[pct-l] Road to VVR

[Denis Stanton]

On 25/05/2009, at 2:07 PM, Gary Wright wrote:

> On May 24, 2009, at 9:47 PM, Denis Stanton wrote:
>
>> I picked up on the VVR road thread because I'm thinking about that
>> road for a different reason.  I'm looking for a ride out of VVR, or
>> comments on the chances of getting one
>
> It sounds like your travel dates aren't all the flexible, but I would
> think that if you could hike two or three more days to Mammoth Lakes,
> your travel options would be much better.
>
> This site: <http://jrabold.net/mammoth/maminfo.htm> has some useful
> public transportation info for Mammoth Lakes.  In particular it looks
> like you can get a bus to Reno/Tahoe Airport.
>
> I'm curious as to how you are getting to Road's End in Kings Canyon.
> I seem to recall some discussion about how there is no public
> transportation to there.
>
> I'm not sure it fits with your plans, but you could fly into Reno/ 
> Tahoe
> and then take a bus to Independence (airport to Bishop, Bishop to Lone
> Pine) and then get back to the PCT via Kearsarge Pass.  If you really
> want to start at Vidette Meadows though, you'll have to backtrack a
> bit.

Hi Gary

Thank you for your advice.  I am actually more familiar with PCT  
access from the eastern side of the Sierras than from Fresno but this  
year I've decided to tackle it from the west.

I've made two section hikes in the area in the past.  In 2007 from  
Kennedy Meadows to Trail Pass / Horseshoe Meadows and in 2008 from  
Horseshoe Meadows to Kearsage Pass / Onion Valley.  Both times I had a  
rental car to get to and from San Francisco.  I parked at Kennedy  
Meadows one year and Onion Valley the next and hitched along 395 to  
get back to, or start from, the car to make the loop.  In fact I ended  
up driving the Independence to Onion Valley road several times to  
ferry some thru hikers in and out of Kearsarge.

I have fixed travel dates because I'm doing this to a tight budget.   
My employers are sending me to a conference in San Francisco and I've  
managed to tack on two weeks of vacation time, from the 13th of June  
to the 26th.  Then I have to catch that flight home.  This year there  
is no prospect of a rental car so I'm using Amtrak to and from Fresno  
and hoping to use a bus or hitch to get to and from trail heads.  I  
did look at continuing to Devils Postpile / Mammoth because I know  
that's a more travelled road than VVR, but I don't think I can handle  
the extra distance.  This is going to sound soft on a list dedicated  
to 2560 milers, but Trail Pass to Kearsarge Pass is the longest I've  
managed in one hit.  Getting from Bullfrog lake to VVR will be all I  
can hope for in 2009.  If I did get to Mammoth I'd still be a long way  
from San Francisco without my own wheels so I'm persevering with the  
western approach.

regards and thank you for your interest

Denis Stanton