Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board acclimation hikes near whitney

i have a book on 100 hikes in CA's Central Sierra and Coast Range and blurbs from an internet site about some acclimation hikes: http://home.earthlink.net/~bclk/guide.html. I'm wondering which are the best hikes to choose from for the 2 days i'll be in the area to acclimate and prep. i've read it's best to do around 8 miles-I'm assuming it's best to stay pretty flat, but still hike high?

some hikes mentioned were: Agnew Meadows to Shadow Lake and Beyond-Mammoth Lakes, wouth Ford Lakes Loop/New Army Pass Trail-South Fork Lakes Trail-Lone Pine, and Virginia Lakes to Burro Pass-Hoover Wilderness, Yoiyabe National Forest-this one has some harder stream crossings. Any info would be appreciated.

As posted many times, the highest High Sierra trailhead is out of Rock Creek, at 10,320'. Little Lakes Valley is mostly flat to its end, at Morgan Pass. Mammoth is great, too. Those hikes you list seem fine for a backpack, but I guess you can do them in a day, too. If you're coming from Phoenix, there are good altitude hikes right near Lone Pine, like Cottonwood Lakes, and Meysan Lakes. You wouldn't have to drive north all that way to do all those hikes you list, either.

Several days before hiking Whitney, we spent time in Yosemite and Mammoth Lakes. We had a great day hike at Mosquito Flat Trailhead-Little Lake Valley Trail, which is south of Mammoth Lakes on Rock Creek Road off Hwy 395. The trailhead parking lot is at Elevation 10,300 feet so there's not much hiking to do unless you want to head up to higher elevation. We spend the day relaxing and acclimating at Elevation 11,000-12,000 feet and the scenery was outstanding. Before driving to Mosquito Flat, we purchased picnic food at a nice bakery in the Town of Mammoth Lakes.

4x summit, what i want to do is a day hike-something that will help me acclimate and prep, but not take all my Whitney energy or cause too much muscle soarness for Whitney (I'm thinking this is a good idea, anyway). The first night from Phx, we'll prob stay in a hotel. I figured we'd just drive to Lone Pine and from there do some day hikes. I didn't realize the hikes I mentioned weren't too close. I'd prefer to stay as close in the area as possible.

Would you recommmend staying in Lone Pine the first night as we'll be getting in at night or is there a more central place? I want to head over the whitney prob the next morn or at some point to get campgrounds for the next 2 nights, also, so i'm not sure how this will work out.

maybe a rundown of what others do (exact itinerary) in the area would help?? thx!

Bobk530, i guess we were typing at the same time and i wasn't able to read your email until I had already posted mine. I'm wondering if maybe you had the right idea and just rest. am i pushing it too much by planning 8 mile hikes the 2 days before Whitney or is it better to just hang out and do smaller hikes or rest in high altitude?

Kim, sitting around at altitude may help some, but you need to do some easy to moderate hikes at altitude to prep for the Whitney Trail. To save fuel and costs, I'd hike around Cottonwood Lakes, either to go south on the PCT or up to New Army Pass. Go as far as you feel comfortable. You can use these hikes as a shakedown of your technique and gear organizing. Have water handy for drinks, and see your canteens don't leak from altitude. Apply the usual lotions, and eat the foods right for you. It's only about 15 miles from Lone Pine to the Cottonwood Lakes Trailhead, a far less crowded area than the Portal. The two roads are excellent, all paved, and take some 20 minutes to drive up. Get a good topo map for the areas, as there are multiple trailheads for the Cottonwood trails. They have so many use trails, you can get lost.

Kim: Its an individual decision. I went to Whitney with 3 hiking buddies but I did not meet 2 of them until the morning of the Whitney hike because they were busy hiking Half Dome while I and my other buddy were hiking a short but steep trail in Yosemite 3 days before, relaxing at Little Lake Trail 2 days before, and took it easy at Whitney Portal campground the night before the Whitney hike.

Proper acclimation regardless of your age, constantly sipping water on the hike, investing in several good pairs of hiking socks, eating the right energy food, carrying a good water purifier, and going with a fellow hiker will get you to the top and make for an enjoyable trip.

If you are driving from south, you will hit Lone Pine first and Mammoth Lakes/Yosemite area might be out of the way since you will have already driven many miles and hours.

If I were coming from the south, I would hike Orion Valley/Kearsage Pass trail, which is off Highway 395 and the Town of Independence. Its a four mile hike and takes you to Elevation 11,800 feet. The scenery is great.

Alternatively and closer to Lone Pine is the Cottonwood Lakes trail, which starts at Elevation 10,000 feet.

Kim,

<a href="http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=002127">This</a> is a link to posting with pictures from a recent trip to the Sierra that included both the Cottonwood Lakes and Onion Valley areas to give you an idea as to what you'll see in each.

I'm sure you already know that there are many more links to photo albums. The search feature is great for finding them.

I have to agree that the hikes out of Rock Creek are really quite pleasant. Last year in preparation for a Whitney overnight, I hiked up to Mono Pass (the one out of Rock Creek, not Yosemite) and Summit Lake one day and Morgan Pass the second day. Mono is probably the more interesting hike.

And if I recall again 4xsummit is the guy I met the year earlier doing Mt Dana??

i still have to get a map, but if is mono pass and summit lake around cottonwood lakes and meysan lakes or Orion/Onion Valley? How far is the Town of Independence, also, if we planned to do Orion Valley/Kearsage Pass trail one day?

Mono Pass is up by Rock Creek, about 20 miles north of Bishop. Onion Valley is about 12 miles out of Independence, which is 15 miles north of Lone Pine. Kearsarge Pass is a good shorter (6.5 miles one way) hike, with great views, but it may be more climbing than you wish to do before your Whitney hike, about 2,700' gain.

Gas will be about 2.60/gal. along this part of the Eastern Sierra, and I don't know what fuel efficiency you get. You probably just want Whitney, and don't really care about any other peaks/hikes.

You really should get a good map immediately; I think one is online at 395.com or somewhere.

Before this board changed format, I recall someone who I spoke with doing Dana in June 2002. Small world.

4xsummit, you're right that Whitney is certainly my focus and I don't think I want to work my leg muscles too much the 2 days before the hike. I looked up Cottonwood Lakes -south to the PCT and New Army Pass in the book and it had a small map of the New Army Pass Loop which is 19.7 miles and Cottonwood pass was on the edge of the map with PCT off the map. Does PCT stand for something that I should know, by the way? The book also gives directionss to turn down Horseshoe Meadow Rd to the Cottonwood Lakes Basin TH and walk-in campground. Is this where you were talking about? If so, should we camp here, or try to camp closer to the Whitney TH?

The Meysan Lakes hike you mentioned seems really populated, which I don't prefer, but if it's closest and most convenient, I may consider it. It is 3,670 ft up and 10 miles, though. I don't know, maybe this would be a good amt before Whitney? I just always thought giving the legs a rest would be a better idea.

REI in Tempe, AZ seems limited on their topos. If I can't get one here, should I go to the store at Whitney or is there somewhere else in Lone Pine? Will I need a topo or will the type maps the ranger stations give out be fine?

bobk530-if we planned to go the onion valley route (which closer sounds better, though-if it's 1/2 hr that's not too bad-depending on the roads...) do you park at the large Onion Valley TH?

well, thanks, again. i'll look on 395.com for maps-i'm assuming you meant maps of the area, not topo-type maps. i have an atlas i'll look at of the area, too.

Pacific Crest Trail.....>2650 miles from Mexico the Canada and one of the two most famously traveled thru trails in the USA, the other being the Applachian Trail.

Before doing Whitney from Horseshoe Meadow my brother and I spent a few days in Mammoth to acclimate and we made a day hike to Duck Lake. That was a nice hike. Another thing you might want to do is be sure you camp at Whitney portal the night before your summit hike. The day you get there go for a day hike up to Little Boy Scout Lake. It's not too tough (though the ledges can be exciting and people do die there) and it's a nice little climb.

All these suggestions are good...I just wanted to second the Onion Valley/Kearsarge Pass hike. I did this two days ago, after hiking White Mountain on Sunday, as just a quick add-on to my trip after seeing Richard P.'s pictures. I was so glad I added this little side trip, because it is incredibly beautiful, has a quiet campground with plenty of open sites (9200 ft), and for acclimatizing you don't have to go all the way to the Pass. I thought this would be a great pre-Whitney stop, at least for me coming from the south (San Diego). Don't have to go as far as the White Mountains, don't have the one night limit of Horseshoe/Cottonwood, and can get a little more elevation gain work if I want it. I love Horseshoe/Cottonwood, but the views of three waterfalls from the campground hooked me. AND, I got from Onion Valley to the Portal Store in less than an hour for a burger before heading home. Can't beat that!

Marc, were the waterfalls at onion valley or cottonwood lakes?

did u get a map for the hikes and if so, which map?

was the campground carcamping or backpacking and were there lots of sites? we'll be arriving saturday late-possibly 8-10pm.

Cottonwood area still Inyo Wilderness or Sequoias?

Sequoias do not allow dogs and we will be camping with our dog. Thanks

Hi Kim,
Sorry, that wasn't clear, was it? I meant Onion Valley for the waterfalls. They aren't massive, by the way, but about the size of the Whitney Portal falls, which are quite pretty, and you can hear them all through the (Onion) valley. The campground was car camping. I just ambled in on a Sunday evening about 7pm, and it never filled up. The campground host said it wouldn't fill up that night or during the week, but I don't know if a Saturday night is busier. He said that some of the sites were reservable, though, so that might be worth looking into. I think www.reserveusa.com handles that campground. 29 sites, water but no showers, w/ the nicer kind of pit toilets (i.e. less smell).

For this trip I just had a Sequoia/Kings Canyon map that wasn't detailed enough, but the trail is very clear and I didn't need to look at a map. The other source I looked at was Paul Richins' book on Mount Whitney, which has an approach to Whitney from Onion Valley and thus a couple pages of his own - non topo -trail map of the area. The Mt. Whitney High Country map (Harrison) doesn't cover Onion Valley.

Other posts in this thread address the benefits and different thoughts about hiking flat or steep, longer or shorter for acclimatizing, and I don't know about how each individual adjusts with the different choices. Just know that the Kearsarge Pass trail is a steady uphill but not steep, gaining about 450 feet per mile to the Pass. Other trails I saw (one was to Robinson Lake, the other to Golden Trout Lakes) seemed steeper but I didn't hike them so don't know for sure. I guess personal preference prevails here on the steep/flat options.