Resupply at Kearsarge

[Keith Fultz]

I am trying to help some folks from Denmark who are attempting a NOBO of JMT is late August.   Does any one know the cost of horsepacking in resupply at Kearsarge?      Thanks

 

[Matthew / BPL]

I believe I got a quote for $360 last year from Danica at Sequoia King Pack Train last year. I think she has a monopoly in that area. She’s notoriously difficult to get in touch with. It took her literally six weeks to return my first phone call and then she never responded to my second call and did not mail or email the information she promised to send me. She told me she wasn’t sure if she could email me because her computer needed to be fixed and that it would take her a week or two to get some stamps and mail me the information she thought I needed. It was an extremely frustrating and I had no confidence she would show up on time.

Many people swear by her reliability on the trail but I was unwilling to take that bet.

Kearsarge is only two days from Whitney Portal if you are going SOBO. I just carried a little more food from MTR and made it work. I also didn’t like the idea of having to be at a specific location on a specific day. Weather and other variables lead one to plan a zero day so that you can be sure you are going to be able to meet the pack train… At that point you are carrying one extra day of food already… Why not just carry two days of food and have enough to get to the Portal on your own schedule and not have to rely on this person that can’t return phone calls or get her email to work?

[Valerie E]

I’m amazed that Matthew got such a reasonable price quote for a packer-resupply ($360) — the quote I got was over $600 for 20 pounds of stuff (!).  I figured that the mules were like the 1990’s supermodels (who, famously, wouldn’t get out of bed for less than $10,000/day)…

Another option for the OP would be to walk out over Kearsarge Pass to Onion Valley, and hitch a ride to Independence to pick up a resupply there (post office, or one of the motels).

Unfortunately, Strider from the Mt. Williamson Motel is no longer permitted to resupply hikers at Kearsarge or Onion Valley, as she did in the past.  She applied for a permit to continue the practice, but was refused, as the Packers have an official monopoly.  (No exception was made, despite that fact that Strider donated all the resupply funds to the Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Foundation…).

[Kenneth Keating]

I had the same issues with Sequoia King Pack Train as Matt had.

It’s 44 miles from the Kearsarge Pass trail junction to Whitney Portal.  Another option is to hike out to Onion Valley and stay at the Mt. Williamson Hotel.  As part of the hotel stay they’ll received your resupply package and pick you up at the Onion Valley Campground.

Sad to hear Strider can no longer provide resupplies.

[Author]

Posts