[pct-l] Getting off the trail at Lone Pine

[Bob Bankhead]

There are three routes to Lone Pine from the PCT. Listing them in the order you will encounter them going north from Kennedy Meadows:

1) Trail Pass trail junction: 40 miles north of Kennedy Mdws store. Exit here 2 miles down a gentle grade to Horseshoe Meadows campground. Hitch into Lone Pine.

2) Cottonwood Pass Trail junction: 4.8 miles north of Trail Pass. Exit here down a much steeper trail to Horseshoe Meadows campground. Hitch into Lone Pine.

3) JMT junction to Crabtree Meadows and Mt Whitney: 16.7 miles north of Cottonwood Pass. exit here. Take the JMT to the Mt Whitney trail. Climb Whitney or not. Take the Mt Whitney trail over Trailcrest down to Whitney Portal. Hitch into Lone Pine. 

Options 1 and 2 take you to the same place, so why use option 2? No extra permit is required. Getting  a ride will be harder than at the Portal. Weekends are easier. Even then, depending on weather and road conditions, you may or may not find anyone there that early in the year, and you do NOT want to walk down that road into Lone Pine!

Option 3 will require the $15 Whitney Zone endorsement on your permit and a much longer hike out to a hitch point. It does however give you the option to climb Mt Whitney. You can expect an easier hitch from the Portal as there will be more folks there, plus it's a developed area, unlike Horseshoe Meadows, which is just a large campground and parking lot.


 
  ----- Original Message ----- 

  From: Will M 
  To: pct-l at backcountry.net 
  Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 12:28 PM
  Subject: [pct-l] Getting off the trail at Lone Pine


  So , it looks like I'll be geeting off the trail sometime around June18th
  and heading into Lone Pine.

  What's the easiest way to get to Lone Pine from the trail?  I'm hoping to
  avoid as much snow as possible .  Is there any point I could possibly hitch
  to Lone Pine from close to the trail or will I need to walk the 24 + miles?

  I haven't had a chance to go through the recent transit post but I'm hoping
  there will be some kind of bus service from there to points North.
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