pct · resupply · sierra · bishop
Bishop Plant Based Resupply for PCT Hikers
Bishop is the easiest vegan resupply in the Sierra, so buy here instead of boxing. Blue Lupine Health Foods had TVP, powdered hummus, nutritional yeast and dehydrated refried beans in June 2026, Vons and Grocery Outlet cover the basics, and Looney Bean and a few restaurants do vegan plates. Hikers come out over Kearsarge Pass or Bishop Pass; from Kearsarge, the ride to town goes through Independence.
The short version
Bishop has everything a vegan hiker needs for the long middle of the Sierra. Do the specialty shopping at a natural foods store (Blue Lupine Health Foods is the one with fresh 2026 hiker reports), fill in the cheap calories at Vons or Grocery Outlet, and eat at Looney Bean. This is also a place to build a box for stops with limited food shopping. Muir Trail Ranch says it sells no food. VVR has a seasonal camp store, but its stock is not a guaranteed vegan carry.
Stores and restaurants
| Business | What a vegan can get | Status, with evidence date |
|---|---|---|
| Blue Lupine Health Foods | TVP, powdered hummus, nutritional yeast, dehydrated refried beans, bulk couscous, nuts, tea | Hiker comment June 3, 2026 |
| Manor Market | Natural and organic grocery | HappyCow listing seen October 2026; stock not checked |
| Vons | Full supermarket staples | Hiker comments through June 2026 |
| Grocery Outlet | Discount staples, stock varies | Hiker comments through April 2026 |
| Gear Exchange | Dehydrated meals with many vegetarian choices; read labels for vegan | Hiker comment June 2024 |
| Looney Bean | Vegan breakfast burrito, vegan muffins, plant-based burritos, bowls and smoothies | Hiker comments 2019 and 2022; HappyCow review September 2026 names the soyrizo burrito and vegan muffins; the cafe’s own menu lists a vegan chorizo burrito |
| Mountain Rambler Brewery | Vegan burger, dedicated fryer | Hiker guide, November 2025; a hiker had a tempeh burger here in 2018 |
| 1903 Taproom | Vegan hot dog and vegan coleslaw | Hiker comment June 2024 |
| Thai Thai, Helena’s Vietnamese Kitchen | Tofu curries, vegetable noodle soups | Vegan listings, 2026 |
| Great Basin Bakery | Vegetarian sandwiches; ask about vegan | Hiker comment April 2025 |
What I ate here
I was in Bishop on days 47 and 48, June 15 and 16, 2021. My Looney Bean receipt from June 16 lists a Dirty Hippie chai with oat milk, three double-chocolate muffins, two everything bagels and a sticker.
They were vegan. The first time we went they had sold out, and the staff held a batch for us to pick up the next day. Great place.
The resupply went down on the floor before packing (photo #1259): Mission tortillas, Near East couscous, Quaker 3-minute oats, TVP, an omega-3 nut and seed mix, walnuts, ProBar Meals, Nut Butter Bars and dried pineapple. Photo #1260 shows ProBar Meals, GoMacro, Clif, Nut Butter Bars, That’s It fruit bars and Luna bars laid out in rows. The TVP was a bag of Bob’s Red Mill, labelled vegan (photo #1250). In a natural foods store I photographed the bulk bins (photo #1245) and a shelf of Bragg Sprinkle, Spike and nutritional yeast. Muir Energy gels came from a gear shop.
I didn’t write down the store’s name. If you want bulk bins in Bishop, Blue Lupine Health Foods on West Line Street is the one that carries bulk grains, nuts and seeds, and hikers found TVP there in 2026. Manor Market, farther out on West Line, also seems to carry a good range of vegan groceries.
Getting to town from the trail
One way out is the Kearsarge Pass junction (around mile 789.8), over the pass to the Onion Valley trailhead. From there it is a hitch down to Independence, where ESTA’s Highway 395 route runs to Bishop. Check its schedule before planning the connection. The other exit is Bishop Pass, near mile 832.4. On day 47 I went out over Kearsarge. It costs about eight extra miles of walking.
Getting to Bishop took two rides. A guy loaded a bunch of us into the back of his van at the Onion Valley trailhead and dropped us at a gas station where Onion Valley Road ends, and we hitched to Bishop from there. To get back to the trail we booked a ride. In the High Sierra you don’t want to spend half a day hitching when you’re trying to make miles.
Mail drops
You don’t need a box here. If you do send one, the Eastside Guesthouse accepted packages in 2024, and the Hostel California stopped accepting resupply boxes in June 2026. Bishop is the better place to mail food forward. I sent a box to VVR in 2021, missed the turnoff and never picked it up, so check that a stop is on your actual route before you post anything.
Related pages
The full trail-order table is in the vegan PCT resupply guide. The leg that ends here is Kennedy Meadows to Bishop, and the Sierra section page covers the rest.
Checked October 5, 2026: FarOut hiker comments through September 2026, web listings (HappyCow, whatsvegan, Halfmile’s 2023 town notes, a November 2025 vegan hiker guide), and my own 2021 receipts and photos.
October 8, 2026 update: checked the Muir Trail Ranch resupply rules and ESTA’s current Highway 395 route.
From my 2021 stop
