Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion JMT question

I am thinking of joining a buddy for his last leg of the JMT. He is traveling south- north. Thinking of going in on west side near Vermillion/ Lake Edison. Any beta on the following would be greatly appreciated. Travel in miles and days from this point to T Meadows? I will be bringing in food supply for him. Is the ferry at Lake Edison have a reguler schedule? Reservations needed? Any other tips or observations?
Thank you in advance.

It's about 61 miles from the ferry drop off to Tuolumne Meadows. Travel in number of days is completely on how many miles you two plan to hike and what else if anything you plan to do along the way.

The ferry tends to leave from Vermillion at 9am and 4pm. No reservations needed. If they have too many people they will make two trips.

If your not a JMT purist you might want to consider dropping down from Purple Lake to Iva Bell Hotsprings. A much better way to go since that is a boring section of the JMT.

It's a pretty good climb out of Edison over Silver Pass, so get in shape before joining your friend.

It should be a couple of nights, and you will arrive at Reds Meadow, where you can easily resupply again. There are regular shuttle buses out to Mammoth Lakes. Then maybe two more nights to TM.

The Iva Bell idea sounds nice!

I am wondering why you chose this particular leg. I can certainly understand running the anchor leg and help support at the finish. But if the main function is resupply I would consider a couple of things. First, as RT notes, its not the most exciting part of the trail. Also, resupply is much more valuable on the southern half of the trail, where it is far more difficult. Resupply is easy and accessible from Muir Trail Ranch north; you can mail there, Vermillion Resort and Red's Meadow:that's every 30 miles or so. For the 110 miles South of there: nothing but a very expensive packer's drop or a long and steep side trip. If I were going S to N, that's sure where I would want the support.

It's mainly a matter of when I can find the time. Going to be out of country before that.

Ah, yes. Timing is everything. Then picking it up on an easy west side is the way to go. I will be SoBo on the Trail in August. When are you guys going?

His tentative start is around July 20. I would probably hook up around August 3-4

So 14 days to VVR,from the Portal? That's about a 10 MPD pace, same as me. I'm starting from the Valley on the 5th. Should cross paths around Donahue Pass, maybe, on the 8th or so? I'll be the old guy with the vintage Kelty and a green ribbon in the breeze.