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Parking a car for a two week section of the PCT

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Jun 8, 2013 at 10:56 am #1303956

TJ W
BPL Member

@thadjw

If I was set on doing High Sierras section of the PCT then is it possible / advisable to park my car at Hwy 395 and Kennedy Meadows road intersection and hitching back to it 2 weeks later?

I'm feeling out a plan and it would be ideal to leave car here then hitch up to Kennedy Meadows with a ride I already know is going up this less travelled road at the time I'll choose to drive up. Then I would hike my hike to Mammoth Lakes. Then hitch the main road back to 395 Kennedy Meadows intersection (which seems quite do-able).

This is ideal.

But nice car is vulnerable and may be ticketed? Maybe there is a trail angel I can leave car with near that intersection but it is 22 miles from the trail so I doubt it.

Ideas are welcomed!!!!!

Jun 8, 2013 at 11:11 am #1994615

Andrew F
Member

@andrew-f
Locale: San Francisco Bay Area

Sorry, don't have any feedback about that specific location. But you might consider parking in Inyokern and getting a ride to the trailhead (which you could arrange in advance), then taking the ESTA bus from Mammoth back to Inyokern at the end. Might save you a lot of hitchhiking.

http://www.estransit.com/CMS/content/395-routes

Jun 8, 2013 at 11:36 am #1994621

Stephen Adams
BPL Member

@stevemkedcom
Locale: Northwest

I just came from there a 2 weeks ago. If you wanted to leave your car at Kennedy meadows I am sure you could leave it at Toms place across the street from the general store. He is a PCT trail angel. If you left it at Lone Pine or Inyokern you probably would not have to much problem hitching. Lots of other PCT hikers around doing it so I think the locals are use to picking them up. Not much traffic going up 9 mile canyon road to Kennedy Meadows but I am sure some one would pick you up. You mite want to look at going in at Horseshoe meadows campground instead of Kennedy meadows. This gets you 42 miles closer to the JMT and the beginning of the high sierras. There is a road that goes directly from Lone Pine to there and it is only a 3 mile and 500 ft elevation gain to the PCT from Horseshoe meadows campground. there is a private shuttle you can take from Lone Pine to Horseshoe meadows campground but I think its about 80 bucks. If you do go from Kennedy Meadows make sure you print out the latest PCT water report. When I was there a couple of weeks ago the usually reliable streams were drying up.

Jun 8, 2013 at 1:34 pm #1994655

Buck Nelson
BPL Member

@colter
Locale: Alaska

when doing a flip when hiking the PCT. Once I paid a local Kennedy Meadows guy $20 to give a friend and I ride down to the road. Then the friend and I hitched north. It was pretty easy.

After hiking back to that point from near Ashland, I hitched a ride down from Kennedy Meadows and then got a reasonably quick hitch north.

Hitching is very fickle, and both times I found that once I hit Reno it was nearly impossible to hitch north from there. Between the Kennedy Meadows intersection and Mammoth was fairly steady progress. A sign (ie HIKER TO MAMMOTH) a backpack, hiking poles and a big smile help a lot. If it were me I'd probably follow the suggestion to park at Tom's Place, and leave him a donation.

Jun 8, 2013 at 1:57 pm #1994664

Peter Bakwin
BPL Member

@pbakwin

Related Q is where to leave a car in Lone Pine for a week or so? Can you leave it at the Inyo FS office? Is it safe? Car will have some additional luggage in it.

Jun 8, 2013 at 2:14 pm #1994665

Jerry Adams
BPL Member

@retiredjerry
Locale: Oregon and Washington

I've asked Forest Service if I could park in their lot for a few days and they said no. That was in Randall Washington, but I suspect that's policy, although it may be different at other places and times.

Jun 8, 2013 at 7:30 pm #1994751

Charles Grier
BPL Member

@rincon
Locale: Desert Southwest

The last I heard, you could park your car in the lot behind the Lone Pine Chamber of Commerce for $20.00. You might want to google the Chamber and ask whether this is still possible. It is a good deal.

Jun 9, 2013 at 7:29 am #1994859

Jeff M.
BPL Member

@catalyst

The Chamber of Commerce was available for parking last summer. I had bad timing though and happened to do my trip when they were scheduled to repave it so I parked for a week on a residential street of the main road a bit. Worked great for me and it was free.

Jun 11, 2013 at 10:53 am #1995606

Christopher *
Spectator

@cfrey-0
Locale: US East Coast

+1 for Horseshoe meadows campground.

In my experience it is not a difficult hitch to Lone Pine from the far end (plus I think there is a bus option), and last year the local outfitter in Lone Pine gave me and a friend a ride up the long switch-backing road from town to the HM campground for 20 bucks. For a straight hitch, traffic on that road is mostly in the early morning and evening as day hikers come and go from the campgrounds trail-heads.
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