Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Memory Help, Please

Many years ago (but not in a galaxy far away) l was backpacking solo on the Chagoopa Plateau. At some point l left the trail, went north, and dropped off a vertical face, working down a series of ledges. At the bottom l bushwacked north until l hit an east-west trail, as planned. I went west and came, fairly soon, to a campsite that packers had fixed up with benches and some lockers. There was a sign posted, Grand Palace Hotel. Since then, SEKI has removed the sign and the improvements.

I can't pinpoint that e-w trail or the site of the Grand Palace Hotel. I do know l was planning on going to Lake Reflection the next day, but maybe not via East Creek. As it happened there was a serious rainstorm the night in the GPH, all my gear got soaked, and l had to head for the nearest exit. As l remember, it was 24 miles out to the nearest trailhead.

So, do any of you old timers remember the Grand Palace Hotel and can tell me where it was?
Thanks.
Burt

Burt,

I am looking at my map (1953) from Starr's guide. Perhaps you took the "trail" shown on this map which begins on the Chagoopa Plateau and which Starr describes as follows: "a route may be taken leading northward up the Chagoopa Plateau, then crossing the Kaweah Peaks ridge (12,000) just east of Mt Kaweah (13,816) and descending through the Kaweah Basin to meet the Colby Pass trail on the Kern-Kaweah." That is, go over Kaweah Pass, cross Kaweah Basin, exit by descending near the Rockslides.

I have descended from the Kaweah Basin just upstream from the Rockslides by working down a series of ledges as you described. Furthermore, it was a bushwhack to then get across the river and find the trail.

Once on the Colby Pass trail, if one heads upstream a couple of miles and is looking for a way to leave the trail, recross the river, and progress into the Kern-Kaweah Basin (towards Pants Pass), one will eventually come across a side path on the left. I have followed this path about 150 yards and arrived at a camping area with furniture, a bear box, and evidence that stock had been there.

Was this where you located the Grand Palace Hotel? Maybe. Or maybe at one time it was the GPH. Today I have reason to believe (SEKI info) that the GPH for stock is located further up the trail on the other side of Colby Pass.

Awesome terrain.

Let me know if this rings any bells. Or maybe I am completely off course and we are both lost in a far away galaxy!

Jim

Thanks for the info, Jim. From your description and my patchy memory it's clear that the Grand Palace Hotel was near Colby Pass. The fact that there is a bear box in a camp area near the Pass doesn't help, though. In the time l'm writing about there weren't bear boxes in the backcountry. Backpackers didn't have to carry food canisters, either. We hung our food from a tree limb.