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[pct-l] Re: Why Lone Pine
At 12:41 PM 1/15/98 -0500, you wrote:
> I'm more open-minded than you might think. :) Ray is not my god. He's
>just a guy who wrote a very useful book after hiking the PCT three times.
>The fact that he didn't mention Lone Pine as a resupply point made me wonder
>as to why, considering the potential difficulties getting there as stated on
>the list.
Probably Ray didn't like Lone Pine so He, in His infinite Wisdom, didn't
mention it. Ray Way or No Way :-(
Kersarge pass trail is long (9 miles?) and fairly steep (though not as bad
as the Whitney trail, by a long shot!!). Trail Pass is the way to go. Then
send resupply to Vermillion Valley Resort or Muir Trail Ranch. On my hike I
did Kennedy Meadows to MTR in one shot. I didn't have enough room in my
pack for the food, so I had to strap it on the outside. The stretch from
Castella to Seiad Valley at 156.6 miles was my longest strech without
resuply, but the 151.0 from Kenedy Meadows to Muir Trail Ranch took longer
(7 days vs 5 days) due to snow and terrain. (KM to VVR turnoff is about 169
miles).
Resupply over Whitney via Trail Crest is out of the question. Most folks
who hike out that way because they climbed Whitney, decide, after seeing
the climb down, to hike back in via Trail pass, or Cottonwood pass. The
extra miles are preferable to hiking UP-UP-UP-UP from Whitney portal.
> I do like the fact that Lone Pine is a more full-featured town than
>Independence. But I also like the fact that Independence is a more well-
>spaced departure from the trail, and a shorter hike. Do you know anything
>about the terrain from PCT over Kearsarge Pass to the road servicing
>Independence?
More full featured? I have friends who Drive down from Independance to Lone
Pine to go grocerey shopping because there is a real grocery there. (Then
again they drive to Bishop to see a movie<g>)
Not a shorter hike than Trail Pass. Trail Pass is 2.1 miles-Kearsarge is
about 9 I think.
The Whitney road is much more heavily traveled. The Horseshoe meadow road
joins the Whitney road a ways ( ~8 miles I think but I'm not sure) from the
trailhead. I think that a hitch down from Horseshoe would be easier, and
I'd bet that the hitch UP would be LOTS easier than Independance to Onion
Valley. YMMV.
-Brick
--
Brick Robbins
San Diego, CA
brick@ix.netcom.com
http://www.netcom.com/~brick
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