This page is about how I got my food resupplies distributed, and how I managed to leave my car at the southern end of the JMT in Whitney Portal while starting the hike at the northern end in Yosemite Valley. Of course, it really shouldn’t be called “Day 00” since, technically, it was Days -3, -2, -1, 0, and part of Day 1. It just makes more sense to cram it all into one web page.
My first food resupply was begun at home. I packed seven days of food into a three gallon bucket (most people use five gallon ones) and mailed it to Muir Trail Ranch (MTR). It cost me $90 for a Handling Fee, plus postage, and they delivered the bucket via boat across Florence Lake followed by mule-back to the ranch itself. That’s worth ninety bucks, in my mind, because the ranch was only a mile or so off the trail, at about the halfway point. Very convenient. Vermilion Valley Ranch (VVR) was two days north and only charged $40, but then I would have to carry NINE days of food. This wasn’t just a heavy load; it wouldn’t fit into my bear can, either. Sorry, VVR. I planned to visit them anyway, but only to take a boat ride and eat one of their hamburgers.
Anyway, I spent quite a bit of time planning out this trip. I boxed and bagged several resupply caches, which I planned to distribute myself. I got bus reservations and motel reservations. I printed out my Wilderness Permit and my California Campfire Permit (to use my stove legally). I had copies of everything on my phone. My CalTopo Map was a marvel of planning, and it was all downloaded onto the phone app for use offline. I also made a Google Document with all the campsites and data in it, which I updated during the hike to add daily notes of what happened to me. This was very useful later on, for writing these pages on hikingtales. I even bought the John Muir Trail map for the FarOut app, even though I already had the PCT version. It was $25 and every JMT hiker should have it. It provided me (a map nerd) with relevant trail mileage numbers including elevation gains and losses. The crowdsourced comments in the app are its true value, because they tell you about extra campsites, trail problems, and recent water availability. Totally worth it. Another app I swear by is Peakfinder Earth, which is one of the best five dollar bills I’ve ever spent. Really! It tells you the names of all those peaks you see off in the distance, and you can use it offline, out in the middle of nowhere, if you download the map data first, at home.
As the time of the hike neared, I tossed all my gear on the bed. It was easy to find, because Vicki and I just came back from a hiking trip. Still, I had to make sure everything was stocked, like toilet paper, band-aids, Leukotape, the proper physical map, etcetera. I stuffed everything into my backpack, then prepped a second bag of gear. This one was for sleeping in the car, like an extra air mattress and sleeping bag, plus car clothes and shoes. I was going to be camping in the car for two nights while I dropped off my food stashes. If I had separate gear bags I was less likely to forget anything once I left the car behind at Whitney Portal.
When the big day arrived, I was ready. I left San Diego in the very early morning, to avoid LA traffic, and arrived in Lone Pine before 9am. I took my usual photo of Mount Whitney from the highway, got some gas, and continued blasting north on US 395. My destination was Mammoth Lakes, about a seven hour drive from home.
More specifically, my destination was just beyond Mammoth Lakes, up and over the hill to Reds Meadow Resort and the Devils Postpile National Monument. The JMT passed nearby the Postpile, and the Reds Meadow Grill was one of the Food Highlights of the John Muir Trail. I planned to stay there on my seventh day of hiking, so it made perfect sense to leave a food cache there. With a five-day resupply, I would be able to make it to MTR, where my big seven-day bucket would be ready. (I already tracked it with USPS, and knew it was there.) For $30, Reds Meadow would hold my box of food until ten days from now.
Once the crucial business was complete, I went to the grill for a burger. Then I drove to the nearby campground and snagged a campsite for the night. I was ready to enjoy the rest of the day. Next stop: The Devils Postpile itself. It was an easy walk, and totally worth it, just for the selfie-value alone. Then I decided to take a short day hike, and maybe do some fishing. I headed for the Rainbow Falls Trail. I already knew that if you show up at the falls in the afternoon on a sunny day, you would be rewarded with its associated rainbow. It worked! Then I drove back to the resort, ate a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner, and went back to the campground for the night. It had been a long day, and I was planning to wake up early the following morning. I decided to call today “Day -3” in my notes.
The following day (Day -2) was spent dropping off yet another food cache, in Yosemite National Park. I had an “Entry Permit” in my possession, so I entered in the morning via Tioga Pass with a minimal line. This permit was a new thing, and only the park rangers liked it, not the visitors. It seemed dumb to me, because it was the valley that was too crowded, not the high country near Tuolumne Meadows. But you Can’t Fix Stupid, as they say.
So I drove on in and headed off to find a bear box near the John Muir Trail as it passed by Tioga Road in Tuolumne Meadows. I found a likely one at the Visitor Center, and dropped off a three day bag of food. That would be enough to get me to Reds Meadow. I would be carrying two days initially, out of Yosemite Valley, which would be enough to get here. Things were looking up. Now that the food was ready, I had time to explore the area. I went fishing out on the Tuolumne River and caught (and released) a small Brown Trout. Then I ate a burger and fries at the grill, and I took a short walk to check out the newly-refurbished Tuolumne Meadows Campground. It hadn’t opened yet. It was scheduled to open on August first. Yes, you may rest assured that it was no coincidence that I would be arriving here in Tuolumne Meadows, carrying my backpack on the JMT, on August first. I just wanted to check it out early.
Part of my multi-day resupply plan was a desire to use this time to help my body acclimate to elevation. Last night I was up at 8000 feet. Today I decided to up my game and drove two hours south, to Rock Creek and the Little Lakes Valley trailhead at Mosquito Flat, which was up at 10,000 feet. There was a backpacker’s walk-in campsite there, where you were allowed to camp if you had a wilderness permit. Technically, I was a day or two early on my permit, but I decided to camp there anyway. And I also decided to “Stealth Camp” in the parking lot, in the back of my car. I admit that this was one hundred percent wrong. And that’s why I joined several others that night doing this exact thing. There’s Rightness in Numbers, after all. Maybe. But I liked it here. I took a short hike up the valley and did a bit of fishing in Rock Creek, but caught nothing. The next morning, on my way back to US 395, I stopped at Rock Creek Lake and caught another small Brown Trout.
My fourth and final resupply was four days of food, and it was to be placed in a bear box up at the Kearsarge Pass Trailhead. I drove up the long grade to Onion Valley and double-parked next to the bear boxes. It was always tough to park up there, but I was only staying for a few minutes. In order to hike to this cache, I had to leave the JMT, but the only alternative was to spend $400 to have the horse packers deliver it to me. I knew that I could afford it, but I also didn’t mind the extra hiking, as this trail was beautiful, with multiple lakes along the way. (I resupplied here last year, in 2024, when I hiked north on the PCT.) This year’s plan was that when I arrived here in three weeks, all of my MTR food would be gone. This final food cache was intended to take me the rest of the way to Mount Whitney and back to my car at the portal.
I got back on the highway and drove south from Independence to Lone Pine, about a twenty minute ride. Then it was another half hour to climb the big hill up to Whitney Portal, 13 miles but almost a mile straight up. I parked the car and went over to the Portal Store and ordered a Portal Burger. Those burgers are good! I hung out by the fishing pond for a bit. I wasn’t really excited about the parking spot I got, down in the overflow lot. Then I noticed a skinny spot between a big truck and a pine tree that I thought I might fit my car into. I decided to go for it. I even folded my side mirror inward at the last second, but I got the car into it. And it was the closest spot to both the Whitney Trailhead and the Portal Store! I was pretty stoked. I know someone who joked that I was worried about walking a few feet while preparing for a 200-plus mile hike, but I knew better. When you finish taking those last few steps the only thing you want to do is sit down.
Then I got in the back of the car and started getting my gear ready. I got dressed in my hiking clothes, the ones I’d be wearing for the next month. I made double-sure that my backpack was OK, and that I had my wallet, my phone, and my Garmin InReach. I put covers on the windows and locked it up. All I had to do now was get myself down the hill to town.
I stood out there and got my thumb ready. I hadn’t hitchhiked since I was a teenager. And there wasn’t much traffic. What there was, ignored me and drove past. I was getting bummed. I knew that I could probably call for a ride, but I really wanted to do the proper hitching thing if I could. Finally, I gave up on my thumb and simply walked up to some people loading their car. They were giving two hikers a ride! I asked if they had room for me, and that was all it took. Soon, we were heading down the hill to town.
It was much hotter down in Lone Pine at 4000 feet elevation, but it wasn’t deadly. I walked north through town to the Mount Whitney Motel, which wasn’t the cheapest, but not the priciest either. I checked in and thought about dinner. I also thought about the fact that I forgot to bring my synthetic wicking underwear! I discovered this omission when I got dressed in my hiking clothes. But I also knew that I could find a pair in this town. Plenty of gear shops here. I walked down the street until I found Big Willi Mountaineering, and they had a pair for me.
After that, I got a Subway sandwich for dinner and carried it to my room. I ate it. I called Vicki on the phone. I updated the Far Out app. Then I read my kindle until I fell asleep. Let’s face it: I was bored. And that was the end of what I called Day -1 in my notes.
The next morning I woke up and checked out of the motel, then walked through town to the McDonalds. This is where the ESTA Bus stops. I ate breakfast first, then boarded the bus when it arrived, headed north toward the town of Bishop, about an hour away. Once in Bishop I had a long wait until the next bus to Mammoth Lakes. That’s the way the schedules worked out. It was hot, but I sat in the shade and read my kindle some more. Then I got on the second ESTA Bus of the day, and within an hour I was in Mammoth.
There are free shuttles in Mammoth, but I didn’t need one. I decided to check in to the Motel 6 and see my room. It was a room, clean and boring. I left my big pack behind and took a walk into town. I bought some extra trout flies at the Troutfitter store, then grabbed a burger up the street. I was happy to walk, and I needed to do something with my time. Of course, eventually I ended up in the motel room, reading my book until I fell asleep. This bus shuttle part of the trip was the most boring of all. And that ended what I call Day 00.
Day 01 officially began early the next morning. I had reservations on the early YARTS Bus (Yosemite Area Rapid Transport) that left Mammoth at 7am. I bought coffee and a donut on my way to the bus stop. The ride to Yosemite Valley was over three hours long! No lie. But at least it went through some seriously beautiful country on the way. First we climbed up the hill to Tioga Pass, where I was a couple days ago, then we kept on cruising through the park until the highway dropped down into the Merced River Valley. We hung a left and headed deeper into the valley, and eventually arrived at Yosemite Village.
I got my backpack out from under the bus, then headed over to the store and the Visitor Center. I just peeked inside the store, as I didn’t need anything, and I didn’t bother with the other place. I only cared about getting on the correct free shuttle. One set of shuttles went everywhere in the valley, and the other, express shuttle, only hit the important stuff. For me, the important stuff meant the Happy Isles Trailhead, the official beginning of the John Muir Trail.
I arrived at the trailhead and looked at my watch. It was already 11am! I felt like half the day was gone already. But that didn’t matter, as I planned to hike only half the miles! And now I truly hoped that I had everything I needed, and that I would find my food resupplies exactly where I expected them to be.
It was truly time to begin what I call “Day 01” of hiking the John Muir Trail. Onward and upward!
For a topographic map of the hike see my CalTopo Page
For LOTS more photos of the trek see my Flickr Page
<< Back to Intro Onward to Day 1 >> 
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