Hey all, any info would help please. If Tioga pass is closed. How else do I get to the Valley? We arranged a Sierra Shuttle service to take us from whitney to Happy isles on June 19th and they are telling me they can’t get me there. Is there another route in from 395?
chris d
I’m afraid i won’t be very helpful, but what i do know is that there is a YARTS bus from Lone Pine that runs on Monday, Wednesday, Friday that can get you to Lancaster. Then you’re on the west side of the Sierra and i’m sure SOMEthing (Greyhound?) goes up to Merced from there. In Merced you can get the YARTS to Yosemite. It might take more than a day to do all that. Particularly if you’re traveling with a female, i might just try hitchhiking it instead.
markv
Assuming you were planning on hiking back to your car at Whitney Portal, you might try instead leaving your car in Merced or wherever Yosemite lets you park a car. There’s a decent chance that by the time you’re done hiking Tioga Pass could be reopened. Or also a possibility that you might have met another hiker that has a car waiting at the portal who could help you out in getting back to your car.
markv
Chris, you’ve got Sonora Pass to the north. It is state route 108 and connects Bridgeport on the east with Sonora to the west. Not sure if it’s open now, but it’s a little lower than Tioga.
Your other alternative is to go around the south end of the sierras, through Bakersfield. You can pick up Amtrak there north to Merced. The YARTS bus picks up at the Merced Amtrak station and will take you up into the yosemite valley through Mariposa and El Portal. Good Luck. Photofall/MrClean.
Thomas E Jacobsen