parking a vehicle?

[PUNKINPUSS11]

was thinking of parking a vehicle at Whitney then finding a way to Yosemite so im not scramblin for rides at the end. Is this possible?

[Miner]

Yes. Many JMT hikers do this. Your choices for getting to Yosemite is hitching with someone heading north or using the CREST/YARTS bus systems. However, many choose to do it the opposite way and leave their car in Yosemite and try to strike a conversation with some fellow hikers near Whitney in hopes of finding someone heading their way after they finish.

[Rambler]

I'd rather hitch at the end of the hike. Whitney Portal to Lone Pine would be easier than Whitney all the way back to Yosemite.
Public transportation can run you back to YARTS via Eastern Sierra Transportation (CREST), but maybe not daily so check schedules. (Not on weekends) Fares are reasonable.

http://easternsierratransitauthority...bus-routes.php

[Helmuth.Fishmonger]

I like parking my vehicle wherever my hike ends. After a long hike, I hate having to deal with logistics.

Plenty of parking at the Portal - there's an overflow lot below those you'll see first along the road near the store. Key to a good "parking experience" is that there's abo****ely no food smell in your car. No spilled juice, no candy wrappers under the seat. Each year they have quite a number of bear incidents, and if a bear rips your car open, you not only are stuck with the repair bill, you also get a ticket from the ranger (this happens over 200 times a year in Yosemite as well).

I've parked for week in Tuolumne Meadows and at Whitney Portal, observing those precautions, and never had a problem. I use a car cover (black truck) and make sure I have a jumper cable just in case it's dead when I return, but never had to use one yet.

transportation from Lone Pine to Yosemite:

a) hitch a ride all the way - easy for single hikers, especially to Lone Pine. Then you need patience.

b) hitch to Lone Pine, bus to Yosemite. Take this one to Lee Vining

http://easternsierratransitauthority...-pine-reno.php

and hitch the rest, or take the same bus to Mammoth, stay in the camp ground just below the McDonald's for the night (looks like an RV park, but they have camp sites for tenters), and grab the CREST bus in the am to Yosemite - it leaves at the Shilo inn (behind the McDonald's) at 7:20am, which is an hour before the bus from Lone Pine gets there. Doh...


http://www.yarts.com/schedules.html

note the Hwy 120 bus runs weekends only in June and September, but July 1 thru Aug 31 it runs daily.

fares are pretty reasonable.

http://www.yarts.com/schedules.html

c) the luxury option and most expensive - have Bob Ennis drive you to your car at the end of the hike. He runs a licensed shuttle service in Lone Pine. This is rather costly ($400ish) and you should make a reservation for such a big trip. I have done that in a larger group twice and can only recommend this form of travel if you can afford it. Pickup at the trailhead, drops you off at your car. http://www.mtwhitneyshuttle.com/

Even if you consider this insane, keep his phone number in your cell phone, because if you should have to exit the trail at some dusty desert trailhead in Owens Valley due to some unplanned incident, being able to call him has saved me some serious dehydrated desert hiking before. You're unlikely to hitch a ride from Taboose Pass, Sawmill Pass (maybe), or Baxter Pass, and Hwy 395 is a long way down the dirt road from each of them.

He does a lot of runs each day between Lone Pine and the Portal, in case you should have problems catching a ride to town. It's 12 miles of pavement (and I hiked it in August uphill to get to my car before, because even though everyone sez it's easy to catch a ride, nobody stopped for me that year)

[tothetrail]

I like parking my vehicle wherever my hike ends. After a long hike, I hate having to deal with logistics.

I don't want to be thinking about how we'll get back to the car, during the whole hike!

[RichardD]

Interesting!
I thought I was going to have to park my vehicle at Merced and take Yarts to Yosemite, also Crest/Yarts back to Merced from the Portal at the end of the hike.
Can one park a vehicle near Happy Isles for a month?

[tothetrail]

Interesting!
I thought I was going to have to park my vehicle at Merced and take Yarts to Yosemite, also Crest/Yarts back to Merced from the Portal at the end of the hike.
Can one park a vehicle near Happy Isles for a month?

Yes, there's a backpacker's parking lot.

[Helmuth.Fishmonger]

Interesting!
I thought I was going to have to park my vehicle at Merced and take Yarts to Yosemite, also Crest/Yarts back to Merced from the Portal at the end of the hike.
Can one park a vehicle near Happy Isles for a month?

yes, but that lot requires a permit sticker (ranger station, get with trail permit). Also can't put a car cover on it due to the sticker that needs to be visible.

[RichardD]

Thanks.
I can't find any mention of the parking lot on the National Park website.
I will ask for the sticker when I pick up my permit the day prior to my hike and if there is any problem with leaving my car for such a long time I will still have time to drive to Merced, store my car and take the Yarts bus back to Yosemite.

[Helmuth.Fishmonger]

here's the parking lot between Happy Isles and Curry Village

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en...06276&t=h&z=18