[pct-l] Mammoth Shuttles

[paulcaccamo at sbcglobal.net]

>From the Mammoth Ski Resort last year we caught a ride with the bus bringing mountain bikers up from Mammoth Lakes, so you might be covered there.  

Those who wish to avoid both Muir Trail Ranch and V V R, Independence and Mammoth worked out well mile-age wise as resupply locations, so we didn't have to carry so much food weight.  As others have pointed out the hike out Kearsarge is a gorgeous hike in itself,  and at only 2000ft. vertical, the easiest east-side pass to boot.  The hitch down to Independence can be difficult, particularly if you hit it on a weekday morning, but thru hikers always find a way down there.  

Even with the shorter food carries of this strategy, I was carrying more food than my Garcia could hold.  Some hikers were able to get all their food into Bearicades, but not all of us.  We were starving after 700 miles and needed the energy.  We *never* cooked where we slept, and stealth camped (a good idea for thrus and non-thrus alike IMO).  After a day or two it became possible to cram all the food in the cannister.  

I understand the appeal of the KM to Mammoth or KM to VVR in one shot approach. The immersion would be incredible.   I opted out however, as I believed I would be in a race against time with the food situation.  The High Sierra are not something I want to rush.  And when you're walking through the hot woodlands in NorCal you may wish you had spent more time in that incredible stretch.  

We actually slowed down a lot when we finally reached the Sierra, 13-17 mile days with lots of resting time - Bullfrog Lake on the trip up Kearsarge is a fantastic place to while away an entire afternoon - if you allow yourself the time to do it, that is!  Of course, 2007 was perhaps the easiest year snow-pack wise since what, 1977?  Even with all these things in our favor - smaller food carries, low snow  - easier hiking, relaxing days - I lost a lot of weight in this section - and so did all of my hiking partners.  When I ran into a friend in Sierra City - having not seen her since KM, about 500 miles and only a month's time, she almost did not recognize my scrawny ass.    A couple of guys in '06 told me they ran out of food a couple of days before their resupply when attempting to go all the way from KM to VVR or something like that.  They said they smelled like ammonia because of their muscles wasting away from starvation.  All very dramatic sounding and probably not dangerous but something to be considered if you plan on going 200 miles between supplies in this very difficult section.  People can and do make the trip in one shot every year for sure, but I wouldn't want to.   One man's opinion from Bounty Hunter (big time lurker)
   
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