[pct-l] re:Cedar Grove

[mardav@charter.net (Marion Davison)]

We used Cedar Grove as a resupply point in 2000, when we hiked a 300
mile loop out of Horseshoe Meadow.  Cedar Grove was the halfway point. 
We mailed 4 packages there.  They were held in a big steel storage
container near the ranger's office in Cedar Grove.  The address for
mailing is:
YOUR NAME, TRAIL HIKER, pickup date:
c/o Cedar Grove Ranger Station
Box 926
Kings Canyon National Park, CA 93633
I recommend you call before mailing to confirm this address and pickup
arrangements.  (209)565-3708.  They were very accomodating over the
phone.
We were llama packing, so hitchhiking from Roadend was out of the
question.  We hiked from Sphinx Creek to Cedar Grove in one day,
arriving about 3:00.  Then we had some difficulty figuring out where our
boxes were being held, and managed to track down a ranger with a key
just before they went off duty at 4:00 PM.  We repacked our boxes at
picnic tables near the container and spent the night at the pack station
in the stock campsite.  Hikers are welcome to use any of the campground
space.  The store, showers, and food service are fine;  however, we
could not find anywhere to purchase white gas to refill our MSR fuel
bottles.  We considered walking around the campsite to find someone with
a gallon can who would sell us a quart of fuel. The store does sell a
wide variety of food.  It would not be hard to buy enough food to make
it to Mammoth.  
 Ultimately the pack station filled up our fuel cans for free.   They
were extremely kind to us, and even gave us and our critters a free ride
back to Roadend early the next morning.  
The reason it was difficult to locate a ranger is that all ranger
services to the public have been moved to a shack at Roadend.  There is
no longer any ranger-staffed visitor center at Cedar Grove (As of 2000;
perhaps this has changed).  We flagged down the first person we saw in
uniform at the Cedar Grove campground and persisted until they figured
out where our boxes were and found someone with a key.  If we had
arrived half an hour later we would have been out of luck until the next
morning. 
The trails in/out are beautiful and in good condition.  They are only
crowded within five miles of Roadend.  We returned to the PCT by hiking
over Granite Pass, down to Simpson Meadow, and up Le Conte Canyon to the
Palisade Creek crossing.  Lower Le Conte canyon is very beautiful and
very little traveled.  Devil's Washbasin fall is spectacular.  Trail
crews built this trail during the last 3 years and it is in excellent
condition.  
Marion Davison