Thanks for the clarification Bob, I edited the trip report and pictures accordingly. The video is a lot harder to edit so I am going to live with it.
Good choice for the profile pic Andrew.
Elle – The logistics were a big pain in the @ss. I live in Boston and was out in CA for a conference in Lake Tahoe. I worked out the logistics as follows.
Getting to Visalia – I Rented a car in Lake Tahoe which I dropped off in Visalia.You can also get to Visalia via Train. The last part of the journey is actually on a bus but the entire trip can be booked thru Amtrak. The train is pretty affordable, unfortunately the timing did not work for my tight schedule.
From Visalia to Sequoia National Park – This was the most expensive part of the trip for me, but could be the cheapest for you. I ended up having to take a cab which picked me up at the Enterprise Car Rental in town and dropped me off at Lodgepole Visitor Center. I got them to agree to a flat rate of $150 ahead of time (ouch). The good news is that if you are going between May 21st and September 1st you can take the Sequoia Shuttle from Visalia (https://www.sequoiashuttle.com/). There site is in off-season mode right now but I believe the price was under $15.
Whitney Portal to Civilization – I had a pretty tight schedule coming off the trail so I got a ride from East Sierra Shuttle (http://eastsidesierrashuttle.com/) which does trailhead pick-ups. It cost me $85 to get from Whitney Portal to Independence. It costs a little less to get to Lone Pine. If I had to do it again I probably would have hitchhiked from the Portal into town. There are a lot of day or overnight hikers coming up Whitney from the East and it should be really easy to get a ride into town (every car leaving the Portal needs to pass through Lone Pine). The per-person cost is a lot less if you are not going solo (I think it was something like $20 for each additional person).
Back to the Reno Airport – You can get a bus from Lone Pine (or in my case Independence) through Eastern Sierra Transit (http://www.estransit.com/CMS/content/395-routes). It is a long but affordable ride from Lone Pine to the Reno Airport. They also go south as far as Lancaster. The one caveat is that you need to plan ahead as the buses only go each direction on certain days.
If your in Northern CA the best way to do it would be to via the train. Train/Bus from San Fran to Visalia = $43. Sequoia Shuttle to the Trailhead = $15. Hitchhike to Lone Pine = Free. Bus from Lone Pine to Reno = $59. Train from Reno to San Fran is $61.
