JMT resupply at Vermilion Valley Resort

[David Hicks]

• Does anyone know what the price and selection of backpacking food at VVR? I went to ship my 2.5-gal bucket at UPS today, and the shipping cost was $41! That fee, plus $20 to pick it up at VVR, made me wonder what if I could buy the food I needed for 5 days at the VVR camp store for $61. Anyone have any insight?

[Anthony F]

I don’t remember them having a big selection of anything.  I was on the JMT June 26-July 15 2016.  We were crossing paths with a PCT bubble heading North.  I would ship food to ensure that you get what you want.  They have to drive into town to pickup packages and most of that route is a on a poorly maintained dirt road.  They go into town 1 day a week to pickup food for their Resturant and hiker packages and supplies.  The owner went out of her way to get us canister fuel.  Staff was friendly and the boat ride was an awesome way to see the lake.

 

Just my 2 cents.

TF

[terry a thompson]

I was just there on the 20th of August, doing a thru-hike of the JMT. They had some things in the store at the same prices as you could get them at REI, but not a large selection. But the hiker box had enough food in it to outfit a ton of people.

[John Rowan]

I’d be a bit hesitant to do a full 5 days there. (Been there twice- JMT and PCT hikes).The prices aren’t bad for the location and the selection can be okay, but they can definitely get cleaned out of certain things. It’s certainly doable but it wouldn’t be my first choice to try and buy that much food there. One other possibility for you that could be cheaper (if you’ve got the time) is to duck into Mammoth via Red’s Meadow and resupply there for the bulk of it, then top off at VVR. It’s an easy bus ride into town and its a worthwhile stop along the trail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jennifer Mitol]

The other thing to think about is once you supply at VVR you have a really, really big hill to walk up. This is one of the reasons people wait and resupply at MTR – that way you get that climb out of your way before loading up on a weeks’ worth of food.

Of course, MTR is really not a nice place. I did the JMT twice (’13 and ’14) and both times it was just a rather unpleasant experience: get your bucket, pack your pack as fast as you can and get the heck out of there.

VVR was a nice place to chill for a half day or so. Their restaurant is amazing, even if the supply in the store is average.

So the round-about way to your question: you certainly could resupply there, but you do run the risk of not having what you need/want. If I were to do it again I’d nero/zero at VVR (if that’s what you’re looking for) then just swing by and pick up my big fat expensive bucket at MTR.

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