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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 92
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 92 |
My daughter called me at 8:45 yesterday morning (Monday) from the summit of Whitney which she reached with 6 other 17 year old friends. These were high school kids who didn't want adult supervision (although I stayed in Lone Pine with my wife just in case). They are all now back home in Ventura.
Saturday and Sunday this past week provided significant precipitation with hail and some snow at the higher elevations and plenty of rain down below. Friday night they stayed at the Portal and it rained all night. Saturday morning, I drove up and they were packing reading to head up in a persistent steady rain that had the creeks brown and the pond flowing like a slow area on a river. It didn't look good for much of that day.
What saved them was Doug at the store who suggested that they just pull a few chairs in the store and wait it out until the afternoon. Since they were going to Outpost may as well stay dry. That was also my advice but this came encouragingly from Doug who convinced them to do so. When I left, they were in the corner playing cards and eating and I was heading down for a hot shower to warm up. Later early afternoon, it lightened up some and they headed out with some better weather. Obviously, they summited after a tough Sunday slogging through heavy hail to Trail Camp (395 got closed).
My point here is that the Whitney Portal Store is more than a store. It's a thoughtful haven of good advice and sensitive encouragement for hikers of all ages but especially kids. Doug just invited them in to hang and it worked for them. Still tough conditions for them but it certainly made that first day more palatable. Thanks, Doug for your thoughtfulness. It was bad enough weather that Paul came out late that same day from Rock Creek after facing 30 hours of rain.
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 167
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 167 |
Yes, last time he looks at me and says "you made it all the way from Guitar lake, right?" and of course he was right. He adds, "the girls are supposed to be here with another load and you can get a ride to the hostel, but you have to wait". I was too impatient and requested Eileen to call Dave Sheldon who came and picked me up.
Another time, I wanted to see the ISS with shuttle attached to it from the hostel in the night. Doug over hears our discussion, takes us to the top floor and with a magic wand pulls down the ladder from the ceiling, and we are on the roof, lying flat on our backs, Bruce and I, looking at our watches and the night sky. Of course there was lot of light pollution and ISS passed a little low on the western horizon and we missed it! So what, just talking to him and looking around from the roof top is good enough for me!
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 5,434 Likes: 9
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 5,434 Likes: 9 |
Spent a bunch of my free time yesterday and today trying to find the photos from previous "flash floods." WPS has been SRO with all of the soggy hikers looking for refuge, some of them dripping all over the floor many times!
Not complaints from the Thompsons...they take it all in stride.
The other amazing thing...try and catch Doug retelling the same story to you...decades have passed and I've never seen it happen...unless it was something I asked him to repeat.
Yeah, the Store is a cool place to hang out.
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Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 556
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Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 556 |
I couldn't agree more. When we arrived last Tuesday - after the FS finally opened the Portal Road from all the rockfall - the Portal was a hot mess. Shaken hikers streaming down the mountain, vehicles buried to their fenders in rock and sand, the creek and pond overflowing, a front-loader clearing the drive, and a backhoe in front of the store digging away at the clogged culvert. And there was Doug with a shovel and a smile on his face, happily assisting the crews. He just takes it all in stride - nothing seems to surprise the man, likely because he's pretty much seen it all.
I had to chuckle as a half-dozen people asked Doug, "What's the weather going to be like tomorrow?" in the space of about 20 minutes. He just looked at the last one to ask the question and said, "If I knew that, I wouldn't be here . . ."
Definitely an institution and a home-away-from-home. The store is just a building - Doug, Doug Jr., Earlene, Myles, Amy and the rest of the crew are the heart and soul of the place.
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 590 Likes: 2
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 590 Likes: 2 |
A few days ago (August 18-19), my daughter and I were up on the Mountain. Again, the weather was uncooperative. Though we made it to the summit, we felt somewhat unfulfilled, as one of our objectives on the outing was to personally congratulate Doug Sr on his birthday (August 18). Unfortunately, Doug was not at the store when we dropped in for dinner. So,
Happy Birthday Doug and have a great year ahead!
Katherine and Jim
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