVs which means generators. In my mind that means I'm not going to be staying there especially on a JMT thru-hike where I'm hiking for a wilderness experience. One good aspect of this CG being near/at the TH is that it can make for easier hitches especially into Indy which has been the norm for me. Getting hitches back to the TH are a bit more difficult IMO but there's a taxi that serves Indy and I've talked others into giving me(us, groups of hikers) into a paid ride back to the TH. There's also the Courthouse Motel as well as a couple of B&Bs in Indy. I stayed at the Courthouse but only once. My stay was fine. They were nice to me and the other hiker I shared the room with. Yes, I've heard of hikers staying at the Mt Williamson place in cabins. You might be able to get the Courthouse Motel to hold a box for you if you inquire nicely and stay for a night. If you mail a box to the Indy PO call to check about their CURRENT open times. Since I'm a frugal hiker on an often modest budget and I build in extra days to all my hikes as Flemdawg has I've never taken this resupply option in the Sierras(I'm not on a tight schedule) but you can have a resupply box packed in and dropped off at Keasarge Pass TH/Onion Valley TH where there are bear boxes or perhaps if on a really tight schedule and don't want to go over and hump it back up the shifty scree switchbacks with your resupply at Charlotte Lake Ranger Station. The pack station out of Onion Valley, that I'm aware of, is run by Berner's Pack Outfit, Brian & Danica Berner. They also run the Pine Creek Pack Station. Contact them at 760-387-2797 or 800-962-0775. Their address is Berner's Pack Outfit, Pine Creek Pack Station, P.O. Box 968, Bishop, CA 93515. AsI heard they will hold a resupply box for $75, but contact them to be sure. Purebound's advice is solid, "Warning! ask your packer if they have a current permit to go into Sequoia Kings Canyon NP. If they do not have a permit to bring animals into Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park, they cannot do a drop at Charlotte Lake Ranger Station." http://tzrecked.blogspot.com/p/resupply.html

Dogwood
06-29-2014, 14:32
If on the off chance you are interested in having a resupply dropped off. http://www.muledays.org/packers.php BTW, the Onion Valley CG is run by Inyo Nat Forest. http://www.recreation.gov/camping/onion-valley/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=70303

wornoutboots
07-23-2014, 23:16
Thanks for all the info!! I plan on calling the motels in Independence & if they'l hold a package for me if I stay there, if not, I'll call the PO & mail it directly there then find the cheapest bed in town.

ndwoods
07-24-2014, 01:57
Sounds like a lot of work. I carried 12 days from MTR as my last resupply and it was totally fine...

wornoutboots
07-24-2014, 10:17
I like to check out the small towns & grab a bed, meal & beer every now & then + see more of the Sierra Nevada. I couldn't get 12 days into my BV450, last year I left MTR with 8 days & it wouldn't fit. What did you eat?

Lyle
07-24-2014, 11:23
My plan is to hike out to Onion Valley. I have a reservation for Williamson Motel for a lay-over day. They will pick up at Onion Valley and return you the next day, no charge, if you spend the night with them. Will also do shuttles for non-guests for a fee. Co-owned by Chris Chater (Strider), a JMT veteran; 19 consecutive thru-hikes according to the website. They will also hold a mail drop for you - no charge. They seem flexible, have the pick-up at Onion Valley scheduled for 1PM, but just need to call them from Kasarge Pass if running late. I haven't spoken to Chris, but her co-owner is very friendly and helpful.

Two of us have gone together for the "Resupply Package".

http://mtwilliamsonmotel.com/resupply/

Just a thought for you.

Dogwood
07-24-2014, 15:17
Thx for that info Lyle.

ndwoods
07-25-2014, 23:35
We had not a lot of stuff that took a bunch of room and repackaged everything. Tortillas with peanut butter and honey. Deyhdrated dinners. Granola or oatmeal breakfasts. The usual snacks. But no breads or oranges or anything that takes a ton of room...we have weekender bearikades and got 12 days in ...well actually 11 days cuz we ate the 1st day food b4 nightfall.