Proper Resupply is Critical to Long Distance High Sierra Backpackers

Hiking between Lake Tahoe and Mount Whitney

Between Meeks Bay at South Lake Tahoe to the Mount Whitney Portal there are 7 resupply spots you can send yourself a Resupply Package

South Lake Tahoe Resources and Transportation

Echo Lake Chalet (Forum)

Lake Alpine Lodge and Bear Valley (Forum)

Kennedy Meadows Pack Station (Forum)

Tuolumne Meadows (Forum)

Red's Meadow and Mammoth Lakes (Forum)

Vermilion Valley Resort (Forum)

VVR Site

Muir Ranch

Muir Site

NOTE: Muir closes Sept 18!

In addition, our trail is bisected twice by highways where there are no services. Highway 50 passes through Echo Summit and Highway 88 crosses the Carson Pass.

Though neither of these locations offer resupply delivery or services, highway access makes it possible for friends to hand-off supplies, or desperate backpackers to easily catch a ride from either of these locations down to South Lake Tahoe.

I have found that many Pacific Crest Trail hikers plan to take a couple of days off in South Lake Tahoe to rest and resupply. I hope this page on South Lake Tahoe Resources and Transportation is helpful.

Backpacker's Resupply Forum

Resupply Forum

Resupply Forum

Echo Lake Chalet

Food Issues Forum

Backpacking Planning

Determining your daily calorie needs

Snack time!

Packing food for Backpacking

The Beginnings: Lake Tahoe Sunset, Southbound above Echo Lake, 2009

Many Possible Beginnings

South Lake Tahoe is fairly close to the beginning of the trail at either the Meeks Bay, the Echo Summit, or the South Upper Truckee Road trail heads. Though I describe these three trailheads, there are many more around the Lake you can begin your trip from.

In fact, the guide down to Mount Whitney from Lake Tahoe is broken down into sections of trail between Resupply Points. You can craft custom backpacking trips of varying distances by starting your hike to Yosemite, or on to Mount Whitney, from any number of trailheads up and down the main trails.

At South Lake Tahoe full backpacker resupply, repair, and recovery resources are available. This may be helpful for Northbound hikers along the PCT who find it necessary to replace their boots, repair gear, or just want a night or two off in a bed.

The proximity of each of your different Lake Tahoe trailheads to local resources differs.

One End Point

All the trails on this guide are targeted on one end point: The Whitney Portal.

Just past the Whitney Portal, Doug's Mount Whitney Portal Burgers offer hungry backpackers a delicious repast. The hand-cut fries are especially good. Doug, his Son, staff, and friends are all great people.

A Doug's Whitney Portal Burger and Fries finishes the trip properly

Off the mountain in Lone Pine, which sits in the Eastern shadow of Mount Whitney, tired backpackers will find restaurants, stores, and even a backpacker's hostel (Established by Doug-I'll work up better information soon) where they can find a cheap place to crash.

Resupply Thoughts and Suggestions

BE NICE

Resupply Staff

The people who staff your resupply points work hard, most for little pay, to provide us with good food, a store, showers, and many other resupply services balanced right on the edge of the High Sierra Wilderness.

Most who live and work in the mountains do so for the same reasons you and I are drawn to the High Sierra Wilderness; to experience the grand terrain, the fierce weather, the stunning sunrises and sunsets, and the sturdy web of life within it.

To live in the mountains these people must make money. This requires that many of them haul food and supplies great distances, or pay premiums for someone else to do it. Half of them have set up, run, and maintain their facilities far from the grid.

I have no sympathy for the big corporation that runs Yosemite concessions, nor the yuppie jerks that overflow out of South Lake Tahoe and Mammoth Lakes, but these fools do not justify being rude to the kids who work in the Tuolumne Meadows Store, the Cafe, and the Post Office.

There are kids working for the lousy pay and long hours at our Resupply Points up and down the Sierra Nevada. They are working these jobs serving our needs in exchange for their own access to the High Country. Remember these things when you are getting ready to complain about the high prices in the mountains, brag about what a badass hiker you are, or give the locals a hard time.  Be Nice.

Trail Culture

If you are really broke, cheap, or in a big hurry you can grab your resupply and stay on the trail. But you may be doing yourself and the resupply people a great disservice. Trail culture is a significant part of the trail experience, (If you like it or not) and each resupply point has its own particular character and culture. I treasure them all.

But first and foremost, I consider it a pleasure to help these people make money, and maintain their operations for all of our benefit. I have heard far too many complaints over the years not to believe that there are those who differ.

Mountain Prices

In the case of the very high prices at the Reds Meadow Cafe and the Lake Alpine Lodge Restaurant, I can only say that other options are available. Bear Valley has a nice cheap (for the mountains) deli. At Red's you can catch the shuttle into Mammoth Lakes, and have a choice from a wider price range of foods. But food and services are justifiably more expensive at the mountain resupply points. And the Lake Alpine Lodge accepts and holds our resupply packages for free and treats all of us dirty backpackers really well, so I always make a point of spending some time and money there. The Lake Alpine Lodge has a great staff.

Broke Backpackers, Backpacker Boxes, and Labor

If you really are broke, you still have options. At Kennedy Meadows Pack Station, Tuolumne Meadows, Vermilion Valley, and Muir Ranch there are generally substantial "hiker boxes," containing free supplies of leftover backpacking food left by earlier hikers. If you screwed-up your resupply, or if you are too broke to buy all of what you need, always ask the staff if they have a hiker box. Many resupply points have a need for labor. If you are really broke, ask if they need some kitchen help ...Vermilion Valley almost always has something to be done in exchange for a hearty meal.

But be forewarned that Lake Alpine does not have a hiker box. But it won't hurt to ask Kim, who manages the Lake Alpine Lodge, if there are any unclaimed, refused, or abandoned resupply packages.

The Excellent Ladies at Muir Ranch (one of which is the delightful Pat Gray) had sorted out their free backpacker food into types, and displayed it on benches under a sun tarp for backpackers who wanted to fill out their resupply to choose from! They set up a virtual backcountry store for free backpacker food. What delightful Ladies.

At Tuolumne Meadows talk to the Postmaster (Teech!) about the hiker box. He will do his best to take care of hurting hikers. These hiker box supplies may be a bit short early in the season, but will build up as the season progresses. The hiker boxes are generally made up of the contents of unclaimed hiker resupply boxes, and the extra food contributed by hikers who over-resupplied themselves.

Help the Helpers

If you sent yourself a resupply package that you cannot pickup, call the resuppy point and tell them to contribute it to their hiker box, use it to start a hiker box, or distribute it to passing backpackers who are short on food or funds.

Vermillion Valley has a long standing tradition of trading a huge meal and a bit of beer for anyone who works as their dinnertime dishwasher. It's hard work, but they have a great staff, and it's as fun as you make it. Work can be traded for food at Vermilion, especially if they are shorthanded. Vermilion is a kind of backpacker disneyland, where hikers from all over California, the US, and the world meet, rest, and party.

Kennedy Meadows Pack Station (Highway 108, fourteen miles West of Sonora Pass) has the best food for the best prices between Lake Tahoe and Mount Whitney. Though Kennedy Meadows is very backpacker friendly, its focus is providing cowboy and hunter resort services. Kennedy Meadows is a Cowboy-Rancher-Farmer disneyland, where the fine folk from California's Sacramento Valley come up to get out of the valley's heat, ride the mountains, fish, and later in the year, go hunting.

Deep Characters

As you can see, each resupply point has its own culture and character, which reflects the particular nature of its location, its clientele, and its history. Part of your hike down the trail will involve encountering the various perspectives different people bring to the Sierras. I find that I enjoy the company of about anyone who enjoys the wilderness, even if they enjoy it differently than I.

I enjoy encountering horse packers, Mule packers, Lama-packers, and I've even ran into some goat packers, (who really cracked me up) on the trails. Across the spectrum of resupply points between Lake Tahoe and Mount Whitney you will run into every type of Mountain Culture, and every possible approach to the High Sierras. You will encounter backpackers, cowboys, hunters, fishermen, trail crew workers, all the various animal packers, rangers, and the country folk who work at the re supply points. I suggest that you find out as much as possible about how they all approach the Sierras, their favorite places, and their mountain stories.

Hell, I've even met bunches of nice car campers at Tuolumne Meadows and Lake Alpine. In any case, trail culture is an enjoyable aspect of backpacking down the trail as well as when you hike into a resupply point.

Cowboy Country

Some places are cowboy, as is Kennedy Meadows Pack Station. As I have long hair and live in Berkeley, the Kennedy Meadows Cowboys tend to discount me a tad. Until we get to know each other over a few beers at the Kennedy Meadows Bar, or a few miles on the trail, and they realize that I love the mountains as much as they, but I just do it from ground-level, rather than from the back of a horse.

"I don't need no god-damned mule. I am my own damn mule," always gets them laughing, until they realize that I am not kidding, and more stubborn than any damn mule...

Country Elite

Other places are more upscale, like the Lake Alpine Lodge (and more expensive-check out their bar menu for cheaper food, or hitch 3 miles West to the Bear Valley Store Deli!), while Tuolumne Meadows is a major crossroad of the backpacking and climbing worlds, not to mention a destination of global outdoor tourists and car campers of every conceivable character.

The American Cultural Elite

Muir Ranch is on the other side of the wilderness business spectrum, specializing in providing solitude to the highest levels of the American Urban Elite. Muir Ranch has only recently has begun to demonstrate more enjoyment with, rather than toleration of, backpackers. Muir Ranch has even begun offering backpackers the opportunity to fill vacancies in their accommodations when available. And I must say, dealing with Pat is always a real pleasure, even before Muir became "Officially" backpacker friendly.

I like Pat. You will meet the nicest people at the resupply points.

In any case, to fully enrich your backpacking experience you should drink as deeply as possible from the human, as well as the natural character of the terrain your travel through.

I suggest you enjoy every aspect of your trip, from the beauty of crystal blue lakes suspended in a high granite valley, to the simple pleasures of just hanging out with other backpackers and the resupply crew, after they get off work.

If you possibly can, give yourself enough Time, Money and Supplies, and therefore time on the trail, to soak it all in.

I suggest you dedicate a minimum of 40 days, and a maximum of 50 days, to walk between Lake Tahoe and Mount Whitney, so you can cover the distance without missing too much.  I've walked the complete distance four times, and I've barley scratched the surface.

That's why the forum is vital: Add your experiences.

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Backpacking Preparation / Resupply