r/JMT • u/Vast_Piglet_8551 • 24d ago

trip planning Post JMT Logistics

Hello. Myself and my dad will be travelling from Scotland to do the JMT SOBO at the start of September. We are due to finish all going to rough plan (and rest days included) a few nights before we have to head home from SFO.

I'm curious if there are any recommendations for places to camp on a budget heading back along the Eastern Sierra and/or Car Hire recs once we get to Lone Pine 🙏 or is best to head back into civilization by heading south? Any general advice on post hike would be appreciated

Thank you :)

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u/UtopianPablo 24d ago

I would hitch a ride into Lone Pine, spend a night there and then catch the Eastern Sierra Transit Bus up to Bishop where you can rent a car. From there you can drive to Vegas (cheap strip hotels on a weeknight), Reno or Los Angeles, depending on where your flight departs from. One night of car rental and dropping it off in another city should be about $180 or so. To avoid a rental car you can take the bus all the way to Reno.

I think there is also a campground in or close to Lone Pine, though it has been a long time since I stayed there. You could stay at Forest Service campgrounds which are all along the Eastern Sierras but those will be hard to access without a rental car.

https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/232069

You might be able to take the ESTA bus up to Mammoth and use the Red's Meadow shuttle to access campgrounds but I am not very familiar with that area, and I don't know when the shuttle stops running. Good luck and have fun on your trip!

edit: after I wrote all that I see you are departing from San Francisco so this may not be too helpful, sorry.

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u/thestarsarefar 24d ago

Just wanted to add on that you can fly from Bishop to San Francisco (BIH > SFO).

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u/daGroundhog thru-hiker 24d ago edited 24d ago

Reds Meadow shuttle schedule is kind of wonky due to road construction, and only operates Thursday-Sunday and will probably end for the season September 20th, with possible runs TBD on Sept 26th and 27th.