Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Trip report, onion valley to cottonwood

Sorry this is a bit late but finally catching up on the to do list. Took two 15 year old boys on a super 8 day trip starting at onion valley and finishing up at cottonwood lakes trail head. Besides the 126 degree temperatures in Death Valley their highlight by far was summit of Whitney at sunrise. We also were about to bag Langley but the clouds started building and I thought it was wise to head down, damn good thing because within a hour all hell broke lose with the weather. A couple of quick observations, we stopped short at tree line before forester pass due to the thunderstorms, very surprised by the number of hikers that kept going. Hadn’t been to guitar lake in about 15 years, seemed much cleaner than I remember, maybe the wag bags are working. Skeeters in early August were a non issue for us, some with the water crossings. Of course when we finally got done to took the boys over to the portal for burgers. We also stayed in the hostel in lone pine, what a nice job you guys did with that. The boys are pumped for a return trip ASAP, the hills we have here in New England are too easy the tell me now, be safe.

Rhody,

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Having hiked with my daughters when they were in their early/mid teens, I appreciated your experience/decision making as you approached Forester Pass. One certainly looks at risk more critically when one is responsible for the well-being of young adults who might not have as much experience.

Not only did your team enjoy the sunrise from the summit of Mt Whitney, but perhaps just as importantly you noted, "The boys are pumped for a return trip ASAP."

Jim