Food, Car, Bus, and Shuttle Logistics 6/30-7/01
While waiting at home for the highest Sierra snow to finish melting, I came up with a plan to hike the next 200 miles of Pacific Crest Trail without assistance, using my car, buses, and shuttles to get the job done. I didn’t want Vicki to have to do all that extra driving to and from San Diego if I could help it. I also came up with a way to provide two food resupplies without taking a day off in town. The final piece of readiness was buying a new backpack to replace the one I wore out last year hiking the PCT Desert Section. New Year, New Gear!
And my plan worked! Well, mostly. This page is about dropping off resupplies, getting my car to Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park, and taking a combination of buses and shuttles back to Horseshoe Meadows, so I could restart my Sierra Section hike where I left off in early June. 100 miles down, 200 to go! (Part 3 will be details of the final 200 miles of my 500 mile Summer trek.)
I got my food together soon after arriving back home from the first 100 mile segment. I was going to be carrying the initial six days of food with me, dropping off six days of food in a bear box at the Onion Valley (Kearsarge Pass) trailhead, and mailing an additional six days of food to Muir Trail Ranch (MTR) in a three-gallon bucket. And that’s exactly what I did. It worked beautifully.
I originally planned to hike fifteen mile days through the High Sierra, but decided to dial it back to twelve-ish mile days after completing the first 100 miles during Part 1. Why kill myself hiking fast through the prettiest part of the PCT? I’ve hiked ten mile days in the past and been perfectly happy, so upping it to twelve seemed like a reasonable compromise, especially now that I was in better shape.
I made reservations on the Yosemite bus. July 1st was its very first day of the season, so that would be my starting point. I also arranged camping in Mammoth Lakes, a second bus down Owens Valley to Lone Pine, and a private shuttle ride up the hill to Horseshoe Meadows. Everything was looking good as June came to a close.
I finished up my packing, got my resupply ready, and started driving north on June 30th in the pre-dawn darkness to avoid traffic in LA. Once I was past that point the going was easy, and I was in no rush.
I stopped off for food and gas in Lone Pine. I looked around to see if there were any hitchhiking PCT Hikers in town, but my timing must have been bad, as the ones I saw were all walking around shopping. Oh well. I tried. After that, it was only a short ride north to Independence, where the road to Onion Valley heads west up the big slope of the Eastern Sierra. I love Onion Valley, so it was a joy to visit. I stopped there just long enough to take a quick break and to stash my food resupply in one of the many bear boxes at the trailhead. Once again, I looked around for Thru-Hikers, and this time I found one. I gave him a ride down the hill into town. He was heading south to Lone Pine while I was headed north, so we parted ways at US 395.
An hour or so later I arrived in Bishop. I stopped and bought a few Breakfast Jack sandwiches at Jack in the Box and continued on. I decided to eat them for dinner and breakfast, since most of my food was in the backpack, except for a few car snacks. Then I continued up the big hill toward Mammoth Lakes, June Lake, and Mono Lake. Once I arrived in Lee Vining, I turned east onto Tioga Pass Road, which led to Yosemite. It was a lovely road to drive, all uphill, with plenty of mountains and lakes along the way.
I intended to sleep in the back of my “camperized” Rav4, but not inside Yosemite itself. I probably could have gotten away with stealth camping in a parking lot there, but didn’t want to chance it. I decided to stay at a proper campground in the nearby National Forest instead. My chosen spot was at Saddlebag Lake, which I had only seen on maps until then. And it was a very large lake. Dammed, of course, with its water ultimately being drunk by thirsty LA to the south. Meanwhile, it had trout in it. I tried to catch one, but without any luck. I’m going to blame the windy conditions. Surely it wasn’t my poor fishing technique! After that, I went back to the car and ate my Breakfast Jacks in peace. I had to eat inside, as the bugs were intense. That’s also when I double-checked that I had two bottles of DEET in my main backpack. July was notorious for mosquitoes in the High Sierra.
I either went to sleep too soon or I was too excited, because I woke up in the dark. And I was fully awake. I decided to head on up to Yosemite anyway, even though it was too early. Doing this didn’t help me get back on the trail any faster, but I did it anyway. I found a good parking spot just off the PCT/JMT trailhead near the mouth of Lyell Canyon and hung out in the car for a while. It was cold out there at 8500 feet elevation!
My bus south to Mammoth Lakes wasn’t due to leave until 4:30pm, so I had an entire day to kill here in Tuolumne Meadows. I packed up some snacks, water, and my fishing rod in a small daypack, and headed out for the Tuolumne River, which I knew was full of trout.
I walked a mile or two west to where the post office and store should be. The store wasn’t open yet this season. It got seriously damaged in the big snows of 2023, and was just barely getting repaired when I arrived. The post office was actually inside a small shipping container, at least temporarily. It was still early in the season up here in Tuolumne Meadows, where Tioga Road often doesn’t open until late June! And that’s why the first buses were due to begin service that very day, July 1st.
Meanwhile, it was still early morning, and there was a bit of frost on the meadow. This sounded like the perfect time to go Fly Fishing! Hooking a fat trout at the dawn rise was what I’d always read about. So I headed for the river and cast again and again. I could see the fish in the clear water, but they weren’t easy to coax onto my hook. I finally managed to catch a small one, and let it go again unharmed. I was using barbless flies. If Vicki had been there I would have used barbs, because she would be frying them up immediately. But not this time.
There were two YARTS buses each day that left Mammoth Lakes in the morning, heading for Tuolumne Meadows and eventually terminating in Yosemite Valley. In the afternoon they would return to Mammoth. I made sure that I walked back to the store and met the bus as it arrived. I wanted to be certain that it was running, as this was the first day. There were a lot of PCT Thru-Hikers waiting for it. They all wanted to head to the valley, as the backpacker’s campground up here was still closed for construction.
Satisfied that my plans were working, I headed back to my car. I took a nap, then woke up and donned my official PCT Hiker Clothes. I put the fly fishing gear into the new backpack, and made sure that everything was perfect. If I left anything behind I would be kicking myself later on when I was out on the trail. Then I hiked back to the store and hung out there in the shade, reading my Kindle at a picnic table and generally yakking with other thru-hikers who stopped by the post office to get a food resupply. One of them was known as “65 and Alive Hiker” and he had a great attitude. He was doing a YouTube chronicle about his PCT Hike, and was handing out stickers that his wife printed for him. Well, that’s one way to get followers for your channel! This made me think about making “hikingtales.com” stickers or “BIGFOOT” stickers and handing them out, but in the end it sounded kinda weird to me, not my style, so let’s forget that idea entirely. And one thing is certain: I have never made a dime on this website; in fact, it costs me money! I just like to write about hiking, I guess. But to each his own. “Hike Your Own Hike” as we PCT hikers always say. Blog your own blog? Vlog your own vlog? It’s all good in the end.
Eventually, the YARTS bus returned from the Valley. I got on board and enjoyed the ride, up and over Tioga Pass and down the highway to Lee Vining. Then it was another hour or so south to Mammoth Lakes, where I arrived about dinnertime. I stopped off at a pizza place and ate some pizza with overdone crust. I won’t mention their name. These things happen. But most of it went in the trash. Then I hiked down the hill to the NFS campground and set up my tent in my reserved spot. It looked so lonely there without a car or a big RV to keep it company. There was also a lot of car noise as it wasn’t far from the main drag. Made me wish I opted for a motel instead. I got to sleep just the same.
The next morning I woke up early, packed, and wandered over to a coffee shop, where I had a hot cup and a tasty danish, plus a huge chocolate chip cookie. Good stuff! After that, it was time to catch the next bus. It seems like all the buses start and stop in Mammoth Lakes, like it’s the epicenter of the Eastern Sierra. And maybe it is! The bus arrived and headed down to Bishop, where we transferred onto a larger bus that was en route from Reno. This was much nicer, and soon I was heading south on US 395 just like always. The Lone Pine Express.
I immediately went into the McDonalds and bought an Egg McMuffin to eat for lunch, and carried it out to the bus stop. One more ride and I would be in Horseshoe Meadows once again. It turned out that four of us on the bus were destined to get a ride together in Lone Pine Kurt’s van. Kurt was a retired airline pilot who was having a great retirement meeting tons of hikers every day. He really enjoyed it, and talked up a good storm, all the way up the big hill. I could barely get a word in edgewise!
There were already hikers hoping for a ride when we got there just before noon. We grabbed our backpacks out of the van and waved good-bye to Kurt. He was a good man, and I wish him all the best.
After that, it was time to truly begin Part 2 – Backpacking on the PCT through the High Sierra!
For a topographic map of the hike see my CalTopo Page
For LOTS more photos of the trek see my Flickr Page
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