Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Horshoe to Whitney

Hello Everyone,

We are planning to summit Whitney from Horsehoe Meadow by way of Cottonwood basin and Army pass to Upper Soldier lake on day one which is this next Wednesday. Day two would be to Crabtree lakes and day three would be from Crabtree lakes to Whitney and back to pick up our packs and head to Sky Blue lake and then out on Saturday. I was wondering where our first water source would be coming down from Army pass to Upper Soldier lake and if the concensus is not enough time for the mileage. I have not done this route and was trying to get a feel for what I will be in for. Any input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in Advance,

K

Be on the lookout for my scout troop from Brea. Our plan is Cottonwood to Whitney and back Sunday till Friday with the summit on Wednesday. We are trying to adjust the permit space pending for entry or exit from the portal. Most boys will wear blue troop tee shirts

Dances;
If you do a search, you will find many old posts and some good photos with routing information. I did that route in mid nineties and it's quite a slog. I did not go back out the same way, but instead went down the main trail. My main comment is the route is at all times above 10K and the need to haul heavier supplies for such a trip really slowed us down so that it was hard to make good time on the "trail" which doesn't exist as a real trail past Soldier Lake. The route is easy until you get past Sky Blue Lake, but it's really rocky over the pass to Crabtree(?) Lake and it's a miserable slog through gritty "sand" up the long hill to Discovery Pinnacle. If it all works out, it's a fine high country adventure through beautiful country and certainly far more memorable than the "Mt. Fuji Pilgrimage" walk up the main trail.

Adrian is right, there are alot of posts on this trip alone. Wifey and I did it last year.

http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=65954

And i did alot of research including my own Question Thread:
http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=62309

We made it to Soldier Lake on day 1 which is 10.5 miles - plenty of water there. I don't remember if there was any water between Horshoe & There, but i want to say there was. We also skipped the Army Passes and went around via Cottonwood Pass. I think this added a few, but was the lesser of (3??) evils.

We summited on 3 day like you want, but we took out packs to the Trail Crest and left them there. We summited, then returned on the Main Trail (picked packs back up at Trail Crest) and stayed at Trail Camp on 3rd night, returned on 4th. We took shuttle/taxi at the start of our trip out to Horshoe, so our car was waiting at the Portal. Definitely worth the bucks to do the shuttle.

If i recall the mileages, getting back to Sky Blue Lake after summiting is doable, but will be a long day, then you have another long day to get from Sky Blue all the way back to Horshoe. Getting out of Crabtree is a haul, going up the side of the Scree. I have some pics in my album referenced in the TR.

Probably could be done, but turns into long days/hikes on the return. It's a beautiful route though and I recommend it!!

Hello Sano,

We will be on the lookout for your crew and hopefully we can hookup somewhere on the trail. We are going to try and make as much distance as possible the first day in order to hopefully have a bit of fun.

Take care and be safe,

K

Hello Adrian and Blake,

Thanks for the info. I will look at some past posts and get a better feel. I understand it is a slog and hopefully our crew has a good time. We will post something when we return. Have a great weekend.

Thanks,

K

After Army pass there is Rock Creek which has good water and is only a mile or two past the pass. Last year I went from above Guitar lake to top of whitney then down the scree slope to upper Crabtree and over and down to Sky Blue. It took me 2 hours from the Crabtree pass to get down to Sky Blue. Route finding is a little bit of a challenge so make sure you research it. I was totally exhausted at the end of the day, but I was carrying 40lbs most of the time. I was also in great shape and on my fourth day over 10,000 feet. Going up that scree hill seems like pure torture to me. Your last day is pretty agressive also. Feel free to ask specific questions, it helped me out alot on my trip.

Hello Blake,

Thanks for the links. It looks like we're going to go see what we see and just have some fun. We're in pretty decent shape so hopefully the mileages and climbs are not too bad. I am looking forward to the top of Whitney. I have not summited since 1989. I will post a TR with some more info when we get back.

Thanks Again,

K

Hello Dont,

Thanks for the reply. We are just going to go have some fun in the open space and enjoy life. I will take some notes and post what we see for others in the event they take a similar route.

Have a Great Day!!

K