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  1. #1
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    Default Is Vermilion valley resourt still shuttling hikers across the lake?

    I am planning to hike the JMT the summer 2019, and would like to stop at Vermilion Valley Resort. Do you know if they are still shuttling hikers across the lake by boat. Two years ago the lake was being drained. I know that there is a trail that surrounds the lake, but it is like three miles to get to the resort. Thank you.
    Julio

  2. #2

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    I hiked on the JMT last year and many hikers went to VMR. I think the boat shuttle was running. Check their website. They are advertising their water shuttle.

  3. #3

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    As of August 2018 they shuttled across Lake Edison to VVR. The lake level does get lower over the course of the summer. However when we took the ferry they had just moved the dock out where they can pick up as the level goes down.

    The trail down to VVR is actually about 5.5 miles or so from where the ferry picks up. We did not take it but talked to someone who did and they said it was quite hot and exposed in places....but at the end you get rewarded with a meal :-)

    We had a wonderful visit there and would definitely use it as a mail drop again.

  4. #4

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    Call VVR.

    You don't have to walk in or out three miles. You can take the Bear Ridge Cutoff Tr to Edison Lake/Kaiser Pass Rd. You can head back the way you came in or do an alternative. Going over Bear Mt is one big PUD for the most part. You never even get to see Lake Edison fully going over it only a few 100 yds away from the steep drop off(escarpment?) that drops down into the lake. You can also head down Bear Creek Tr to Bear Crk Dam. I much prefer this scenically; some huge wily brown trout inhabit this creek with trail almost constantly right beside it virtually always descending to the dam from the PCT/JMT. Not much vehicle traffic but almost all of it is either going to or coming from VVR. I've never had to wait more than two vehicles for a ride. From the dam there's a short gravel road walk to Edison Lake/Kaiser Pass Rd. At the junction go right to hitch to VVR. Go left to Mono Hot Springs USPO that holds resupply boxes. You might even get someone at MHS CG to hold a package but I can't personally vouch for I've never done that.

  5. #5

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    Question

    Its a nice easy walk
    Much is soft pine needle trail
    Theres one 50-75' rocky climb

    Takes almost no time

    Food is great, drinks are cold,people are good, beds are soft, showers are hot.

    Everything you want after a week on hot dry dusty trail.


    Cell service is however......fleeting and spotty.

    And thats a good thing as well.
    Last edited by MuddyWaters; 02-04-2019 at 21:38.

  6. #6

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    You can get the final word from the horses mouth at their website. When May comes along, they will have updated the ferry scheduleas they'll know what the snow pack is and when they can open. Last year they ran June 1st to Oct 8th. I cannot remember a year they didn't run the ferry other than a few short interruptions due to the lake depth being too low. Given all the rain we have been getting this winter thus far, it doesn't look like the water levels will be a problem this summer.

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by Miner View Post
    You can get the final word from the horses mouth at their website. When May comes along, they will have updated the ferry scheduleas they'll know what the snow pack is and when they can open. Last year they ran June 1st to Oct 8th. I cannot remember a year they didn't run the ferry other than a few short interruptions due to the lake depth being too low. Given all the rain we have been getting this winter thus far, it doesn't look like the water levels will be a problem this summer.
    Should be irrelevant anyway.
    Either you want to go there, or dont.

    You may miss ferry
    It might not run due to wind
    Etc

    There's no guarantee that you'll get a ferry even if they're running the ferry. Chances are quite high but.... What's your plan b?
    Last edited by MuddyWaters; 02-04-2019 at 22:18.

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by MuddyWaters View Post
    There's no guarantee that you'll get a ferry even if they're running the ferry. Chances are quite high but.... What's your plan b?
    Well the last time I took the ferry was in late Sept 2017 when doing the JMT SOBO in fall. My plan A was to get up early enough (5:45am) to insure I made it in plenty of time for the afternoon run as my hike was on a semi-tight schedule. You do what you have to do or pay the consequences for slacking.

    Plan B is always you can walk or wait half a day on the beach for the next ferry. I did so in 2009 when doing the PCT NOBO. I chose to camp 1 mile away from the ferry landing after stopping a little earlier than I normally did so I could take the morning run as I didn't feel like hiking over in the dark. Given how much I was already struggling to make my existing mileage, I had given up making the afternoon ferry a few days earlier. I also had no schedule pressures. In fact, the trip over was optional just to check it out as I had enough food to make Red's Meadow. If the boat had sunk (don't laugh, prior to my arrival in 2017, their larger boat hit a submerged rock and they had to use their smaller skiff for the remainder of the season earlier than planned), I would have reluctantly walked (in 2017) or skipped it entirely (in 2009).

  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by Miner View Post
    I cannot remember a year they didn't run the ferry other than a few short interruptions due to the lake depth being too low. Given all the rain we have been getting this winter thus far, it doesn't look like the water levels will be a problem this summer.

    Good to hear. An empty muddy Lake Edison would seem to me to resemble an abandoned mining site.

    I've been going to VVR for 13 yrs. Most every yr the water depth has gotten lower from the previous yr.

  10. #10
    Registered User gollwoods's Avatar
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    Snow looks good this year the lake should be fine

    Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

  11. #11
    Registered User JPritch's Avatar
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    VVR just didn't work out on my trek, but I wish I had went. Next time I do JMT I'm going to make it a point to do VVR. Sounds like a really cool stop and the boat ride sounds like fun!
    It is what it is.

  12. #12

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    Heading NOBO on the JMT whats the most efficient way to access VVR? Bear Ridge or Bear Creek?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dogwood View Post
    Good to hear. An empty muddy Lake Edison would seem to me to resemble an abandoned mining site.

    I've been going to VVR for 13 yrs. Most every yr the water depth has gotten lower from the previous yr.
    Not muddy. Sand.
    Theres a deep zone, like it was quarried that always holds water. It has sharp outline. They drive to it, and run small boat across.
    DSC01779.jpg
    DSC01784.jpg
    Last edited by MuddyWaters; 02-06-2019 at 15:43.

  14. #14

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    The deep zone is Mono Crk, a pre existing tributary of the south fork of the San Joaquin River. The creek was damed, the Vermillion Dam(?), in the 50's during the Big Creek Hydroelectric Project to impound water and create energy for every and H2O thirsty SoCal. I believe Lake Edison empties into Huntington Lake through a siphoning tunnel. It's obvious the lake is man made. If I'm recalling correctly Lake Edison is an avg 70 ft deep when full so your pics show it way down.

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    The deep zone is the square
    Even When rest of lake is totally dry, it holds fish and a significant portion of lakes water, like ~7-10% i recall. I was told this was where they took material from to dam the lake . The rest of the lake is pretty shallow, especially vvr end.

    When i was there in 2014 that little square was basically all that was left. Basically drove to it, then ran people across it in little boat.



    1404420853_107672.png



    The entire boat ride:
    DSC01793.jpg

    Anywho, its a nice little walk in to vvr, no big deal imo. Cant imagine someone would camp at mono creek and eat ramen or other crap , instead of an easy 2 hr stroll into great food, great place.
    Last edited by MuddyWaters; 02-07-2019 at 11:53.

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