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Ride from Kings Canyon to Big Meadows

Posted: Sat Nov 13, 2021 11:56 pm
by Richardtr6
I am planning a 10 day through backpacking trip next August/September 2022, starting from Big Meadows in the Jennie Lakes region, across to the Roaring River and down into Kings Canyon via Bubbs Creek. To pull this off, I want to drop off my car in Kings Canyon and arrange a ride of some sort to the Big Meadows trailhead. Does anyone know of a taxi or shuttle service? Thanks in a advance for any suggestions.
Richard

Re: Ride from Kings Canyon to Big Meadows

Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2021 12:43 am
by Flamingo
Hi @Richardtr6 -- Although I cannot answer your question about taxi and shuttle service, I can say that this route is very amenable to hitchhiking. I've hitched dozens of times around the west side of SEKI National Park, including several hitches to Big Meadows trailhead. During daylight hours, I've never waited more than 30-45 minutes for a ride on the paved roads. Most everyone driving through this area seems to understand that you're headed to/from trailheads.

Re: Ride from Kings Canyon to Big Meadows

Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2021 9:13 am
by creekfeet
There isn't a shuttle service that goes that particular route, nor is their a taxi/Uber option given how far SEKI is from civilization. As mentioned above, it's not very difficult to thumb a ride in SEKI, at least not in the pre-Covid era. However, getting a ride out to one of the trailheads off Big Meadow Rd. could prove difficult as not much traffic goes out that way.

I will say, I'm a little confused by your plans. Marvin Pass to Road's End is about a 30 mile hike, so it's not something you need 10 days to do. Given that you have 10 days, you should be able to find a loop route that gets you back where you started.

Re: Ride from Kings Canyon to Big Meadows

Posted: Mon Nov 22, 2021 10:29 pm
by Richardtr6
Thanks for your suggestions. Much appreciated.
Our route is constrained by the plan to follow the exact route taken by the Brewer expedition of 1864 which was the first exploration of this part of the Sierras which ultimately led to the discovery of Mt Whitney (in the distance from the top of Mt Brewer). They started at Big Meadows and ended up eventually at Roads End (at least for this part of the story). The route goes via (and climbs) Mt Silliman on the way for example. We could try hitch hiking.

Re: Ride from Kings Canyon to Big Meadows

Posted: Tue Nov 23, 2021 10:08 pm
by Shawn
I 'll say ditto the hitch hiking.........but mostly I wanted to comment how cool it is that you're following Brewer's route. I'll save my longer comments for another day so I don't get your post off topic.

Re: Ride from Kings Canyon to Big Meadows

Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2021 1:37 am
by balzaccom
You might also reach out to the people at Sequoia High Sierra Camp... they're right in this neighborhood, and just might know when supplies -- and thus transportation -- are planned for this road.