I plan to take a leisurely hike of the trail from Mammoth to Whitney and was wondering if anyone has some favorite camp sites.
Also I have been thinking about cacheing some food. Would it be advisable to just leave a bear can somewhere near the trail for a week or so? whats the easiest place to cache food between MTR and Whitney?
Striker
I know a family that has hiked the JMT every year for the past 10 years. They dayhike Kearsarge Pass before their trip and cache a bear cannister somewhere west of the Pass. It’s worked every time.
You can also mail food to Vermillion Valley Resort or Muir Trail Ranch (for a fee), check their web sites. Just don’t attempt to send your food in a Clout detergent bucket, I was told by the USPS that a container that once was used to hold laundry detergent is too hazardous to place in their trucks. 8p
Of the parts of the trail I have hiked, Marie Lakes (north of Seldon Pass) is a really nice spot. It’s also not as buggy as Bear Valley or Rosemarie Meadow.
Snowball
So is the idea that they’d hide their bear can somewhere for later pickup?
I was looking at some maps and it seems like if I could hide a bear can about midway between Onion valley and the JMT, I would only have to hike 10 miles round trip for the drop off and then another 10 miles RT to pick it up later.
I suppose if someone stole it in the interim, I could just hike on in to Onion valley and hitch out to Independence.
Are there any stores at the onion valley campground. It sounds like its a pretty popular trailhead.:cheers
striker
I didn’t get all of the details, but they place a cache there three to four weeks before they hike through and haven’t lost one yet. They do bury it under rocks so it is not obvious to a casual passerby.
The downside to this plan is you end up carrying multiple bear cannisters.
I haven’t been there, but I have read that Onion Valley consists of a trailhead parking lot, a pack station, and a campground. Hikers have to hitchhike to Independence to get supplies.
I did contact one pack outfit to find out how much they would charge to bring in a food drop to the trail over Kearsarge Pass. They told me $500! It’s easier to hike the extra miles then cough up that much.
Snowball
Striker, a couple of things. First, there’s no store at the Onion Valley trailhead – at least there wasn’t the last time I was there two years ago. Second, if you’re hiking at a leisurely pace between Mammoth and Whitney, you really ought to consider a resupply at Muir Trail Ranch as well as at Kearsarge Pass. It’s more than 110 miles from Red’s Meadow to Kearsarge Pass, and if leisurely is 10 miles/day, for example, that’s a lot of food. MTR is almost exactly in the middle of that stretch, and it’s pretty close to the JMT. Don’t resupply at VVR – it’s not that far into your hike and you’d have to carry a full load up the Bear Ridge grade. Third, I agree Marie Lake is a beautiful spot.
Snowbird (not Snowball)
We resupplied at Reds and VVR. I don’t think Reds accepts packages any more and I think we could have done w/o a resupply there. I wouldn’t depend on the hiker’s box or the “store” at vvr for any serious re-supply. On our second trip we re-supplied at Muir Trail Ranch. The only problem at MTR was that we were too early in the year so we had to wait until they brought our package from Lake Florence otherwise we had no problems. I think that is easier and safer to mail your resupply ahead than leaving a bear canister under a rock. There isn’t a store at Onion Valley. You could hike out over Piute pass, if you want your butt kicked(it is beautiful) and hitch to Bishop
A favorite spot: Bighorn Plateau
Bill