[pct-l] alternate trails for the pct in Giant Sequia and Yosemite

[Alistair and Gail Des Moulins]

Roni

When we hiked the PCT in 2003 we left the PCT at Vidette Meadow after 
Forester Pass and hiked the 14 miles west down the Bubbs Creek Trail to 
Roads End in Kings Canyon NP.
It is near the NE corner of the map at 
http://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/upload/parkRoads.pdf . From here it 
would seem you could hitch to some of the big tree groves in Sequoia NP.
It's a very pleasant hike but does descend from 9600' down to 5000' 
elevation at Road's End.
>From Road's End I hitched to Cedar Grove to resupply. There was not much 
selection there and it was expensive but I got enough to get us to VVR. At 
Road's End there was a ranger manning the trailhead and he was quite happy 
when I said I was a PCT thruhiker going to get more food so probably no 
additional permit would be necessary. For more details of that day ( 6th 
June 2003 ) from my journal see
http://www.pcthiker.com/cgi-bin/hikers/webdata_pctjournals.pl?fid=1074974798&query=pagenum%3D13%26cgifunction%3DSearch%26owner%3DAlistair&cgifunction=form
It's possible that other "villages" in KingsCanyon/Sequoia NP are better for 
resupply.

Alistair

> Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2007 04:39:10 -0800 (PST)
> From: roni h <roni_h3000 at yahoo.com>
> Subject: [pct-l] alternate trails for the pct in Giant Sequia and
> Yosemite
> To: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Message-ID: <906044.89213.qm at web53106.mail.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
>
> Hi evryone.
>
>  When I hiked the pct in 2003 I, like most other thruhikers, never left 
> the pct, and never saw the famous giant sequia trees and the lower 
> Yosemite Valley, even though we hiked so close to them.
>
>  I'm hoping that there is some way of seeing those places this year, when 
> I hike the pct again.
>  Can anyone think of some side trail (which will "cost" me a day or two at 
> most) or an alternate for the PCT in the sierras that would enable me to 
> see those places?  Possible some route that will take me by somewhere to 
> resupply (I buy as I go and don't do mail drops).
>  I'm especialy wondering about the permits. I know the rangers in Yosemite 
> are probebly the most strict in the country, and I will have to get any 
> hiking permits (aside from the pct permit) as I go, possibly by phone from 
> Kennedy medows.  I don't carry a bear box, so if I need one, I will have 
> to get it as I go.
>  Any suggestion of how to solve these problems?
>
>  Thanks
>  Roni (in Israel)
>
>