Nine months thinking, dreaming, and planning is about to become reality.

The permit was an adventure in itself. Both applying for it, and physically obtaining it.

Tomorrow morning we fly out of SeaTac for Reno, where we get our Enterprise rent a car (I reserved months ago and called and recently, supposed to have lots of cars!), and then drive to Mammoth, CA for the night. Staying at the Cinnabear Inn to get a night at 8,000’. I booked it for the name.

2 packs with carryon acceptable items, and 2 checked bags with 2 full bear cans, resupply food, hiking poles, sit pads, and things we don’t want confiscated. The suit cases will find a new home somewhere.

Sunday is a little more relaxed. We need to drop our food and fuel resupply at Pine Creek Station outside of Bishop. Our resupply will be delivered (we hope!) by mule. Actually a “wrangler” rides a horse and leads the pack mules who carry the supplies. After that we drop down into Bishop to relax, eat, return the rental car and wait for our ride to the trailhead by the one and only, Line Pine Kurt. LPK is a retired airline pilot who likes to yard around hikers. Good thing because there aren’t any Uber’s in the eastern Sierra. LPK, as I’ve nickname him, will pick us up at 4:30 pm and drop us at our trailhead at Horseshoe Meadow (10,000’). We stay the night at the campground and start our hike Monday morning.

About 2 weeks after starting our hike we will be at Vermilion Valley Resort (VVR). Jean will sadly need to exit stage left, and I’ll continue to Yosemite to meet up with Yogi and BooBoo. Yes, they transferred from Jellystone to escape Wyoming winters for the California dreamin’ lifestyle 🙂

This image popped up in a FB group. Gulp!
Someone made an awesome map in CalTopo. The entire 240 miles plus access trails and side trails.
The first week. We travel the red line and blue line to Whitney. Resupply is just after where the purple line starts. But we don’t walk the purple.
And yet another view of the route. This from my Gaia route. Each color is roughly a days hiking, except at the start where we do orange and blue, and the long blue line is about 6 days for me solo at the end.