Travel Logistics
Use the chart below to help plan and schedule your travel. Below the chart, I’ve added more location-specific information.
For easier viewing, open this chart in a new window.
Meet-up points and important landmarks
Consult this map:
Air travel and public transit
If you are flying in, you will need to arrive the day before. For high-elevation locations, it’s best to arrive two days beforehand if you live at sea level.
You can fly out at the end of the last day, so long as you can make the timing work. Please don’t schedule a flight that is so early that your group is forced to exit unnaturally early on the final day. If you’re unsure if your departure time is late enough, contact Andrew.
High-elevation locations
Altitude is not a concern in our Utah, Alaska, Washington, or West Virginia locations.
The California and Yellowstone are at high elevations (10,000 to 12,000 feet), and non-acclimatized clients may experience acute mountain sickness (e.g. headache, nausea, loss of appetite). Nearly every year, we must evacuate clients with prohibitively bad symptoms; more often, clients will struggle for the first few days of their trip, hindering their enjoyment.
If you live at sea level, we strongly recommend that you spend two nights at altitude immediately before your trip. One night is required (which we won’t enforce because your body will). Your trip is a big commitment of time and money — take this extra step to set yourself up for success.
While your body is acclimatizing, take it easy — if you stress your body with a monster day-hike or run, you could set yourself back.
If you live at altitude, you are exempt from this recommendation. However, you should still try to occasionally get into the high country before your trip — the air is a lot thinner at 12k than 5k.
Travel guides
Jump to your location:
Our trips take place in the Escalante River watershed in southern Utah. The area is managed as Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, and we have access to both.
Travel guide: Utah
Flights
The closest major airports are:
- Cedar City: 2 hours 20 min (regional airport)
- Las Vegas: 4 hrs 45 min
- Salt Lake City: 4 hrs 45 min
Thankfully, it’s a very scenic drive from these hubs.
Denver is another option, but it’s a much longer drive, at over 8 hours.
Closest towns
Our operations are based in Escalante, Utah, because it has key services and because it’s a convenient launching point for area trailheads.
The small town of Boulder, Utah, is located 40 minutes northeast of Escalante. It has a few services, including lodging and restaurants. This may be a viable option to stay overnight before the trip if you are driving in from the north or east.
Lodging
The guides prefer the Prospector Inn, a basic motel that is clean, reasonably priced, and central to town services.
Escalante Outfitters has clean inexpensive cabins with community bathrooms and a covered picnic pavilion. Many guides and clients have stayed here.
Circle D Motel is comfortable, inexpensive, and has shaded porches.
Canyon Country Lodge and Escalante Yurts are “excellent” but a little more expensive than other options.
The Ponderosa Inn (behind the Prospector) is very nice and reasonably priced.
For those who may drive an RV or truck camper, or who have a campervan like I do, use Escalante Cabins & RV Park, on the western outskirts of town. It’s reasonable ($25 per night in 2021) and the shower facilities are nice. As the name suggests, they also have cabins, which have been reviewed well and which are priced best on their website.
Free public lands camping is available on Hole-in-the-Rock Road, including one large dispersed area about 400 yards south of Highway 12. This site has no trash, bathrooms, or water.
Food
Escalante Outfitters has a cafe/restaurant, with quality coffee, beer on tap, and good pizza and other baked goods.
The West 4th Pub has good food and a good selection of beer.
Between Escalante and Boulder, near where Highway 12 crosses the Escalante River, is Kiva Coffeehouse. Check the days and hours of operation to avoid disappointment.
The Mexican food truck on the west side of town gets good marks, as does the IDK BBQ, Circle D Eatery, and Yonder food truck.
I’ve not eaten at Nemo’s, but I’ve not heard great things.
Hell’s Backbone Grill & Farm in Boulder has received high marks from clients and guides.
Grocery
In downtown there is a small locally owned grocery market. Selection is poor, produce may not be fresh, and prices reflect the significant transportation costs and low volume.
For a more Whole Foods-like experience, go to the Escalante Mercantile. Selection is high quality but limited.
Showers and laundry
Escalante Cabins and RV Park has a coin-operated laundry (bring quarters) and clean private shower rooms ($10 per person).
Additional laundry facilities can be found at Kodachrome Basin State Park.
Sights
Bryce Canyon National Park is a short detour for those driving in from Las Vegas. It’s recommended over Zion, which is much more crowded and restrictive.
Kodachrome Basin State Park has been described as “too small and similar to the general area to justify the entrance fee.” But Petrified State Forest, also nearby, gets better marks.
From Boulder, drive east on Burr Road through Long Canyon, eventually dropping through switchbacks to Capital Reef National Park.
Other
Escalante Outfitters has a small outdoor store with high quality products. It’s reliable for canister gas and forgotten clothing; equipment selection is very limited.
Drive down Hole in the Rock Road for two easily accessible and non-technical slot canyons, Peekaboo and Spooky.
Entrada Escalante has destination chargers for Tesla vehicles and is a nice, convenient place to stay.
For a post-trip shower, try Escalante Outfitters ($5) or Escalante Cabins & RV Park ($7), which has nicer facilities. Both places also have laundry machines.
To learn more about the area, the BLM office and Escalante Heritage Center on the west end of town are worth a visit to learn.
Travel guide: Alaska
The trip schedule for Alaska is more complex and orchestrated. We will share a document that has much more specific information, such as exactly when to arrive in Fairbanks, when we will be flying to Bettles and into the bush, and when to depart home from Fairbanks.
Flights
Fly into Fairbanks (FAI). From airports in the Pacific Northwest (SEA, PDX), you’ll enjoy one of the most scenic flights in the world along the coastline. Pick a seat on the east/right side of the plane.
The groups will meet in Fairbanks. We’ll have a pre-trip briefing the evening before Day 1 at 4 pm (so “Day 0”) and then we’ll meet again about 7:20 AM on Day 1. We’ll shuttle to Wright Air, fly to Coldfoot on a 9-passenger Cessna, and then fly into the bush on 4-passenger Beavers that are equipped with special tundra tires.
On the final day, we finish our trip by walking in Anaktuvuk Pass, a native village atop the Continental Divide in the Brooks Range. We’ll return to Fairbanks on another Wright Air flight, touching down in Fairbanks at around 1 PM.
Lodging
It’s most convenient that our groups stay at the Comfort Inn on Airport Way. Consult the shared spreadsheet for reservation instructions and a discount code. You will be responsible for paying for your room. I will reserve a block of rooms at a discounted rate.
An inexpensive alternative to the Comfort Inn is Sven’s Basecamp. Some of the cost-savings will be offset by the need to take a taxi between Sven’s and Comfort Inn, which is where we gather for our pre-trip meeting, from where we depart, and to where we return.
Transportation
The Comfort Inn has an airport shuttle.
From the motel, you can walk to some nearby services. For services further away, call a taxi, which is still more reliable in Fairbanks than Lyft or Uber.
Food & services
Across the street from the Comfort Inn is Lin’s Asian Bistro. Multiple groups have eaten there, with good reviews. Also across the street is Great Harvest Bread Co, for coffee and breakfast foods if the continental breakfast at the hotel is not up to your standards or you miss it.
If in 2025 we move back to the Best Western, where we stayed 2021-23, you’ll have other services. Across the street from the Best Western is a huge Fred Meyer, where you can find almost anything you need, from fuel canisters to underwear to deli sandwiches. A block to the east is a Safeway, also huge.
Recommended restaurants:
- Chena Pumphouse, for high quality entrees;
- Brewsters, for burgers and pub food;
- House of Fire, for pizza;
- Red Fox Bar & Grill, which also has good pizza;
- HooDoo Brewing Company;
- Salmon Bake in Pioneer Park, which was “awesome but moderately difficult to get to”;
- Tuffy’s tap room for a wide selection of beer
Sights
North Pole, Alaska, is 20 minutes away. One client reported being disappointed that it was not more Christmas-y and that their cookie selection was only lackluster.
Chena Hot Springs is “fine but not amazing.”
Avoid the aurora show at the ice museum, which was a “total waste of time and money.”
The local museum and BLM office in Anatuvak Pass, as well as the Museum of the North and Morris Thompson cultural center in Fairbanks, are worth a visit to learn about the area and people who live there.
Travel guide: California
We operate in four locations in the High Sierra, and the exact location of your trip should dictate your plans.
Flights
This region is served by multiple airports:
- Reno-Tahoe (RNO)
- Fresno-Yosemite (FAT)
- Sacramento (SMF)
- Bay Area: Oakland (OAK), San Jose (SJC), San Francisco (SFO)
- SoCal: Los Angeles (LAX), Burbank (BUR), Orange County (SNA)
- Las Vegas (LAS)
Avoid Mammoth Yosemite (MMH), which is closest to our Yosemite trailheads but which is a niche airport (serviced by few airlines, and expensive).
Pubic transit
YARTS connects the east and west sides of Yosemite, including Mammoth, Lee Vining, Yosemite Valley, Groveland, Merced, and Tuolumne Meadows.
ESTA runs a shuttle between Reno and Lone Pine, with stops in Bridgeport, Lee Vining, and Mammoth.
Greyhound and Amtrak have service in the Central Valley.
The Sequoia Shuttle connects the city of Visalia and Lodgepole, from where some of our trips depart. There is no public transit to Road’s End, another of our trailheads in Sequoia-Kings.
Tuolumne County Transit runs a summer shuttle along Highway 108, starting in Jamestown and ending in Sierra Village (with possibly a summer stop in Pinecrest).
Tuolumne Meadows: Food, Lodging, and Camping
The opening date for Tioga Road — which cuts through Tuolumne Meadows — varies with the wintertime snowpack. After dry winters (like 2012-15), it will open in May; after wet winters (like 2017 and 2019), it gets pushed back into late-June or even early-July. Facilities at Tuolumne do not open for at least several weeks after the road opens. NPS will announce opening dates in the spring, once the bulk of the snow has fallen and after plowing operations have begun.
Tuolumne Meadows does not have reliable cell service or WIFI, though there was sporadic AT&T coverage in 2021.
***Due to major construction, the Tuolumne Meadows Campground (and the associated Backpackers Campground) will be closed throughout the 2022, 2023, and 2024 seasons. This is very inconvenient, because we have based our operations here in the past.
With Tuolumne closed, try White Wolf, which has a car campground and backpackers campground. It’s a very pretty 40-minute drive to the west.
Over Tioga Pass, in Inyo National Forest, there are multiple car campgrounds ($20-ish per night). Some of these sites are first-come-first-served, and others can be reserved in advance through Recreation.gov.
Tuolumne Meadows has a small grocery store (with beer), a mediocre grill (burgers, dogs, fries), and a Post Office closet. I’m uncertain how the construction nearby will impact these operations.
Lee Vining: Food, Lodging, and Camping
This is the eastern gateway town for Yosemite, located about a half-mile north of the junction of I-395 and Highway 120 (Tioga Road). It’s a good alternative to camping in the park or on USFS lands, and it has easy access to day-hikes near June Lake, Mono Lake, and along Tioga Road (like Saddlebag Lake).
Our most recommended restaurant is the Whoa Nellie Deli, at the Mobil station at the exact intersection of I-395 and Highway 120. It’s known for its daytime entrees, but also has delicious ready-to-go breakfast burritos. Other restaurants:
- Nicely’s Restaurant, for a “huge” breakfast;
- Bodie Mike’s BBQ;
Inside town, we recommend or have heard good things about:
- El Mono Hotel, a “perfect 1-stop backpacker motel” with decent rooms, great customer service, and good coffee and sandwiches;
- Lake View Lodge, which is a “decent little motel” with tidy rooms;
- Yosemite Gateway Motel (“very reasonable”).
Free dispersed camping is permitted on BLM land east of I-395 and south of Mono Lake. It’s out in the open, among sage brush, but it does the trick for a quick camp.
The Mono Market is a small grocery store.
Yosemite’s west side: Food, Lodging, and Camping
Tenaya Lodge is inside the park. It’s good but expensive. Evergreen Lodge is “super cool but a bit pricey.”
Double-check the elevation of potential lodging options on Yosemite’s west side, because they may not be helpful for acclimatization.
The Iron Door Saloon in Groveland is the oldest bar in California.
La Taqueria in Turlock served one client “probably the best burrito I’ve had in my life.”
Mammoth Lakes: Food, Lodging, and Camping
Summer is the off-season in Mammoth Lakes, which has a big ski area and full services. It’s a good staging area for trips in Yosemite and Inyo National Forest, especially if you are coming in from southern California.
The guides usually stay at the Motel 6 between trips. It’s basic, but clean and reasonably priced, and the showers have hot water. Mammoth Lake Village Lodge is “the bees knees.” Also try Alpenhof Lodge and Moderne Hostel.
Another option is the Mammoth Mountain RV park, which has hot showers, a hot tub, and pool; Holiday Haus, a PCT hiker hostel; or Big Springs Campground.
About ten minutes south of town off the 395 is a dispersed camping area north on Benton Crossing Road called the ‘Whitmore Hot Springs’. Even closer to Mammoth Lakes is Convict Lake campground, which is gorgeous (but has no cell service).
Between May-September you can camp in certain spots along the Mammoth Scenic Loop as long as you are 2 miles outside of town.
Halfway between Lee Vining and Mammoth is Glass Creek Campground, which has a trail to a neat obsidian dome.
For restaurants, try:
- Mammoth Brewing Co, which has good beer and 1-pound cheeseburgers, a favorite between trips for the guides;
- Distant Brewing in Mammoth has “pretty good” food, the “best beer in town” which is brewed on-site, and the “best pool tables in town”;
- Good Life Cafe, for a “great breakfast”;
- New York Deli, with “surprisingly East Coast-like bagels and schmear”;
- Mammoth Tavern, conveniently located across the street from Distant Brewing;
- Giovanni’s Pizzeria is “excellent”
Mammoth Mountaineering Supply is well stocked with gear and supplies, including canister fuel.
In Bishop, try Erick Schat’s Bakkery. Find public showers at Bishop Creek Lodge (call ahead to confirm).
Bridgeport: Food, Lodging, and Camping
This cow town is 30 minutes north of Lee Vining, near the junction of I-395 and Highway 108 (Sonora Pass), which provides access to Stanislaus National Forest and Humbolt-Toiyabe National Forest.
The guides have stayed at the Walker River Lodge, which was clean and conveniently located. We have also stayed at Willow Springs Cabins and RV Park, which is south of town and more relaxed. Clients recommend Big Meadow Lodge (“highly recommended”).
The Toiyabe Motel in Walker is a “lovely place” according to one client.
Bishop
Trips starting in Inyo National Forest may meet in Bishop. It’s a small and full-service town, but at 4,000 feet it won’t help much with acclimatizing.
Katie’s feedback on the restaurants:
- La Palmas had decent Mexican food, large portions for reasonable prices
- Indiego Cafe had good burgers and fries, and the service was great
- Looney Bean for craft coffee, assorted high quality pastries, and to-go lunch items like wraps and chia cups, plus they had vegan and gf options
Pinecrest: Food, Lodging, and Camping
Tuolumne County is rural and very tourist-based, and some services may be closed mid-week.
The Pinecrest campground has large campsites, clean bathrooms, and a lake to swim in or hike around.
The town of Twain Harte is charming and has a local market for snacks and a variety of restaurants and lodging, including recommended spots like McCaffey Bed and Breakfast and Eperson House restaurant. The El Dorado Motel received mixed reviews (“fine”, “decent”, “gross”); Andrew stayed there once, and reported that he would have preferred to stay in his van.
Ranger-recommended restaurants are listed below.
- Steam Donkey in Pinecrest,
- Kennedy Meadows Resort near Sonora Pass,
- Mia’s in Cold Springs,
- Strawberry Inn in Strawberry,
- Mike’s Pizza in Sonora,
- Reich’s Outpost in Sonora, and
- Diamondback Grill in Sonora.
Gun House Hotel, Heritage Inn, and Best Western in Sonora have been recommended by clients.
The Strawberry Inn is clean and quiet and has a restaurant onsite which mainly serves bar food. Customer service was lacking in 2023, and the rooms were expensive.
Sequoia and Kings Canyon: Food, Lodging, and Camping
The John Muir Lodge has rustic cabins for rent. They don’t have electricity and there is a common bathhouse nearby. The main lodge has WiFi, tables, and a wrap-around porch. There’s also a gift shop in nearby Grant Grove Village and a restaurant that is “surprisingly not terrible.”
Bear Mountain Pizza outside Sequoia is another dining option.
Stony Creek Lodge is an option for internet, showers, and lodging. Sunset campground in Sequoia is quiet, well-maintained, and very close to Big Stump.
Gina’s Sierra Inn is not recommended (“mediocre”, “spotty hot water”, “bugs in the room”). Wuksachi Lodge is pricey and food is “horrible”.
Sights
If you’ve never been to Yosemite Valley, you should stop on your way to or back from Tuolumne Meadows. During the day, it’s very crowded, so plan accordingly. You might also try to score a last-minute Half Dome permit, but please don’t exhaust yourself immediately before your trip.
About 20 minutes west of Tuolumne Meadows is gorgeous Tenaya Lake. It has day-use areas and a sandy beach.
North of Lee Vining is the Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area Visitor Center, which has interpretive information about this fascinating lake.
Wild Willy’s Hot Spring is along I-395, south of Mammoth, and is “incredible at night while looking at the stars.”
For warm-up hikes, consider:
- Saddlebag Lakes, just east of Tioga Pass;
- June Lake;
- USFS lands outside of Mammoth, notably Crystal Lake;
- Trails inside Yosemite.
Greater Yellowstone
Flights
Multiple airports surround Yellowstone National Park and the Teton Wilderness, our two operating areas. For the park, your closest airports will be (in order) West Yellowstone, Bozeman, and Billings. For the Teton Wilderness, use Jackson or maybe West Yellowstone; Salt Lake City is a huge airport, but it’s a few hours further south.
Lodging
Inside the park there are nine lodges. Reserve rooms here. If your trip is inside the park, you can also stay in West Yellowstone.
If your trip is in Teton Wilderness, look in the Jackson area. Guides have stayed at Hatchett Resort and the Togwotee Lodge.
Other
For a place to clean up before heading home, the Teton County Parks and Recreation Center in Jackson allows you to use their showers for $10. They’re currently open until 8PM daily.
Travel guide: West Virginia
Flights
The closest airports serve Washington DC, and are about three hours east. Use Baltimore-Washington (BWI), Dulles (IAD), or Reagan (DCA).
The town of Seneca Rocks is equidistant to Spruce Knob and Dolly Sods. It has basic services, including lodging, a deli/general store. The roads leading to Seneca are twisting narrow mountain roads, and we recommend arriving during daylight.
Lodging
Start with Yokum’s Vacationland, which has rooms on their second floor and cabins down the road. Most of the clients stay in the rooms, which include wifi; the guides always rent one of the big cabins. We have had mostly good experiences here, but occasionally not: based on a 2021 experience, stay out of Bunk House #1 (moldy) and the fisherman’s cabin (buggy).
Appalachian Cabins Motel had mixed reviews in 2019. One couple found a dirty room and had poor customer service; another had a better experience.
For camping, use Seneca Shadows.
Food
Yokum’s has a deli. The cleanliness has improved in recent years.
The Front Porch had good pizza, but it closed during Covid in 2020 and has not reopened.
The Gateway Inn, at the base of the mountain road leading to Spruce Knob just south of the hamlet of Riverton, is a nice small-town diner with outrageously low prices. Our groups usually have a post-trip meal here. Get a slice of the Peanut Butter pie.
Cheeta B’s in Petersberg gets mixed reviews. On a very busy Sunday night when they were short on help, it was mediocre. Other times, it’s been good. And it’s always relatively cheap.
Other
Seneca Rocks does not have cell service, and the Yokum’s wifi is quickly overwhelmed by visitors. Drive south for 3.5 miles to the North Fork Baptist Church, known locally as the “Church of Immaculate Reception.”
Cell service is generally spotty in this part of the state. Download maps for offline use (for driving and backpacking) before you get here.
Please plan to carpool to the trailhead, which will have limited parking. We can leave cars at a park-n-ride about 200 yards from our meet-up spot.
To learn more about the area, visit the free Seneca Rocks Visitor Center.
If you have never been to Washington DC, visit some of the museums before or after your trip.