Hitchhiking from TM to WW

[aggie5976]

My husband and I are hiking the Grand Canyon in August from WW to TM. We are going to leave our car at WW instead of our exit because YARTs travels from WW to TM in the evening (instead of TM to WW) and we want to get a full day of hiking the day before our backpacking trip. We plan to hike this trip in 3 days; thus, we won't be at TM until the evening of the 3rd day. There are no buses that travel from TM to WW in the evening. Is is possible to hitchhike from TM to WW? If so, will it be easy to find a ride? Is it illegal to hitchhike here?

Thanks!

[dan]

There's two buses you can use:

• YARTS http://www.yarts.com/
  They go from the San Joaquin Valley to Yosemite Valley then all the way to Mammoth Lakes via Tioga Road in the summer and back
• Hikers Bus http://yosemitepark.com/tuolumne-meadows-tour.aspx
  They go from Yosemite Valley to Tuolumne Meadows and back. They head back (southwest) from Tuolumne in the afternoon

You can hitch hike, as long as you do so off the road. Visitors are reluctant to pick up hitch hikers, although a couple will be less threatening. I found locals willing to pick you up, although you may have to wait. At Tuolumne Meadows, hang around the store and ask people directly.

[AlmostThere]

Let's see:
Hiking WW to TM on the GCT.
leave car at WW instead of exit because YARTs travels from WW to TM in the evening (instead of TM to WW)
full day of hiking the day before our backpacking trip - presumably in TM?

Why aren't you just starting in TM and hiking back to the car? Make the second night's camp just before the final descent into Pate, and get up early the morning of the third day to get up the exposed switchbacks to Morrison Creek before the heat of the day descends. Travel trouble all gone, you can still hike the extra day at TM, and stay in the backpacker camp since you showed up there by bus.

[aggie5976]

I don't like going straight up on switchbacks in the heat so I made the permit for WW to TM. I thought we would do Cathedral lakes the day before.

[AlmostThere]

That's why you do them in the morning. I also hate the trail between Vernal and the top of Nevada Falls, but getting there early in the morning I sing and dance up them.

I always put the car at the end of the trip nowadays, just for these sorts of reasons. There is a backpacker camp at WW and one at TM. I would reschedule to make it work out rather than hitchhike.