Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Getting back to L.A. from portal

I am thru-hiking the JMT, ending up at the portal on Aug. 10. I am looking for tips on getting back to the Los Angeles/San Fernando Valley area, or at least to Lancaster. I am a lone hiker, so no ax murders please. Aug 10 is a Saturday so the Lone-Pine to Ridgecrest is not an option. Firstly, does anyone think hitching a ride from the portal to Lone Pine is doable in the early afternoon? Secondly, once in Lone Pine am I destined to retire there? I have been searching for public transportation options, but they all go WAY out of the way.

If I try and hitch a ride from Lone Pine, there is a chance Pamela Anderson would pick me up. I guess I would just settle for a non-ax murderer....
Any help is greatly appreciated.

- Richard
bodybld@hotmail.com

" there is a chance Pamela Anderson would pick me up"

yes that chance is there but greater chance is that police might pick you up, thinking you are a transient. I don't think you have to worry about axe murderers on Whitney.
it is in the middle of nowhere and very hard to get to.
People who drive this far, this long, are not looking for trouble. Axe murderers hang out at low altitudes where things are easily accessible by the freeway and there is not much effort involved like the Angeles Crest Highway ... notorious for body dumping .....

Richie,
You should not have a problem getting from the portal to LP. Aug 10 is a Sunday with many people returning to LA from the Eastern Sierra,so there should be no problem getting a ride. Though you may have to wait a while. I hitchiked once from Bishop and had no problem. The CHP won't stop you since you are not on a freeway. You don't have to worry about ax murderers but you do have to be careful of people wanting to give you a ride who are driving under the influence. A word of advice: the cleaner you look, the better your chances of getting a ride. Good luck.

Oscar

Lots of Whitney dayhikers (those with the green tags) do it solo, and you stand a good chance of getting a ride with one of them. If you don't hook up with someone on the trail, try to be down to the Portal by 4 or 5PM to increase the odds.

Too bad if you stay to your schedule you will need a lucky thumb. But if you get in early or way late a few days the following will get you as far as Metrolink will get you. Not a whole lot to do in Lone Pine over a Sunday except to try to find a ride out.

From Lone Pine to Ridgecrest
http://www.inyocounty.us/transit/CRESTpage.htm

Ridgecrest to Mojave to Lancaster
Kern Regional Transit bus to Mojave and different Kern Regional bus to Lancaster.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/inyo/about/public-transport.shtml

Lancaster to La
Metrolink