Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Platney, Herbst, Adams; your cache is not at Onion

Last Saturday, July 12th, we picked up our car at Onion Valley (Kearsarge Pass), in the Southern Sierra after a 50-mile trip to Mt. Whitney. During a violent thunderstorm, we grabbed our ice chest from the bear box. When we returned to Mt. Shasta - 8 hrs. north, we opened the ice chest and found that someone had left a resupply cache for a group hiking the John Muir Trail.

If you know anyone hiking the JMT by the name of Platney, Herbst, Adams, you might alert them that their resupply cache is NOT waiting for them at Onion Valley on July 20. I imagine they are hiking, but hope a friend or relative reads this.

I don't know why anyone would put the package in our ice chest and not just leave it in the box. We were in a hurry to get out of there before they closed the road (we were the last car allowed out); otherwise, I might have checked inside before returning home.

I e-mailed Jim over at the Vermilion Valley Resort––maybe they're about there by now and he can alert them––and they can scrounge the bear cans there. Bummer.

Was there enough room in the box for the package? Maybe somebody was trying to consolidate space and figured that you would notice the package.

Nice, Bob; I will e-mail Muir Trail Ranch today, too.

The bear box was nearly empty when we left on July 9. The only thing that makes sense is that someone else was trying to consolidate space and put the cache in our ice chest. If it wasn't for the thunderstorm, we would have opened the chest and had a beer and discovered the cache.

Is there some way that we as a group can get that package back to that box? With a July 20 pickup date they might be below Muir Trail Ranch by now. Any volunteers to take delivery of the package and haul it back to the bear box? I live in New Jersey or I would do it. I will pay for overnight delivery. Come on people, it is time for some TRAIL MAGIC!

My guess is that they're either feasting on burgers at the VVR, or they're heading over the hill, possibly to pick up a stash at Muir Ranch––which almost makes sense. Since they left a drop at Onion, they probably also tried to make another drop. maybe they plan on going out at Dusy and over. As long as they get notice at VVR or MTR, they can easily scrounge up more FREE food. Although those bear cans at the VVR are like an archeological dig . . .