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

[Phil Baily]

Just for completeness, there is a third trail to Horseshoe Meadows. Mulkey 
Pass is 1.5 miles before you get to Trail Pass. I have walked all the trails 
mentioned. Of the three to Horseshoe Meadows, Cottonwood is the steepest, 
but it is downhill. Mulkey and Trail are comparable. I agree with the pros 
and cons given with regard to Horseshoe Meadows vs. Whitney Portal.

Pieces


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob Bankhead" <wandering_bob at comcast.net>
To: "Will M" <jalan04 at gmail.com>; <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 1:00 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Getting off the trail at Lone Pine


> 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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