Driving to Taboose Pass TH 2015

[gjs257]

Hello all

Great board - lots of good information. I am looking to loop from Bishop Pass to Taboose Pass starting in about 12 days (8/29). Anybody been up the road to the Taboose trailhead recently? I'm thinking about dropping a rental car there and wondering if I need an SUV.

Thanks in advance for any information

Greg

[maverick]

Hi Greg,

Welcome to HST! The road to Taboose Pass is pretty tough, would not drive a rental passenger vehicle out there, unless it had high clearance. Looking forward to your TR, and an intro, when you get some time.

[linda0012]

Hello all

Great board - lots of good information. I am looking to loop from Bishop Pass to Taboose Pass starting in about 12 days (8/29). Anybody been up the road to the Taboose trailhead recently? I'm thinking about dropping a rental car there and wondering if I need an SUV.

Thanks in advance for any information

Greg

Do you really need SUV?

[freestone]

I did it a couple of years ago in my 2006 Toyota Corolla. Take it slow and plan on a couple of hours from 395.

[maverick]

Hi Linda,

Welcome to HST!

Do you really need SUV?

No, but the OP was talking about a rental vehicle, I have used my Honda Civic to get to the trailhead, easy, no, but doable.

[seanr]

I drove to that TH in April and again in mid-August. The more recent time, at least one very low clearance sedan (Civic?) was part of the the group I was with and was fine. This time, I drove my Honda Odyssey minivan (~4.5 in. front clearance?) and probably made it in 20-30 minutes driving fairly aggressively. The road is rocky in places and experience on roads like that would help with knowing how to make the most of your ground clearance. Some rentals are lacking in the realm of spare tires. I don't think the road is notorious for flats, but I imagine tires could easily be damaged on it. That TH can be a hot, lonely place to get stuck if you happen to time it to avoid other hikers. It would be safest to go with tires and spare in good condition and drive it slowly (45-60 min).

[freestone]

Also keep in mind.... All roads from the trailhead lead to 395, but not all roads from 395 lead to the trailhead!

[Keegan]

Hi there! I just drove this a couple days ago in a VW Golf GTI. It is a sporty car with pretty low clearance. The road is probably 3-4 miles of VERY rocky dirt road. If you take it very slow (almost walking speed), you can do it. I did it without scraping the bottom of my car at all, but it requires 100% of your mental energy as every move must be carefully planned. It would be much easier if you had a high clearance 4wd vehicle.

cheers,
keegan

[gjs257]

Thanks to all for the replies. I ended up hiring East Side Sierra Shuttle (http://www.eastsidesierrashuttle.com/) and dropping the car @South Lake. Worked out fine but I was rushing a little to make the pickup time @5PM. They said they would have waited for me anyway. The guy stopped off at a market to let me get a cold drink , ran me by Parcher's Resort to get my stuff and made sure the car started at South Lake. I might have tried it with my own car but I'm glad I didn't take the rental up there. I will post a trip report in the next few days.