Getting from Eastern SEKI/Inyo trailheads to the Crest stops

[Chris Morgan]

Hi All,

I posted this elsewhere but it seemed to have gotten buried, so I thought I'd create a separate thread.

Any thoughts on how to get from the Eastern Sierra trailheads to the Crest stops? (Piute, Kearsarge, Bishop, etc.) Is it pretty easy to hitch down into town? How about back up to the trailhead? Will the shuttle services just do a shuttle from a trailhead into town? I'd hate to be stuck in 110 degree weather trying to hitch up the hill :/

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[Bob Gross]

"I'd hate to be stuck in 110 degree weather trying to hitch up the hill :/"

Yes, it tends to be very hot in Bishop.

I have picked up riders before at the trailheads and have given them rides down to Highway 395. Not everybody will.

No offense intended here: Most backpackers finishing a trail don't look very good, and they probably don't smell very good. You probably won't have a lot of clean street clothes to put on when you go around people. It would be a lot clearer to have a ride booked.

–B.G.–

[Chris Morgan]

Thanks Bob – I'd probably park the car at Kearsarge, hitch down the hill, take the Crest up the road, then hitch up the hill in Bishop, then start my hike. My schedule is very flexible. Anyone hiking in that area around the second week in August?

I always suppose I could start at Reds/Mammoth to take advantage of the bus, but that stretch right after is sooooo boring :)

[USA Duane Hall]

I will be ending a trip around August 12 or 13, I have not gotten a permit yet for Kearsarge or Horseshoe Meadow entry.

[Chris Morgan]

Hi Duane,

If I can ask, when/where are you starting? Will you be coming up and down 395? I'm all for paying for someone's time and gas, if they had the time.

[USA Duane Hall]

Good morning Chris, Plan A, start out of Onion Valley over Kearsarge early Aug. 5. Out same Aug. 12 or 13 latest. Plan B, Horseshoe Meadow, same time frame. I arrive from the north on 395, go home headed north on 395.
Duane

[Amy Lauterbach]

I have never had a problem hitching from a major trailhead down to 395 where you can pick up the CREST bus, even when I'm stinky and dirty. By major trailhead, I mean any of those where the permits are usually fully subscribed, like Cottonwood, Whitney Portal, Kearsarge, North Lake, South Lake. I wouldn't count on it at Shepherd Pass or some of the others that don't get much use. I can usually get a ride down the hill within five minutes; I don't think I've ever waited more than 45 minutes, even late in September when things are much quieter than in July and August.

As to hitching uphill from 395 to a major trailhead, I've found it works better in the morning than in the evening. I once waited for nearly two hours to get to Cottonwood trailhead from Lone Pine, but that was in the evening and it was late in the season after the pack station there had already closed. Mornings during July and August shouldn't take more than 20 or 30 minutes.

You can legally park for over a week in the public lot behind the police station in Bishop. (OK'ed by Bishop Police as recently as 2010.. I've done numerous trips using this configuration — park in Bishop, CREST south to Lone Pine, hitch to Cottonwood trailhead, hike to North Lake or South Lake trailhead, hitch back down to Bishop.

[Chris Morgan]

All awesome info, thanks!

I figure if the people who use Bishop as a resupply can do, it must be possible!

Is there a better place to wait for the uphill hitch? Just start walking towards the trailhead?

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