Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Cold ,wind ,snow and everything

Weather report says a change in the path will need jackets and snacks,low around Trailcamp could be 5 on Monday night with wind gusts.
Still bears walking around and deer in the area along the roads from town to the Portal .Mountain lion in the city Park a few nights ago and one spotted at the entrance to the Alabama Hills about the same period.
West side of Movie Road is day use only now and other spots closed to camping in the hills,this restrictions is way overdue and should be considered for the entire Alabama Hills area, said fact that the overuse and carelessness of the few has created major resource damage,much of the damage was caused by campers diving down spur roads and not finding a way out so would turn into the desert and create tracks that the next person would think it was a road or drive cross country to the next spur road,toilet paper all over the area and multiple fire rings and fires built next to the large boulders leaving scorched marks high on the suface.
Bolting on 5 foot boulders might need some attention in the future.

It is sad to hear about the condition of the Alabama Hills. There are too many yahoos out there. It's why we can't have anything nice.

Reminds me of that crazy guy who put together a detailed preliminary report about camping impacts and solutions for the Hills a little while back. If I remember correctly, there were five different scenarios presented to the BLM brass, but they all started having conniptions and fainting spells and then formed a posse and ran that whacko out of town. Glad he disappeared and that the final management plan had absolutely nothing in common with those proposed solutions (they left out a few commas).


Good to know that Myles is keeping busy...

Maybe they were just filming a movie sequel out there...Planet of the (RV) Apes.

Winded all day and night temp this am 20 degrees in the Portal. About 1/2 inch of snow in the Portal,melting out after the sun hits the area.
Some going up and planning to get to outpost and stay the night should be about 15 degrees for the low. Wind calm now.

395/14 was a mess yesterday many trucks blown over,roads closed off and on .

Any tips for fortifying a tent in inclement wind conditions?

I have a 4-season tent however curious are there ways to increase the strength other than pitching more guylines. I'm considering buying a second set of tent poles to double up with, any thoughts?

Yesterday a young man came in that had his dome tent blown apart at trail camp.
Trail camp winds are serious. We always suggest stay at a different location ,Outpost,about 1/2 mile before Trail camp a nice sandy area with a rocky area you can get out of the wind. At trailcamp if you climb on the ledges just north of the water they offer some wind blockage.

Poles seem to be the weak part of tents,next is the seams ripping apart from the wind working the fabric back and forth,door area if pitched into the wind direction can start a rip. A good 4 season tent should stand very strong winds the cover surface should fit tight over the shell. Problem is a strong 4 season tent can be heavy,and expensive but companies are out there that make very good tents for extreme conditions.
How to increase your chance of keeping the tent secure at trailcamp always cones down to rocks inside and heavy rocks for tie downs and take down when not in use.

Bring a four-season tent. If there is enough snow, you can dig down and make a platform for the tent. Then build snow walls around the tent. If rocks inside the tent are holding it down in the wind, they are also abrading the inside of the tent.