[pct-l] No resupply in Lone Pine?

[Timothy Potter]

It appears that you can no longer exit the PCT through Whitney Portal to get to Lone Pine (http://www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/permits/ <http://www.pcta.org/discover-the-trail/permits/> see Whitney section). I checked the Inyo site, but it is fairly confusing. It looks like you can get a permit to pass through the portal (without going through the lottery) but only if you don't go up Whitney. If you want to go up, then you have to try the lottery. But, if you are doing the PCT and want to go up Whitney, you can do that without a permit, you just cannot exit through the portal to Lone Pine. Also, it would appear that the Inyo permits are all for specific dates and when doing the PCT, who knows when you will actually be there?

So, if I am reading this correctly, removing Lone Pine from the options appears to make it a very long haul from Kennedy to Muir Trail Ranch (174mi & 29,178ft elevation gain). Even longer if you want to make the side trip up Whitney. The only other option for resupply looks to be Independence but it is the difference between a 24mi off trail hike to Independence vs. a 66mi hike on to Muir Trail Ranch. Any thoughts on what is best to do on this section? Is the best option to just suck it up and carry a huge bag of food and go all the way to Muir Trail Ranch? Or, are there any better options?