Onion Valley/Independence resupply

The Mt. Williamson Hotel in Independence  will pick you up at the Onion Valley trailhead and take you back to the trailhead if you mail your resupply package there ($75). I think you may have to stay at the hotel for a shower. They do have laundry. Contact them and they may have or know of other options. http://mtwilliamsonmotel.com/resupply/

I believe the Berner’s pack train has a facility there and you can arrange to pick up your resupply from them, dump trash and take a shower there. They are famously difficult to get in touch with.

The Chevron gas station in town has a shower and laundry facility for backpackers. They were providing a towel and soap as part of the shower fee.  Best to confirm all this. The phone number I have for them is 760.878.2618  There is a Subway sandwich and a convenience store as part of the gas station in case you forgot something in your resupply or want to binge on ice cream.  I don’t think the post office is open until about 9:30.

+1 on the Mt. Williamson Hotel.  They’ll even do your laundry for you!

I don’t think that the Mt. Wiliamson shuttles anymore if you don’t actually stay there. There was a dust-up and some enforcement about proper permits for shuttling people. Best to check.

Last year I met the two guys at the pass who claim that the Berner’s screwed up their hike and schedule by showing up a few days late. It was hashed out on the Yahoo JMT site. I have heard from others that the Berner’s are unreliable and difficult, but I don’t know them.

After the heat hit Los Angeles, backpackers found plenty of rides Onion Valley/Horseshoe Mdws summer of 2016.  Last year, I distinctly remember one young woman having a problem with her resupply pkg sent to the Independence post office …she said tracking showed the office had it but the ppersonnel said it wasn’t there.  Not sure whose fault it was (there is a time limit on general delivery, so maybe ..?).

Sidetracking here from the original post question.

I’ve used Berner’s (Sequoia Kings Pack Trains) four times over the years.  Once to hold a resupply at their Onion Valley facility and 3 times to bring in a resupply to the JMT/Charlotte Lake/Kearsarge Pass junction (also known as Sandy Junction). They are hard to contact at times.  There have been people who felt Berner’s really messed up their trip by not delivering their resupplies.  I’ve also heard that people didn’t show up at the agreed time and were upset because the packer didn’t wait.

I can only suggest if you use a packer to be very clear about where and when to connect.  Any number of things can change that can prevent meeting at the agreed upon time.  Injury, weather, trail damage etc.  Also remember that the packers idea of time may be different than yours.  Consider being at the meeting place at least 2 hours ahead of schedule and be willing to wait two hours after.
Also boldly mark your resupply box/bucket with the date and location you expect it on the trail.

They are famously difficult to get in touch with.

classic

Very useful info here, as I am trying to pick up supplies at onion valley.  I sent Berner’s an email a couple weeks ago, no response.  found a website address for them, it is closed.  Guess they don’t really need customers that bad.  I will pursue them anyway, as I would like to hike out here and pick up supplies.

Plenty of people swear by them but I was not willing to bet my hike on them.

my plan is to drop food off there on the way to Yosemite, and pick it up 2 weeks later.  I was hoping that was low risk in terms of someone messing something up.  Hope I am right . . . .

What did you end up doing instead?

I carried 10 days of food from MTR to WP. It’s only a couple of days farther past Kearsarge if you are exiting at the Portal.

Yeah, we hiked the High Sierra trail last year and I am kind of done with Whitney for a bit.  Too many accidents waiting to happen on the trail.  Just does not seem like the way I want to end a 3 week back country experience.  We are hiking out at horseshoe meadow, which is only 5 miles further, unless we decide to summit Langley.

Have not been able to talk my partner into carrying beyond bear can capability, which is at best 7 days.  Could do the last 116 miles in 7 days I suppose, but he is not up for that either.  With all the 12k+ passes in the second half not sure I am up for that either.

I was hoping you had a different recommendation, but thanks for sharing.

YES!

My son and I have sworn to each other than we will never hike the trail between Whitney and the Portal.

I guess that means a resupply at Kearsarge or a horse packer…

Many people take a 7-day canister, and for the few extra days of food on a 10 day trip the options include an Ursack, an odor-proof bag, hanging, and various bear lockers, all bear-safe and legal possibilities. Or rent a 10-day Expedition canister from Wild Ideas. There is also a mule resupply into Bishop Pass, but that would only shave a day or two off your load from MTR, and it is a 3,000 ft climb up from the JMT. All said, I would probably opt for just hoofing it down to Independence for the night. It gives you flexibility on your trip and removes anxiety about a rendez-vous.

Apologies in advance for thread-drift but I got 10.5 days into my BV500 at ~3400 cal/day.

I would like to hear more about this so I sent you a pm.

As far as bear lockers go I did not see any available between MTR and Le Conte canyon or beyond. I am away from maps but was thinking evolution valley is in SNP so ursack is a no go, unless the policy changed very recently. I have not successfully hung food before but that is a viable option. Please correct me if my first two assessments are incorrect.

Thanks, Matt

There a newer map here: http://sierrawild.gov/media/foodstoragemap/Bear-Canister-Required-Area-ver8.pdf

If you do searches on food packing, BV500, Opsacks, hanging food, there are extensive posts on this site covering these topics.

HYOH/YMMV/just my $.02/etc but I camped above treeline many nights on the JMT and didn’t want the weight of an Ursack in addition to my can or the task of finding an appropriate tree so I just used the bearcan exclusively. Note the map recommends their use everywhere.

I could be wrong but I believe you are supposed to hang using the counterbalance method rather than the PCT method and the counterbalance seems like a big PITA although I’ve never actually done it so I could be wrong.

Have a great trip, Matt. I meant to say that in one of our PMs but forgot. It’s a hell of a nice hike. Enjoy!

Thanks Matthew, I appreciate all the guidance provided.   Oh and I loved your response to my commentary on exiting at Whitney.

I am not sure if the regulations have changed for 2017 or not, but it definitely appears that bear canisters are not required outside of designated areas in SEKI.  I hiked there last summer and convinced myself that either approved canisters were required, or hanging food was the next option.  Obviously, if you were fortunate enough to be near a bear box (we generally were) then this was also allowed.  Now it appears you can do what your conscience allows outside of Dusy, Rae Lakes/Kearsarge in the JMT part of SEKI.  Will seriously consider using my ursack if needed to carry the balance of food that does not fit in my bear can.

Thanks for the inputs all!