Last time I hitch hiked from the portal the 2nd car stopped and I had a ride within 30 seconds of putting up my thumb.
A few years ago we brought bicycles on our car to the portal and rode them down the hill to the horseshoe meadows junction and waited for a ride there. We hid our bikes in the bushes and retrieved them a week later. The ride was fun but not necessary because it's really easy to get a ride from the portal. Horseshoe meadows is another story - way less traffic on that road. It took us an hour to catch a ride and that was just for 2 of us. If you have the time and get to the junction early, like before noon, you'll get a ride. You could hang around the hostel and bribe a hiker with a 6 pack and 20 bucks for a ride up the hill. We met 2 guys on our hike that left their car at horseshoe meadows and hiked out with us down the MMWT and we gave them a ride at the end of the hike. Start chatting with hikers around Crabtree and Guitar lake and you'll probably find someone who will give you a ride.
