Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board new trailhead structure design

hello,

it has been about 5 months since the completion of construction of the new mt. whitney trailhead structure and site to consolodate and organize the beginning of a great hike to the summit. i am one of the designers/builders of the project and was wondering what you guys thought about it? here is a link to the usfs press release.

http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/newslog/roundup/mtwhitney.html

thank you.

Hi,

I think your effort on the new trail head design is great but when I made the hike a few years ago, there wasn't much at the trail head to "announce" the trail. I actually kind of liked it that way! It made me feel like the trip was more of a wilderness experience. But maybe if I saw the new construction in person, I might feel different. Thank you for all your work.
Jerry

Its much to grand, a bit invasive. As someone with an architectural background I can appreciate the built aspect of the trailhead structure, but this is no place to have a Mcdonaldsesque kiosk inviting hikers to the mountain. Don't take it personal, hey, the french hated the eiffel tower at first!

Hi I watched the group build the trail head Structure, some nights till mid night and up at 5 am to start again.Over the summer we had many commets at the store on the Structure, I would walk down to the area and show the rock work that was done by the Forest Serve trail crew and then walk down past the bathroom on the road to the right and when one looks up from that angle the rock wall flows into the structure and the trees/brush blend very well also as the summer pasted the wood darkened and in several years will match the rock walls , To be honest we still get alot of Questions Where does the Trail Start . Thanks to a Great job to all that worked on the TrailHead. Doug

We liked it...the information posted was useful and the scale was pretty cool... Great job...and thanks for hard work!

BeachAV8R

Hiking Whitney is a significant undertaking, so a significant trailhead seems appropriate to me. The signs and the scale are cool, although when I got there last month I was so eager to start that I forgot to weigh my pack.

Love it! Especially the trail info and precaution info. Thanks.

I summited on 9-11-04

Loved it - blends well with nature - practical and useful too.

Very nice. Liked the scale (though I failed to use it prior to my ascent also). I do like the trail map, really puts the climb into perspective, especially for the first timers.

Count me as another who liked it. I thought the photo of the summit with the notation that when you got there, you were only half way through with your hike was an excellent reminder of the task before each one who does the trail. All in all, it is a fitting beginning to a great hike.

Sadly, my husband and I didn't get up there this Summer because we began remodeling a "fixerupper". Are ther any pictures posted of the new structure? Would love to see how the it looks. Thanks, Susan S.

Upon 1st seeing it most people ask
A.) What is it?
B.) Is is done?
C.) Why?

I can only imagine how much of our tax money went into this both directly & indirectly.
As with many architectual projects,this is a monument to the architects.
Kind of reminds me of LegoLand.
Next time just have the Boy Scouts lash a structure.
I am sure this was done with the best of intentions, but with most things government, they just miss the point.

thank you for all of your comments.

here are a lot of photos taken during the construction (maybe a little more than you'd like?) it basically gives you a small insight into the two week experience of being on site with friends as well as the black bears in the middle of the night.

www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=qd0npb.1felabkv&x=0&y=-esb2kf

we're currently working on an article describing the experience of being in one amazing place for two weeks meeting groups of climbers before and after their climb, experiencing the biggest hearts (and pancakes) on the mountain from our friends in the portal store and finally, hopefully contributing to the meaningful experience of just being outdoors.

Dear Student Builder, I tried the address you posted and just got a blank page. Can you create a link? Thanks, Susan S.

Try this Susan: http://www.ofoto.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?showSlide=true&Uc=qd0npb.1felabkv&Uy=-esb2kf&Upost_signin=BrowsePhotos.jsp%3fshowSlide%3dtrue&Ux=0

um going to have to say I dont like it
it looks like someone nailed a few shipping pallets together.
I to asked the same question when I saw it what the heck is it.

I liked it a lot Especially the scale, and the "If you're at the top you're only halfway there".

I liked it. I thought it was of an appropriate size and quite useful. I'm surprised at the number of negative opinions.

-end

My friend Judy and I were absolutely giddy about our impending hike and adventure that lie ahead a scant few steps up the trail. That being said, the structure of comment served as a great starting point and served as a massive 'welcoming committee' to the both of us. I was not sure of the object except for the fact that it served to feed our anticipation to start. My only regret was that I was so jacked up to hit THE trail, I know that I did not appreciate the structure and the posted information as much as I should have due to the impending call of the Mighty Whitney.

It's different.....