Reds Meadow Road

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mikewest2012
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Re: Reds Meadow Road

Post by mikewest2012 »

Please forgive my ignorance if this has been covered, but I'm not very experienced at these things. I have a wilderness permit for next Thursday for Ediza. My understanding is that the campgrounds down that way (Minaret Falls, Pumice, Red's meadow, etc.) are first-come first served. If I was able to find a campground down there available, would I then be able to camp there, drive over to the trailhead before the kiosk opens Thursday morning, park and be good to go? I'm probably missing something here, but I figured if anyone would have an answer, it would be y'all. Thanks!

Mike West
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maverick
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Re: Reds Meadow Road

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Those sites are already located inside of the kiosk Mike. If you do find a site, go as early as possible, you just need to drive to Agnew Meadow trailhead parking in the morning, earlier the better, and start your hike to Ediza. If you don't find an open site, go back out to the Old Shady Rest Campground, just west of the Wilderness Office, and then drive back down before 8 am the next day.
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I don't give out specific route information, my belief is that it takes away from the whole adventure spirit of a trip, if you need every inch planned out, you'll have to get that from someone else.

Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member: http://reconn.org
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mikewest2012
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Re: Reds Meadow Road

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Thanks Maverick!
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maverick
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Re: Reds Meadow Road

Post by maverick »

:thumbsup:
Professional Sierra Landscape Photographer

I don't give out specific route information, my belief is that it takes away from the whole adventure spirit of a trip, if you need every inch planned out, you'll have to get that from someone else.

Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member: http://reconn.org
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RodofJ
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Re: Reds Meadow Road

Post by RodofJ »

This is kind of beating a dead horse, but it's a long drive and I don't want to start a trip on the wrong foot of my wife or my dog:)

I'm thinking about a trip starting on the trail to Fern Lake, leaving next Thursday. Is this correct:

There's parking at the trailhead for the Fern Lake Trail/JMT at the end of the road by a ranger station; I assume you can park there while backpacking but maybe it also serves day visitors to devli's postpile? There's a kiosk around Minaret Summit - they're keeping track of how many cars go past the kiosk and when it reaches some limit they close the road. So if I got to the kiosk after that I'd have a problem because I don't want to walk from there to the trailhead. If I get to the kiosk while the road is still open I'd drive down and see if there's parking at the end of the road/close to the trailhead. If there isn't, it looks like there some spots a little bit up the road where I would try to park?

Thanks!
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frozenintime
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Re: Reds Meadow Road

Post by frozenintime »

i have more or less the same question. how big is the lot at postpile? are there any other parking areas south of the agnew meadows lot? how big are they? i assume backpackers can't park at reds resort itself.

we have a permit for beck lakes, so parking at agnew or minaret vista would add 5-6 miles. certainly not the end of the world, but we are trying to make sense of when to arrive and and haven't hiked out of mammoth before, pandemic or no.

any thoughts greatly appreciated :)
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el marinero
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Re: Reds Meadow Road

Post by el marinero »

I learned on a recent trip to Mammoth that the road is reopened in the afternoon after a sufficient number on cars have left the area. We were turned away at 10 AM, but were able to enter at 3 PM.

So it’s possible to make a late start if you miss the morning cutoff. I hadn’t seen this tidbit of information anywhere before.
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RodofJ
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Re: Reds Meadow Road

Post by RodofJ »

frozenintime wrote: Mon Aug 17, 2020 1:51 pm i have more or less the same question. how big is the lot at postpile? are there any other parking areas south of the agnew meadows lot? how big are they? i assume backpackers can't park at reds resort itself.

we have a permit for beck lakes, so parking at agnew or minaret vista would add 5-6 miles. certainly not the end of the world, but we are trying to make sense of when to arrive and and haven't hiked out of mammoth before, pandemic or no.

any thoughts greatly appreciated :)
We just got back from this trip, but I won't be able to add too much info, unfortunately...
There a "long-term" parking lot about five minutes up the road from the main Devil's Postpile area. Maybe 20 cars? We got there at 7:00 AM on a thursday, walked down to the main area, hung out at the postpile, went back to our car and started hiking around 9:00 and there were cars arriving but still open spots.

We left on Sunday around noon and that parking lot was full but the road was still open. I'm not sure where you would park if the road is open and that little lot is full. Like you said, you're probably not supposed to park at Red's Meadow. Same for the main Devil's Postpile area (and in that area the normal campgrounds are closed to camping and being used as a parking lot).

One thought - I called a phone number I found online for Devil's Postpile and they called me back and left a message within a day.
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frozenintime
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Re: Reds Meadow Road

Post by frozenintime »

thank you! this is exactly the kind of info i was looking for. :)
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