shuttle from the valley to tuolumne meadows

[latentimage74]

Dose anyone know if there is a shuttle from tuolumne meadows to yosemite valley? if so does it cost or is it free? has anyone done the hike from tuolumne meadows to the valley? any recommendations? is it better to park in the valley and take the shuttle to tuolumne meadows to start or leave your car at tuolumne and take the shuttle when your done back to your car? i think thats enough questions

[AlmostThere]

There is no shuttle, but there is YARTS and the hiker bus, both charge and you need a reservation for the hiker bus. YARTS will let you off only at designated spots, but the hiker bus will let you off at trailheads if you tell the driver where you need to be.

I would take the bus to the trailhead and hike back to the car. You will not be missing the bus that way.

Lots of people have done that hike, lots of times, with side trips to Clouds Rest and/or Half Dome. It's not a particularly difficult stretch of the John Muir Trail.

[latentimage74]

tanks for the beta, i have never done that section but i have a friend i'm trying to get into backpacking and i dont want to kill him, i herd this section is fairly easy even for a first timer . as someone who has hiked this before do you think a gps is necessary? i only ask because mine currently resides somewhere in the woods around lake tahoe

[AlmostThere]

GPS are never necessary. Map is, if only to know which trail at the junction you need to be on.

A GPS is but another tool - with limitations of its own.

[phantum]

Bus links; scroll down for the hiker's bus and YARTS: http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/bus.htm

Both buses have limited schedules but can work OK with a little planning. From our experience, leaving a car in Tuolumne and catching YARTS back up from the Valley after the trip was preferable, but your circumstances may certainly vary. The Valley's a zoo in mid-summer, particularly around the weekend. Pleasant alternative is to catch YARTS at the end of the day after pizza and beer in the Valley, be chauffeured back to Tuolumne, and grab a campsite in the backpacker's campground before hitting the road the next day. We were leaving the park by Tioga, so this worked very well. If you were headed west, it adds road time and mileage. The buses make stops at Crane Flat and White Wolf which might give you more car drop options.