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Trailhead Transport

'Wandering Bob' Bankhead

It's one of long distance hiking's greatest challenges. It doesn't matter if you are a section hiker or a through-hiker. "HOW DO I GET ME AND ALL THIS GEAR FROM CIVILIZATION TO THE TRAILHEAD ON PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION (OR VICE VERSA)." What follows is a partial listing of public transportation - usually Greyhound or local bus services - serving the PCT.

I particularly want to acknowledge the help of Roger Stephens and Bill Gurwell, who have contributed their information to my own. No claims for accuracy are made. After all, would you follow someone with a trail name of Wandering Bob?

Sorry for the lack of structure but I'm rushing to meet the deadline for publication. If anyone else would care to contribute, please send you info to me at bankfam@worldnet.att.net and supplemental info can be added to the Spring Gazette.

First, some telephone numbers you'll need:

• Greyhound USA (800) 231-2222
• Greyhound Canada (604) 482-8747
• Amtrak (800) 872-7245

From Wandering Bob

Snoqualmie Pass WA

Greyhound has service to and from Seattle available across from Timewise grocery. Call Greyhound USA for current schedules.

Stevens Pass WA

Greyhound has one round-trip bus from Seattle to Wenatchee with a FLAG STOP at the old store at the pass. Both towns have bus stations and airports. One bus per day each way. Eastbound at 11:50 am; West-bound at 5:10 pm

Stehekin WA

Local round-trip ($4 one way) bus service from High Bridge to Stehekin four times per day.

• Lv HBRS 0900 1200 1500 1800
• Ar Stehekin 1015 1315 1615 1917
• Lv Stehekin 1115 1415 1715 0815
• Ar HBRS 1200 1500 1800 0900

There are no roads to Stehekin. You must take the boat service (Lady Express $26 one way and Lady of the Lake $14.50 one way, one round-trip per day each) between Stehekin and Chelan. Lady Express schedule:

• Leave Chelan 0830 0830
• Arrive Stehekin 1045 ?
• Leave Stehekin 1130 ?
• Arrive Chelan 1430 1800

Float plane service is also available - schedule unknown but expensive. From Chelan landing, you can take the FREE # 21 LINK bus (800-851-LINK) to Wenatchee and then the No. 12 LINK bus to the airport. When you get to the Wenatchee, you can also just walk over to the Greyhound station and catch one of two buses to Seattle leaving at 6:10 am or 3:50 pm. or there is a local airport as well (spendy way to go).

Manning Park

Greyhound Canada runs from Vancouver BC's bus/Amtrak station to Manning Park Lodge and points east several time per day. There are two buses from Manning Park Lodge to Vancouver BC - one at 11:30 am; another at 5:00 pm. Call Greyhound Canada for current schedules. There is an express and a local bus at each time (save an hour; take the express) for $29 Canadian one way. Be prepared to stay overnight in Vancouver BC.

Portland OR

• Greyhound has regular service between:
• Seattle WA (also see above)
• Government Camp OR (on Mount Hood near Barlow Pass)
• Cascade Locks, OR (at The Bridge Of The Gods over the Columbia River)
• Ashland, OR (and south into CA; Castella, Redding, San Francisco, L.A. etc)

Redding CA

• Redding CA to Burney Falls State Park:
• Redding Area Bus Authority (RABA) 530-241-2877
• Redding: Downtown RABA terminal at California & Uba
• Burney : Holiday Market
• Bus
  • LV Redding 1030 1745
  • Arr Burney 1200 1900
  • LV Burney 1200 0600
  • Arr Redding 1330 0730

From Bill Gurwell

There was a bus twice a day up and down the Seiad Valley, ?? to Seiad to Happy Camp.
Etna Motel will pickup (timing?, hitch hike in usually) and deliver back to Etna Summit.
Amtrak and Greyhound to Dunsmuir. Adele Kenney is local trail angel/transportation in Castella.
There is a bus from Redding to Burney, which is 7 mi. from Burney Falls
Again, the Greyhound will let you out near Donner Pass on I80.
Seems like there ought to be local trans from So. Lake Tahoe to Carson City and Greyhound there.
Daily buses between Yosemite Valley and Tuolumne Meadows as well as local buses. Bus from Merced to Yosemite Valley at least once a day.
Buses between Red's Meadow and Mammouth Lakes, and probably the Greyhound on US395.
GH serves all the major towns along US395 south of Carson City and Reno (e.g. Bridgeport, Lee Vining, Bishop, Lone Pine, Independence, Ridgecrest, Mojave).
Bus connections between Onyx (~15 mi. W of Walker Pass) to Lake Isabella (Kern Co.Transport, 805-637-2400, then transfer to another bus to Bakersfield and GH.
GH at Tehachapi and Mojave.
Local buses at Big Bear City.
Daily bus from San Diego to Campo arriving in afternoon.

From Roger Stephens

Here is some more information on bus transportation in California. Please note that many of the major highways crossed by the PCT are routes travelled by Greyhound Buses. If you talk to the bus driver in advance, they will almost always stop and let you out near the trail, but they won't pick you up there.

1. Campo: Bus runs daily from San Diego. Details are in PCT guide book.
2. Mt. Laguna: No public transportation available.
3. Scissors Crossing (Highway 78): There apparently is a regional bus that runs up and down Route 78 1-2 times a day and stops at Scissors Crossing. Some hikers we know used it to get to Julian and back. Going east I don't know where ithe bus goes. For bus information I suggest you try the Julian C of C. Julian is a neat little resort community and is a good place to spend a rest day.
4. Warner Springs: No public transportation available.
5. Idyllwild: Although this is a great stop-over for PCT hikers, no public transportation is available in or out. However, there is lots of local traffic between Idyllwild and Hemet, which is the largest nearby city with all the services, so hitchhiking from Idyllwild into Hemet shouldn't be too hard. Problem is, Hemet isn't served by Greyhound Bus, so you have to go all the way to Perris to catch a Greyhound. From Idyllwild it would probably be better to try to hitchhike north to Banning on I-10, which is served by Greyhound. Banning and Hemet are both about 24 miles from Idyllwild. Hitch hiking into Idyllwild would probably be harder.
6. Palm Springs: Because of the problems of getting into Idyllwild via public transportation, last year we opted instead to go to Palm Springs. Greyhound has buses from LA that run almost every hour to Palm Springs. The bus driver let us out right at the Palm Springs tramway visitor center, next to the road which goes 4-5 miles up to the tramway. At the visitor center it was easy to get a ride up to the tram, which takes you from 2,600' elevation to 8,500' elevation in 20 minutes. Yes, it's a little expensive, but it's a great way to start a trip, plus they have a great buffet dinner at the restaurant on top! From the top of the tram it's 6 miles by trail through a beautiful pine forest to Saddle Junction on the PCT.
7. Big Bear Lake: This is another great place for hikers to stop over. There are city buses that runs between between Big Bear Lake and Big Bear City. However, I'm not sure if there is bus service to/from San Bernardino.
8. Cajon Pass (I-15): There is no scheduled bus service to Cajon Pass as far as I know, but I-15 is well travelled by Greyhound, and the driver would probably drop you off. For PCT hikers, there is a new McDonald's just 1/4 mile off the trail that is really convenient. At the overpass there are a couple of gas stations/convenience stores and also an Econoline Motel (1-619-249-6777).
9. Wrightwood: There is no public transportation available. But it's a good place to layover for a day. (They have a nice bakery and the Mile-High Pizza place has terrific food!)
10. Aqua Dulce: No public transportation available. The closest Greyhound pickup is Palmdale (curb side pickup), while nearest Greyhound bus depot is Lancaster. To get into Aqua Dulce, we took a bus to Palmdale, spent the night at Days Inn on Palmdale Blvd, then had to hire taxi ($25-30) to get to Aqua Dulce. To get out of Aqua Dulce, we hung around the convenience store for a couple of hours and finally got a ride down to Lancaster, then took the Greyhound to Mojave, then to Bakersfied, then north.
11. Tehachapi Pass (Highway 58): Greyhound runs buses between Bakersfield and Mojave, so the driver could probably drop you off at Tehachapi Pass but they wouldn't pick you up there. Before starting from Aqua Dulce we called Whites Motel (in Mojave, 1-800-782-4596) in advance and made arrangements for them to pick us up at the pass. If you stay with them (not expensive), they will pick you up and drop you off at either Tehachapi Pass or Oak Creek Road, all for free. It's a family run business and they were all very nice. We even met the original founder, Mr. White, who has lived in Mojave since the 1920's. If you try to hitch hike from the pass into town, it may take awhile, as you have to wait on the on-ramp, which doesn't get much traffic. We got to the pass early, so decided to try to find a ride into Mojave. We waited 45 minutes before the first car came by. You could also hike into Tehachapi, which is a little closer than Mojave.
12. Walker Pass: No public buses run over Walker Pass, but there is bus service from Bakersfield to Onyx, 17 miles west of the pass. The Kern Co. Transport Co. (1-805-637-2400) runs buses from Bakersfield to the senior center in Lake Isabella City about twice a day. (They make a stop at the Bakersfield Greyhound depot, but you may have to call ahead to make sure.) At Lake Isabella City you can transfer to another bus that runs all the way to the general store in Onyx, right next to the post office. Then you have to hitch hike 17 miles up to the pass. If you want to take the bus from Onxy to Bakersfield, you need to call ahead to assure that you will be picked up. It was hard for us to find a ride from Onyx to the pass, so it's best to plan it when traffic is busy (Friday afternoon or holiday week-end).
Kennedy Meadows: No public transportation. To connect with a Greyhound Bus, you have to hitch hike to/from Inyokern. We never tried it.
13. Owens Valley towns: Greyhound buses run about twice a day up and down Highway 395 between San Bernadino and Reno. They stop at most of the towns along the way, including Lone Pine, Independence, Big Pine, Bishop, Mammouth Lakes, Lee Vining, etc., so you can start or stop your trip at any of these towns. Problem is, most of these places require a 15-20 mile hike to get to the PCT.
14. Most hikers plan to resupply at either Lone Pine (and do the Mt. Whitney trip) or Independence (the shortest and easiest PCT access from Route 395.) We recommend using Lone Pine, as its one of the best layovers on the trail and the side trip from the PCT to Whitney Portals is awesome, even if you don't climb Mt. Whitney). Bishop is the biggest town along 395 with the most supplies, and it would make a great layover, but it's a long side trip to the PCT.
15. Vermillion Valley: We didn't stop there. I understand it's a popular layover, but it's in the middle of nowhere on beautiful Edison Lake. To connect with a bus you would probably have to hitch a ride all the way down to Fresno.
16. Reds Meadow: In the summer there is a shuttle bus that runs continuously back and forth from the resort to Mammouth Lakes, which is served by Greyhound. This provides a direct bus connection to and from the PCT. Actually, in summer the road from Mammouth Lakes to Reds Meadows is normally closed to most private vehicles, so they have to provide a shuttle!
17. Tuolumne Meadows (Yosemite): There is a park bus that runs from Yosemite Valley (Yosemite Lodge) to Tuolumne Meadows and back once a day. It's used mostly by hikers and for sight seeing. The bus will stop and pick up people anywhere along the route, but its a little expensive. From Yosemite Valley there are tour buses that run daily back and forth to Merced on Highway 99, which is served by Greyhound. But it's expensive to get to Tuolumne Meadows this way, plus you will probably lose a day (or even two) waiting for bus connections. However, if you want to spend a few days in Yosemite Valley, it would be a good way to go.
18. Instead, we opted to take the Greyhound from Reno down to Lee Vining, which is 20 miles east of Tuolumne Meadows. From there we walked a mile out of town to the junction of Highway 120, which goes over Tioga Pass into Yosemite. There is lots of traffic on this road and it should be easy to get a ride. There is a gas station 1/2 mile west of the junction where everybody stops for gas before going into the park. We walked up to the gas station and soon found a ride.
19. Sonora Pass: No public transportation available, as far as I know. It would be a long hitch hike in and out down to Walker or Bridgeport. We opted to send our food boxes to a pack station 7 miles east of the pass, but the packer didn't meet us at the pass as we requested, so we still had to hitch hike down to his place and back. Other hikers have re-supplied down at the resort in Kennedy Meadows on the west side of the pass.

Here is some more stuff:

1. Echo Lake/Echo Summit: Last year the Tahoe Sunset Lodge (South Lake Tahoe) would not pick us up at Echo Lake as they have done in the past. Apparently Sam Patel isn't manager there any more, and the new manager isn't as accommodating to hikers. Since we had our food box sent to the lodge, we still had to get there by hitch hiking from Echo Lake. (You can also call a taxi). Tahoe Sunset Lodge is still a good place to stay, inexpensive yet 2-3 blocks away from everything that you need. There is even a mountain sports store in the shopping mall. We hiked into Echo Lake about 9:00 AM, just before Sam usually made his pick-ups. But early morning is a bad time to hitch a ride out of there, because everybody usually drives into the lake early in the day and leaves late in the afternoon. It took us 2-3 hours before we found a lift into town. Going back to Echo Lake from the motel, we opted to take a taxi (about $15).
   
   From South Lake Tahoe there is Greyhound bus service to any place you want to go. Most of the routes go west down Highway 50 to Sacramento. The main Greyhound bus station at Tahoe is just across the Nevada line in Stateline (behind a casino!), but there is a regional bus stop at the corner by the shopping mall just 3 blocks north of the motel. The regional bus will take you to Stateline or anyplace else along the lake. A Greyhound bus also stops at the regional bus stop on a limited schedule. (Also, if you were coming up Highway 50 from Sacramento, you could probably get the driver to let you off right at Echo Summit, near the PCT.)
2. Interstate 80/Highway 40 at Donner Pass/Summit: There are tons of Greyhound buses on I-80, but none of them stop (officially) at Donner Summit. There are no buses on Highway 40. However, Greyhound supposedly makes one stop a day (going each way) at the Soda Springs off ramp, just 3 miles west of the PCT. It's a flag stop, meaning you have to be out there waiting and hope that the bus driver sees you, or else (according to the driver we talked to) the bus may not even pull off the freeway!


When we hiked into Donner Summit, we had planned to walk into Soda Springs, stay the night, then catch the 7:30 AM (!) bus at the on ramp. Instead, we ended up at the west-bound freeway rest area (which is 200 yards from the PCT) in the middle of the afternoon on a busy week-end. The place was jammed, and it took us only 15 minutes to hitch a ride all the way down to the bus station in downtown Sacramento, thus saving us about 1/2 day travel time.

When we tried to reach Donner Summit via bus, we missed the 6:00 AM bus from Reno to Sacramento that was scheduled to stop in Soda Springs. Fortunately, the driver of the next west-bound bus (which was supposedly nonstop to Sacramento) heard our story and agreed to drop us off at the Donner Summit rest area, right next to the trail, so we lucked out.

One other option to get to/from Donner Summit would be to make bus connections in Truckee, which is 8-10 miles east of Donner Summit. Greyhound stops there several times a day. But you would have to hitch a ride to/from Donner Summit or Donner Pass.
3. Sierra City: I don't know of any public transportation to/from Sierra City.
4. Belden: I don't know of any public transportation to/from Belden.
5. Highway 36: There may (?) be a Greyhound or local bus running between Susanville and Red Bluff, but I don't know of any for sure. If there is, you could probably get dropped off near the PCT crossing.
6. Old Station: No public transportation available, as far as I know.
7. Burney Falls: You have the information on this one.
8. Castella/Castle Crags: There are tons of Greyhound buses going up and down I-5. Some of them stop in Dunsmuir (at the bookstore?), which is about 4 miles north of the PCT. You can usually find a ride from Castle Crags to Dunsmuir by hanging out at the camp store. If all else fails, try to find the camp host volunteer that lives across from campsite 25 (the PCT hikers' site). We spent a few hours with him last year....he is usually bored and looking for something to do. He'd probably be happy to give you a lift into Dunsmuir. Also there is the trail angel (daughter of Walt ??) that usually comes around every day to help out PCT hikers. Everybody knows her. Last year when we needed a ride from Dunsmuir back to Castle Crags, we got one from the young man who works in the local pizza place (he makes great pizza)! Dunsmuir is another good place to lay over.
9. Etna Summit: There is no public transportation from Etna Summit into Etna, which is off the beaten path. The highway is not used very much, mostly local traffic. There may only be 5-6 cars in an hour going over the pass. But a high percentage of them will stop and give you a ride into Etna!
   
   If you plan to stay at the Etna Motel, you could call in advance and the owner would probably agree to pick you up at Etna Summit. Last year he charged us $5 for a ride back to the trail. The motel is run by Bart and Pam Jenkins (1-530-467-5338). Rates are low and it's almost brand new and they keep it spotless, a great place to stay! They let us do laundry for free and even provided the soap. The motel is 2-3 blocks from restaurants, grocery store, post office, etc. It's a great place to stop over.
   
   From Etna there is a local bus that goes back and forth once or twice a day to Fort Jones and Yreka (on I-5). In Yreka you can connect to the Greyhound buses going up and down I-5. Suggest you call Yreka C of C to get local bus information.
10. Seiad Valley: This place is also way off the beaten path, but surprisingly, there is also a local bus that goes from Seiad Valley (once a day?) back and forth to Yreka. Contact the Yreka C of C for information. Seiad Valley is not a great place to spend a lot of time. You have to camp behind the run-down trailer park. There's nothing else there except one building which houses a tiny cafe, general store, and post office. But the people are friendly.
11. Siskiyou Summit/Interstate 5: You probably know about this one. You can probably get the bus driver to drop you off at the summit (we did) just 200 yards from the PCT, but if you end your trip here you will have to walk down Highway 99 to the freeway on ramp and hitch hike into Ashland to make connection with the Greyhound bus. In Ashland the Greyhound bus stops at a convenient store about 2 miles west of town. Fortunately the local city buses will take you back and forth to the Greyhound station.

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