New Sonora Pass Re-supply service available

[wandering_bob]

Casey Cox has a special Use Permit from the USFS to run the service.

See http://www.sonorapassresupply.com/

Also http://trailforums.com/index2.cfm?ac...EntryID=148961


Save yourself the long walk down to Kennedy Meadows North and then back up again with a full pack.

[Malto]

Casey Cox has a special Use Permit from the USFS to run the service.

See http://www.sonorapassresupply.com/

Also http://trailforums.com/index2.cfm?ac...EntryID=148961


Save yourself the long walk down to Kennedy Meadows North and then back up again with a full pack.

Long walk???? It was a quick hitch down and another quick hitch back. You would have to lock your day in a week in advance since there is no cell reception in N. Yosemite. I personally think this is a logistical nightmare and besides, KM north is a great place to having for a day.

[Coffee]

I'm probably going to use this service. He's willing to be up at the pass all day. You just need to call from the pay phone at Tuolumne (assuming it's still there) and confirm the day. For me it will probably be a four day hike from Tuolumne to Sonora pass. I like the idea of just getting my resupply and moving on since Tahoe is only a few days further.

[10-K]

I went the opposite way from KM North (can't believe I can't recall the name of the town...). The hitch from Sonora Pass took awhile - over an hour - but the car that picked me up was going from KM north to the same post office I was headed to in the town who's name escapes me..

[burger]

I recommend going to town if you want to resupply at Sonora. Easy hitch for me both ways. Plus we saw a mountain lion the drive down (making it probably the best hitch ever). Bridgeport was a cute little town.

[10-K]

Yep, Bridgeport. The hitch can be a 2 parter if you don't get the right hitch. The road from Sonora Pass goes several miles down to the highway, where it dead ends. Bridgeport is to the right. If your ride is turning left you'll have to hitch again to get into town.

It was easy getting back to the trail - the hotel assisted us with lining up a $20 shuttle and while we were waiting another shuttle driver rode up and asked if we needed a ride back to the trail.

[Mags]

IIRC, I schlepped the supplies between TM and Echo Lake. An ~7 day food carry is not for everyone, but I've noticed in recent years that a longer food carry is not even considered as an option any more.

Granted, having what is essentially a cache in the middle of this section would make things easier as it eliminates a hitch as well (which I like to avoid if I can).

I suspect this new business will do rather well.

[Coffee]

I think that the seven day food carry from Tuolumne is definitely an option, but given that there are already some long food carries earlier in the Sierra, it would be nice to dial down on the weight when possible later on. Also, they are offering a service to mail bear canisters home at that point which further reduces pack weight by a couple of pounds.

[10-K]

I think the service will do well but Bridgeport was a nice stop. After all, where else could you find this?

[Mags]

I think the service will do well but Bridgeport was a nice stop. After all, where else could you find this?

That's good...but I'll raise you this place in Wyoming on the walk out of Rawlins.

[Miner]

I carried from Reds Meadow to Echo Lake (boxes for TM wasn't mailed by someone so I added food at the last minute as I left Mammoth Lake) and it took 8.5 days. By the time I left the grill at TM my pack didn't feel like it was a big burden.

If you hike straight through from KM to VVR, it shouldn't be a big deal to go from TM to Tahoe and many of the same reasons to do so should apply as its still some beautiful trail so I do not get why more people don't today. It use to be the standard thing to do.

That said, when I hiked the Tahoe-Yosemite trail (only half of it is the PCT) south bound, I got an easy hitch down to KM-north from some hunters. My trail leaves from the resort there going south, so I didn't need to hitch back.

That said, there is another alternate resupply. Off Hwy 4 (1-2 days south of Carson Pass), you can hitch a few miles west to Lake Alpine Resort we which has a small store and accepts mailed boxes. 2 miles further west at the next camp/resort area is an even bigger store.

That said, I'm sure many people will use this new service if it proved reliable. There is cell coverage at TM so you should know your arrival day for Sonora pass by then.

[Coffee]

Is there cell coverage now at TM? When I was last there in 2013, there was a public phone and people hanging around the grill reported no cell coverage (I wasn't carrying a phone on that trip).

Who knows, by the time I get done dealing with the excessive water weight in SoCal carrying a few extra days of food may seem like no big deal in places where water is more plentiful. I think that on the JMT all I ever had to carry was about a liter and I usually had extra water when I got to the next source. I think that the TM-Echo Lake segment probably also has good water but I haven't checked into that yet.

[Miner]

When I did the PCT, both ATT and Verizon had cell coverage in 2009 at TM ( I had Verizon, trail friend had ATT). And both still did Sept of last year when I did the TYT when same friend picked me up. If someone didn't have coverage in 2013, then they went with one of the smaller carriers; worst thing you could do on any long trail.

[garlic08]

Yep, Bridgeport. The hitch can be a 2 parter if you don't get the right hitch. The road from Sonora Pass goes several miles down to the highway, where it dead ends. Bridgeport is to the right. If your ride is turning left you'll have to hitch again to get into town.

It was easy getting back to the trail - the hotel assisted us with lining up a $20 shuttle and while we were waiting another shuttle driver rode up and asked if we needed a ride back to the trail.

This was almost exactly my experience--five hours to get a ride into town, five minutes back to the trail from a diner waitress. (She lost our order so she was being extra nice.)

I wouldn't have normally tried going to Bridgeport but I was trying to make a quick trip back home for a friend's wedding. The long hitch caused me to miss the twice-weekly bus to Reno, so I missed the wedding. At that point, I sure was finished with trying to hitch on US 395.

[garlic08]

I remember a couple of fun anecdotes about Bridgeport. One was seeing a county historical monument whose purpose was to show you where the historical monuments were. The other was this note in the laundromat: "I can break any horse to ride, fix fences, and tend cattle."

[jawnzee]

IIRC, I schlepped the supplies between TM and Echo Lake. An ~7 day food carry is not for everyone, but I've noticed in recent years that a longer food carry is not even considered as an option any more.

Granted, having what is essentially a cache in the middle of this section would make things easier as it eliminates a hitch as well (which I like to avoid if I can).

I suspect this new business will do rather well.

i did this as well. it was no big deal. i remember wanting to get rid of the awkward canister as soon as possible and get some DEET, but ended up just passing by the road. and it wasn't much of a big haul out of tuolumne, especially compared to my previous rather obscene resupply leaving southern kennedy meadows.

[Coffee]

Is the trail from Tuolumne to Echo Lake much easier than the JMT section of the PCT? I'm assuming reduced miles/day from KM to Echo Lake, but it sounds like the trail may get easier if seven days is feasible for the roughly 150 miles ... I'm planning 20s for the most part prior to KM and low-mid 20s after Echo Lake, but only 15 mpd or so from KM to Echo Lake.

[Miner]

I wouldn't say much easier, though it is easier than the JMT. Shortly after Sonora Pass, you will never go above 10,000ft again. That combined with being 2weeks later than when you first entered the Sierra means less snow to deal with. There are several stretches where the trail seems to be almost flat in comparison. I left KM on June 24 in an average year for snow and only had snow near the tops of the passes. I averaged about 19 miles/day along the JMT having averaged 24-25/day the section prior to KM. However, I was still getting up early and hiking until almost dark to do so. It was hard hiking. After TM, I kept the same average until just before Sonora pass where I was talked into doing 29miles to get to the highway before dark with the idea we might find an easy ride into town to eat dinner (didn't happen as we arrived just after sunset, so we hiked on the next morning). After Sonora Pass I did 21-23 miles. At no time after leaving TM (except for the 29mile day) did I feel like I was pushing as hard I was along the JMT.

[SCRUB HIKER]

The section between between Tuolumne and Sonora Pass (with the exception of the final 12 miles, which is in a crazy volcanic landscape) is mosquito hell. I would not want to start that section with 7 days of food on my back, as it's mentally challenging enough with the apocalyptic bugs. I would recommend a resupply at Sonora Pass somehow, but my own personal opinion (shared by a not inconsiderable number of hikers) is that Bridgeport is an astronomically overpriced *****hole and one of the worst towns on the entire trail. It's also, as mentioned, a 30+ mile two-part hitch from Sonora Pass.

If I were doing it again, I would eagerly try a different resupply option than Bridgeport. The only thing that brought me down there in 2013 was the belief -- which I was told by other hikers was mistaken -- that you can't mail your bear canister out from Northern Kennedy Meadows. This Sonora Pass guy doesn't mention anything on his site about bear canisters, but that would be a game-changer if he could mail them for you, and I don't see why he couldn't. Mine was a rental and I wasn't supposed to hang onto it for an extra three days, so I wasn't going to resupply at Northern KM and hang onto it until Echo Lake, even though I didn't actually mind carrying it.

[jawnzee]

This Sonora Pass guy doesn't mention anything on his site about bear canisters, but that would be a game-changer if he could mail them for you, and I don't see why he couldn't. Mine was a rental and I wasn't supposed to hang onto it for an extra three days, so I wasn't going to resupply at Northern KM and hang onto it until Echo Lake, even though I didn't actually mind carrying it.

Our fee will be $50 for a resupply of up to 25 lbs. Approximately $10 more for mailing a bear canister. Add-on items are charged on a cost plus basis when ordered. By order we can supply practically anything that can be legally transferred, from tweezers, stove fuel, to a replacement backpack.

So $60 for a resupply box and mailing out your bear canister. Seems like a lot for me, but if you're the type to spend $10,000 on a thru hike and you don't want to go to town, I don't see why not. I always avoid hitching when possible, myself. But I've found that I'm willing carry a lot more than others since I'm a young pup with a low baseweight. Regardless, 150 miles isn't a lot of miles on the PCT when you have the strength from more than 1000 miles behind you.