Where does one get JMT permit if starting at Red Meadows on the JMT?

[Roleigh Martin]

We're planning a 3 person partial – JMT hike for late July 2008 starting at Red Meadows on the JMT and going all the way down to Whitney Portal. Where does one apply for the permit and where does one physically show up to get the permit, or is it available by mail? If it has to be in person some distance away (like Toulumne Meadows), can it be gotten the afternoon the day before?

Where do people advise parking the car for such a hike (at Whitney Portal or near Red Meadows)?

PS — how difficult is it to purchase a ride from the other end of where one parks to where one needs to get (after or before the trail depending on the answer to the above question)? I believe there is a bus from Bishop to Mammoth Lake but how does one get from Lone Pine to Bishop?

PPS – how does one get to the Trailhead from Mammoth Lake to Red Meadows?

Thanks!

[Bob Bankhead]

I'd leave the car in Lone Pine, at the end of your trip when you'll be tired and happy to be done with any hassles. It is also possible to leave your car in Mammoth Lakes; we did. It's really up to you, but either way you'll have to take the Reds Mdw shuttle down from Mammoth Mtn Inn. They close the road to private vehicles at 7 am every day. Once you see the road, you'll understand why.

Lone Pine to Bishop – via INYO local bus 3 x daily M-F: http://www.countyofinyo.org/transit/bishop_lonepine.htm

Bishop to Mammoth Lakes: – via INYO bus 2 x per day M-F:
http://www.inyocounty.us/transit/Bishop%20to%20Mammoth%20Commuter%20page.htm

Mammoth Lakes to Red's Meadow: take the free Mammoth Lakes shuttle bus from Mcdonald's to the Mammoth Mountain Inn. From there, take the Reds Mdw shuttle ($14) down to any of several stops from Agnew Mdws Road down to the resort/pack station itself. You can pick up the JMT at almost any of the many stops.

[Rick Dreher]

Hi Roleigh,

I can at least get you started. Permits are available at Lee Vining and Mammoth Lakes, as well as Bishop and Lone Pine:

http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/inyo/recreation/wild/howto.shtml

You can reserve them ahead of time, but my experience has been that you have to pick them up, they won't mail them out beforehand. Pickup the day before shouldn't be a problem.

There's a Reds Meadow shuttle:

http://www.mammothmountain.com/around_mammoth/natural_wonders/reds/

I don't know about getting from Whitney Portal north, although I'll guess that there's something running that way in summer. YARTS goes as far south as Mammoth:

http://www.yarts.com/maps/2006/Stops.pdf

Whitney Portal parking is notorious for car-nibbling marmots, at least early in the season :-)

[Roleigh Martin]

Great feedback. Thanks to both of you. Couple of questions. If one left the car at Mammoth Lake, are the marmots less of a problem there? What is the best car defense against a marmot for parking 16 days between July 28-August 16 at either place?

[Bob Bankhead]

At Mammoth Lake, you'll be leaving your car in town, or at Mammoth Mountain Resort's parking lot. Ain't no stinkin' marmots there, baby! Do the same in the town of Lone Pine. Supposedly, it's an easy hitch back to Lone Pine from Whitney Portal.

You might want to order the 2007 edition of The John Muir Trail by Elizabeth Wenks & Kathy Morey, published by wilderness Press. Order from amazon.com for $12.21

[Roleigh Martin]

Bob, I got the book you recommended. I did not see it clearly where I got the permit (physical pickup) if I started at Reds Meadows though so I had to ask the above questions. Is the big problem with Marmots eating fan or radiator belts or what?

PS, where do you advise parking in Lone Pine?

[Richard Gless]

I've never had any problems personally, but I gather the marmots like anything they can chew on e.g., brake and transmission lines, etc.

At Mineral King they apparently are a real problem. I saw more than one car with blue camping tarps over the bottom of the car. Put the tarp on the ground, drive the car up over it, and tie the edges up so nothing can get to the underside of the car.

[Chris Morgan]

Thread resurrection!

Are marmot tarps necessary for most of the eastern SEKI trailheads?

[Bob Gross]

Marmot trap?

I've never heard of them being used on the eastern SEKI trailheads, although I would not be shocked to hear of marmot attack there. The western SEKI trailheads are the only places where it is a known problem. Mineral King, Wolverton, and Road's End are the three areas where marmot guards are possibly necessary, and Mineral King is the only place that I've heard of them being used routinely. In fact, I believe there is a small seasonal store that will rent you chicken wire so that you can protect the underbelly of your vehicle. The rental fee turns out to be about the same as what it would have cost to purchase new chicken wire back home.

I've parked overnight at Whitney Portal about 35 times now, and my vehicle has never been attacked there.

Marmots sometimes get out into open country. However, they tend to live around large talus fields. If you park far away from the talus fields, that will probably do a lot.

–B.G.–

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