am planning my late season trip. Need to know if I can plan for a day or two hanging around the Postpile and Mammoth Mt. to acclimate, staying at a proper campground with bear lockers, ideally at Reds or Agnew Meadows. Looked for it on the Inyo FNS website, but can't find such info.
Related issue: where in the Eastern Sierra can I get a permit to start out at Dana Meadows Trailhead just inside of Yosemite in early October, when everything around Tuolumne Meadows is closed for the season? I will not be able to travel into Yosemite Valley to do that, as my car will be in Lone Pine, and there's no more bus service in October through Yosemite.
Or do I just get me a permit from Mono Ranger district and start somewhere else such as Walker Lake via Mono Pass to get to my route? But how would I get from Lee Vining to Walker Lake (any shuttle service in Lee Vining? Never heard of one operating there).
Can one get a wilderness permit with entry location "Tioga Pass" - given that's where I would want to enter the park to get to the trail I really want to hike just 1.5 miles west of the pass? I could easily hitch a ride to the pass entrance area, then start my hike outside of the park with a permit from the east side.
