skipping TM and VVR and just going to Reds and MTR

I'd say your choice is pretty much the "classic" technique for resupply on the JMT. Thousands have successfully done it that way. I wish you a great hike!

That's what I'm planning on doing when I leave in a couple weeks. I'll probably stop at TM and pick up a few different foods, but not a full resupply.

In 1954 I hiked the JMT starting with all of the food I would need for the entire trail. I was 17 days on the trail and started with about 25 pounds of food and 14 pounds of gear. So yes, what you propose can be done. I wouldn't do the JMT that way again though. It is nice to be able to climb out of Yosemite with a light pack so a quick resupply at TM is worth the hour it would take, at least to me. I would sooner skip the Red's Meadow resupply than the one at TM.

I'm leaving in three days to hike the JMT again and will resupply at TM just to keep extra weight out of my pack for the 4000' climb out of YV. I don't plan to stop at VVR at all. A trip into VVR will take a day and will save you only 1-2 days worth of food hauling. From what I understand, the trip into VVR is more a social excursion than a needed resupply stop.

I hiked the JMT in 2008 and re supplied at TM, RM, and MTR. It worked well for me. I have the same plans for this years trip.

doing this on a budget… what would it cost to ship a weeks worth of food to TM to get me MTR?
thank you so much for the replies. very helpful.

It cost me about $15 to ship three+ days food from SE Arizona to TM using Priority Mail. The package weighed around six pounds IIRC. You can get a shipping cost estimate on the USPS website. You need the weight of the package, a reasonable guess as to the package dimensions (w, l, h) your zip code and the zip code of the destination.

Red's Meadow charges you $35 to pick up your resupply package in Mammoth Lakes and carry it to RM and hold it for you. This is on top of the USPS shipping cost. Same thing at MTR but they charge $65 for handling your package and, you have to buy a plastic five gallon paint bucket and lid to ship it in. No charges of this nature at TM General Delivery.

Look on line at USPS.com — Large Flat Rate Priority Mail Shipping Box. Pick up the box at your local post office, cram as much as you can into the box (weight is irrelevant for your purposes), then purchase the postage on line (save a few $$$). It should be about $15 from anywhere in the USA.

Two thoughts – one is that TM is the only place to resupply that does not charge you to hold your package – it's a post office. Second is that if you are not picky you can resupply at the TM store. Selection is limited but it can be done – just a thought.
That said, when I did the JMT in 1993 I resupplied only at Mammoth Lakes (left food in vehicle, you could get away with that back then). We started with 7 days food from Tuolumne, then picked up 13 days food at Mammoth. Heavy load going over Duck Pass. Had a great time nonetheless, and so will you, however you resupply.

"Has anybody done this?"

Any combination of re-supplies is possible. But without knowing how many days you are taking for each section, and your weight per day for food, all answers have to generalized.

More details will render better responses.

Since we are so obsessive on here someone needs to create a chart/spreadsheet converting extra weight carried per day, elevation gain/lows, age, and fitness factor to a dollar value. I assume the curve is a nonlinear one, possibly exponential or a power law. Then people could directly calculate what the optimal resupply strategy. (satirical smiley)

But seriously, even without a complicated equation, I think resupplying at TM would have a pretty good payoff per dollar ratio. Things to consider – the large saved weight over the initial stretch to TM, the elevation gain of course, and the fact that you are (probably) just starting and getting adjusted to the elevation. You feet might even like a few days to get toughened up. Also, the trail virtually goes thought the post office, and who are we kidding, are you going to be able to skip the burger along the way regardless?

Good point Mark.

Assuming he can handle the weight, regardless of his speed, from MTR to Whitney Portal, he can certainly make it from Red's to MTR, whether or not he re-supplies at TM.

And if you get to TM too late for the post office, you can stay overnight in the Backpackers' Campsite in the campground right behind the store/PO.

That's a long, often exposed climb out of Happy Isles. You'll be glad you're picking up the bulk of your food at TM. The TM store stocks freeze-dried meals and re-supplying there would not be hard, assuming the inventory levels are up. You MUST have a burger or two and a shake at the little cafe.

You also have to almost walk past the Reds Meadow store and the FABULOUS cafe. Well worth the stop.

Skipping VVR and resupplying at MTR lets you climb Bear Ridge with a very light pack. There is a short, steep downhill side trail from the PCT to MTR, and a very gently graded 1.2 mile trail due south to rejoin the PCT near the river.

Next stop – Onion Valey CG, Horseshoe Meadow CG, or for the masochists among us, Kennedy Meadows. Serious, the trip over Kearsarge Pass is terrific and worth the yo-yo. The view is lovely.

I just did the Yosemite Valley hike to RM without resupply at TM. It worked fine, but looking back, I'd should of resupplied at TM. Why, because it's right on the trail, easy to get to, and I could of saved 2-3 pounds of weight. The only disadvantage is it closes at 5, and reopens at 9am.

I'll be continuing the hike and will be missing VR and going to straight to MTR. MTR is only 20 miles down the trail. I'd lose a day if I went to VR, and I'm tight on free time, so I don't really see an advantage with going to VVR.

I'm lucky this summer as I have all the time off, and a 47 day permit. So I'm actually LOOKING for things to delay me that might be interesting and varied. I'm taking zeros at all the main stops, for example. I figured I would try to do it in twice the time I would normally take (40 or so days), but I am actually finding it tricky to do so since I only want to do one resupply between MTR and WP. Still, I will probably take 35 or so hiking days, and I really will be in a situation where I will have about half of each day to fish, navel gaze, bag walk-up peaks and swim. I will probably never get a chance to do it that way again.

If you really want to skip TM, and want to skip the crowds altogether then you might consider the alternate route/short cut through Vogelsang past Evelyn lake direct to the middle of Lyell valley. If you go that way you can miss out on most of the day hikers, and see something different.

But burgers may call.

"Next stop – Onion Valey CG"

I was just at Onion Valley a few days ago. I saw two Japanese backpackers come down from Kearsarge Pass, spend an hour rifling through their food box in one of the lockers, spend another hour sitting around, and then they headed back over Kearsarge Pass again.

–B.G.–