[pct-l] Horseshoe Meadow Trailhead Hitch to Lone Pine

[Dan C. aka Thumper]

Aaron,

To SOBO or NOBO the JMT you need a permit.  And that permit is usually issued from Yosemite NP or Inyo NF.  They are not per se part of the lottery and may issue so many advance and so many walk-up permits for each day.  I recommend you contact the USFS or US Park service that manages your starting point and find out the availability of permits for the many different trail heads the feed the JMT.  If you tell them your exit point is Whitney then your permit will be issued assuming one is available.  Does this many sense?

Thumper 


Aaron wrote;
Hello List,

I'm planning a SOBO JMT hike this summer, with my get-back plan relying on
public transportation from Lone Pine.  Apparently I've missed the lottery
for Whitney Portal permits (oops...).  First, I was wondering if by chance
any of you knows of any way to get a Whitney Portal permit after the
lottery has closed (probably a lost cause at this point).  Second, I have
some questions about an alternate exit route:

I was thinking of exiting at Cottonwood Pass (750.2), Trail Pass (745.3),
or Mulkey Pass (744.5) to Horseshoe Meadow Trailhead/Campground and
hitching into Lone Pine, but I'm noticing that my 2012 edition of Yogi's
Guide warns that it is a "VERY hard hitch".  Has any of you successfully
hitched from here before, and if so, what was your experience?  I was
thinking that if I showed up at Horseshoe Meadow around midday on Sunday
that there would be a fair number of weekend campers driving back to Lone
Pine as I'm *pretty sure* that's the only road out of there...

Any thoughts?  Or alternate exit strategies?

Thanks,
Aaron