Hey all, I'm planning a JMT thru-hike in a few weeks and I'm trying to get a handle on logistics. I'm thinking about driving from CO to Whitney Portal, leaving my car there, and then either taking the bus and/or hitching up to Yosemite. Is it reasonable to assume I can leave my car at the Whitney Portal trailhead for 17 or so days? Is there a better option (maybe parking it somewhere in Lone Pine and then hitching into town at the end of my trip)? This may have been covered elsewhere but I tried a search and came up empty. Thanks!

Mike

i've left my car in lone pine and at whitney portal and used this service a couple times to get me up north and south of whitney, http://www.mtwhitneyshuttle.com/
the guy who runs it, bob,is a pretty nice guy and the prices were reasonable. if you leave your car in lone pine you won't have a problem hitching down to it from whitney portal when you finish. a lot of people do it. good luck.

We had a different situation than you last year. We left a car at Portal and then got a ride from a relative to the valley. When we finished the car was there and we got out nice and quick. I do not know where to park in Lone Pine, however, if there is a place you feel safe, it would be easy to leave the car, as noted in the post above, and take the Yarts into the valley and just hitch to Lone Pine when you get back.

The shuttle service from Portal to Lone Pine would be nice because you would have a place to leave your car in Lone Pine.

If it were me and I had time, I would drive up to Portal, leave the car, get a ride down the hill and then take the bus to the valley. When you get off the trail it is nice to have your car right there to get out.

Mike, I was able to leave my car at the Whitney Portal for 16 days...I had no problems other then a lot of sap from Pine trees fell on my truck..Rangers told that it is not problem to leave them there at all....Good luck on the JMT and get a car cover.......

Edited by Creachen on 08/12/2010 11:30:03 MDT.

At least a couple of years ago, you could park your car in the lot behind the Lone Pine Chamber of Commerce for $20. They assured me my car would be safe and not towed.

But, I finally decided to just park my car along the road downhill from the Whitney Portal Store. There is a shoulder where a lot of cars park and I left mine there for nearly three weeks. When I got back it was covered with dust and pine needles but otherwise OK.

I hired a driver from Whitney Portal to Yosemite. The bus schedule then required an overnight stay in Mammoth to get to Yosemite via YARTS