Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Trip reports for 2017

i went up only as far as trail crest monday sept 18. It was the start of "warmer" weather (at least compared to the week before that).. i would guess temps were close to the same, but may have been warmer than what you saw. i carry a good thermometer but can only give incomplete data sorry.. some of these are recorded, some are estimates but i monitor the temp constantly so my estimates are pretty good... 3am at Portal it was 53! then at the Zone boundary (lone pine lake) around 430 estimate low 40s at best, maybe 30s i didnt check it but it was Much colder./ Then came daylight and it got a little warmer. Recorded 63 at Trail Camp at 10am. By the time i got to TRail Crest it was 1pm, windy and cooler i have to guess at that one, 53 or so.. people said it was much colder at summit at the time. Took me till 6pm to get down and temp was about the same most of the way down, went up a little as i got below 9500ft.. sorry i cant help much for the summit or actual date but this might give you some decent idea of the swing over the elevations...// 20F+ warmer at 10am than at 4am, temps similar from 10K to 12K but dropping above, warmer below.. Obviously freezing above 12K overnight...

Took my daughter up the Main Trail on the 4th. It was her first attempt and my 23rd. Conditions had changed somewhat from a month ago when I hiked the Main Trail with my brother.

We spent the day/night on the 2nd at Horseshoe Meadows. Very cold but we slept in the back of my SUV on a custom mattress. In the morning we sorted gear and went for a 4 mile hike towards Cottonwood.

On the 3rd we arrived at the WPS and basically hung out in the store and swapped stores with DougSr all day. For fun I had my daughter go in ahead of me and ask Doug for our permit. It's always great to talk with him and listen to him give nervous hikers advice.

He told us there was no need for our micro spikes so we left them. He was completely correct. Hikers Monday and Tuesday reported strong, cold winds, but the forecast looked like we would be okay Wednesday.

We went to bed at 6:30 and slept well. Up at 2 a.m. and we were on trail by 2:45. My daughter carried a litre of water and 3-4 hours worth of snacks in a small runners vest. I carried a small daypack with everything. We had plenty of layers and did not use the all.

I let her set the pace and we pushed through to my favorite log near LPL. Plenty of traffic on the trail. My daughter ran out of water at TrailSide Meadow so we topped her full to 2 litres, filled my bladder up and filled the 2 extra bottles I brought. We would not need to use the filter again. I saw no water on the swichers. The sewer looking lake at Trail Camp is your last water.

On the switchbacks we slowed and my daughter struggled some. She has done big hikes, but over 4 years ago. She now lives at sea level. We stayed on her pace, and I was ready to turn around when she was. She showed no AMS signs, she was just tired from the work she was putting in.

At Trail Crest we took a break and I checked to make sure she could go on. She was winded, but determined. I allowed the hike to continue and her attitude improved. Her speed picked up a little bit, but of course we were headed downhill towards the JMT. She kept a steady pace and it wasn't too long we were at the snowfield. Except the snow on the actual trail is gone. She slowed when we turned and headed towards the hut, but made it.

At the summit she took a 10 minute nap in the hut and then I got her moving for some pics. We stayed less than 15 minutes. There was cold wind, but nothing too bad.

She was in great spirits until the climb up to Trail Crest, which seemed to use a lot of her energy. We did not stop for a break there and kept going down the switchbacks. Except to shed layers we did not take any significant breaks while slowly hiking down.

I had hoped to use the old trail going down, but it was dark and I did not want to lead her along it with poor viability. We stayed on the main trail the whole way.

None of the water crossings were a challenge, even for my daughter who has short legs. I packed trekking poles but she did not need them.

Trail time was exactly 17 hours. 10 up and 7 down. Nothing record breaking, but she got it done and done safely.

What's more impressive is we drove 4 hours to Anaheim, got 5 hours rest in a crappy Motel 6 and then spent over 16 hours at Disneyland. She was sore but excited. Everyone asked about the button I made for her that read - "Whitney to the Matterhorn".

Great day on the trail..............................DUG

Hey great job !!! Good to catch up on your travels

I enjoyed my very short trip to WPS on Monday.
I had a very nice visit with Doug Jr.
There were many interesting hikers including a hiker just finished JMT and visitors.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/BXy2wnEH372iHrO73

Looking forward to seeing you all in 2018 season.

Hey Shin Sorry I missed your visit. You are right many people still coming, no snow yet and a few warm hours during the day ,but cold nights also some days smoke a problem from the fire just south of here.
I was down south when the Corona fire started and listened to reports of the fires in the Napa area very sad news.

Was up 10-12-17 and the register could use some pens. I only found 1 working and a bunch of pieces. Had I known I would have brought a few

Weird pic on the webcam this morning (but I like the extra wide view, Doug)...

Smoke in the valley and Whitney ,need wind to clear it out ,system moving in but no helping now.
On a fast update new JMT record 2 days 19 hours and change ,young man from France I think.

Frenchman Francois D'haene completed the JMT in 2 days 19 hours 26 minutes, six weeks after winning the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc in Europe. The previous FKT for the JMT was 3 days 7 hours 36 minutes by Bay area attorney Leor Pantilat in 2014. I believe Leor still has the FKT for the High Sierra Trail 15 hours 46 minutes (2012) and the Rae Lakes Loop 7 hours 29 minutes (2010).

The High Sierra wanderer might find Leor's website interesting and useful in planning future outings. He has many good photos and detailed observations about his frequent outings.

Jim

I think the day he started he had a fan club I saw a large group run up the trail. On another record a young guy ran the North Fork yesterday for a new time , his last run 5 years ago was 2:07 and that is about the average for the record holders in the past , he was trying to get it down below 2 hours.
Now onto the what was going on Saturday with all the helicopters? went on into Saturday night, Some think it was locating sheep?

Store closed for the season today, a week early. weather still holding warm and dry days , nights are chilly but nothing like normal, pond froze once last week and a little ice on the Portal waterfall. Don't get tricked and think this weather will last, be ready for a sudden temperature drop and snow .

Recap of the year is different this year , very few fatal accidents ,more info out on the internet now so maybe people are catching on April/May very serious conditions and Nov/Dec this cycle starts back up so stay focused on your training and turn back at the first sign of serious winter conditions if you are not experienced.

Then the Drone, then the water, and those everyday thunderstorms (2) and then the flood last month to round out the year.

Earlene retired with the watch and a nice vacation in Southern California this summer, one doctor says she is healthy and another says never go back to the Portal. 30 years of answering the bathroom/trailhead/campground question might have finished the old gal off! Or was it the lady that ask if she was walking up or down hill, No the car that went by 3 times and ask how do you get out of here?
And that's about how it goes. Great seeing everyone this season see you on Baldy !

Not if I see you first!

Thanks for another great season Doug and Portal crew!

I'd rather see you in the Hills, helping build an entry pavilion and putting up some signage according to the interpretive plan. Oh wait, I forgot. We need to form a committee to find a group to establish a public meeting to see if we should take another look at putting any of the interpretive plans on the calendar to discuss for 2020. (Which means: see you next Thursday...)

37 at 7 PM warm dry weather still holding,saw lights coming down the trail and about 20 cars in the lots ,high wind in the valley so that normally means wind on the ridge. Be safe ,stay in the group and turn around if weather moves in. We have had a very safe summer so lets get to the end of the year without the normal late season accident.

Sounds like a great idea Doug. I like that plan

Snow last night 16-17 Nov. got down to about the Portal and should have drifts around Mirror Lake and above, watch the webcam as this system moves out to see the coverage on Thor and spindrift to gauge wind over the ridges. Summer is over.

Haven't checked in for a while, thanks for the reports and pics

Portal yesterday 40 degrees, still dry in the Portal. Looks like we have returned to the dry pattern if so we should see storms late this month and a few next then dry until late late spring.Switchback area looks like partial coverage very thin.

Speaking of dry...

Scientist say the Sierra have gained an inch due to the reduction in moisture content of the range...

14506???

https://www.mymotherlode.com/news/local/...ain-growth.html

BTW: when did an inch become a foot? Must be that fake news thing striking again...

It's just water weight...