Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board got August openings? main trail..

¡Hola a todos!
GOT SLAMMED on the permit process,
DENIED, check returned.
Have mi hermano (brother) coming in
from España, anyone have openings
on their permit for 2 experienced backpackers
for the week of August 8-12 or August 15-19?
Weekdays mind ya? Didn't request or want the
the weekends. Beggers can't be choosers so,
if you got some openings please advice.
Don't want to wait in front of Lone Pines Ranger Station
wishing and hoping for or hand out or bone!! ie..
(a NO SHOW). So. Cal and Spain are too DAMM far to
come from for a hopeful peak attempt.
We'll do San G. or San Jac. down here instead.
¡Mucho gracias! A million thanks,
See ya at the top!

Looking at the <a href="http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/inyo/recreation/wild/whitneyavail.shtml">Inyo N. F. web site</a>, there are plenty of dayhike slots available mid-week for your dates -- just no overnight slots. You could reserve two dayhike slots, then go and try for the overnight no-shows. You would have a good chance on the no-shows, but if you were unlucky, could still try for the summit.

Good luck!
<a href="http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~stevec/" target=_new>Steve C</a>

Go through New Army Pass and either go to Crabtree Meadows or up Rock Creek Canyon. Don't worry about a permit; you'll be exiting on the Mt. Whitney Main Trail and nobody will bother you on the way out. You can get a permit for the Trail over New Army Pass without any trouble and you can make up any story you like to tell the Rangers if they stop you on the Main Trail. If they give you a ticket, pay the fine and consider it a user fee. The back way in to Whitney takes 3-4 days, but you have that amount of time and you'll have a really fine trip taking the back country route. You're technically breaking the law, but it's a victimless crime. I like the Rock Creek Canyon approach, very wild and beautiful, a bit rugged, but not technical at all. It's just a long slog over rougher country than the Main Trail, but it's not crowded and very scenic. Once you summit, you just bail out down the Main Trail.

Adrian

Felipe, I don't have any slots for you but the advice given about getting a day slot and then looking for a no show permit is good. The New Army Pass route is also very nice and scenic. It takes most people around 5-6 days to do it. It can be done in less though if you hike longer days. You will get away from the masses on the Main Trail. By the way, there isn't much of a difference between weekdays and weekends up there. Permit slots are full on all days. You'll see lots of people regardless. If you want a wilderness experience with no people Whitney isn't the place to go.

By contrast, the advice given by Adrian about blowing off the permit process and going on the Main Trail to exit your trip is extremely poor. There's no such thing as "technically breaking the law". Things are either legal or illegal. This message board shouldn't be a place to advocate illegal activities on public lands. If the USFS learns that the current fine isn't enough to deter people from going to Whitney illegally (as it looks like it isn't for Adrian) the USFS will make the penalty more severe.

Also, you should know that the USFS and NPS monitor this discussion board and have in the past used this board as a way to crack down on people intending to conduct illegal activities on public lands.

I wish you the best planning your trip con su hermano. Buena suerte!

I got slammed too.

The permit process has always baffled me. Although I think I already know the answer, I'm wondering in my case if there's a grey area.

What I want to do is to hike up to Trail Crest via the Main Trail and then camp by the lake due south of Trail Crest and North of Crabtree pass. This lake is outside the "Whitney Zone".

Does this mean I can just get a standard wilderness permit since I have no intention of camping inside the Whitney Zone?

-Rick

Sorry Rick, a permit is required for entry into the Whitney zone via the main trail.

Yeah, that's what I figured. What if I got a Whitney trail daypass for the day I go through the Whitney Zone and then a wilderness permit for an overnight stay outside the Whitney Zone? Seems like there must be some way to make this work.

-Rick

What about this, get a day permit for your trip up staying outside the zone at the lake you mentioned and then get an exit permit for the following day to return down the main trail.

There are a few days open for the exit permit, Aug 1st isn't full and a few days in july are open as well. Didn't check to see if any day permits were available the days before the open exit permit days.

Don't know if it will fly past the rangers but give it a try.

Somehow, I just don't think they would accept anything quite like that. There are no "wilderness permits" other than the standard overnight permits based on your starting trailhead.

It doesn't matter that you are staying outside the traditional camping areas, you are still entering at the main whitney trail, so the overnight pass on that trail is what they will require.

But it certainly wouldn't hurt to call the R.S. and run it past them.

(This touches on a primary complaint I have about the current system -- I often have to scrape up the last permit available, and then hike in beyond the traditional camping spots and camp where there is not a soul for miles around. Yet according to the permit system, the area was "full".)

Thanks for the ideas and insights on ways
to bag Mt. Whitney. As I mentioned a month
or so ago, I might take some Native America-
Five Nations paperwork I carry and tell the rangers,
"your on my LAND, where the H**L is your permit!!!"
Bottom line, it's a 50/50 call. Don't want problems
but just hate the idea of a TURKEY SHOOT lottery
controlling the whole thing.
Hope everyone understands, those who got'm are lucky
that's for sure.

Felipe,
Why don't you try the Mountaineer's route. If you can do it in one day, you can go up and down without a permit. You can also go up this route and come down the main trail like I did with some pals last October, no permit for that option either. A lot of folks say that the Mountaineer's route is much harder. I found that for me it was about the same as going up the main trail. If you can't figure out how to get around going cross country and using a map than you shouldn't try it. If you can, or if you get a partner who has been up it and knows the way then it is worth a try. I climbed Whitney for the first time last year. I did it twice, once main Trail, and once on the MR. The MR is steeper, so therefore you slow down a bit and adjust your step and pace as needed. The real tough part that will clean your clock is the gully above Iceberg lake. However When I went up the main Trail I felt equally spent from the trail crest to the summit, and this area gains only 1000' in 2.5 miles. As I clearly recall, both summit attempts were equally difficult for me. I did get up the MR in slightly under 8 hours, nothing to brag about, but hell I made it. When I went up the main trail it took me a little under 9 hours. I'm about 15-20 pounds lighter now so hopefully next time I'll be faster. I like your take on pulling the Native American stuff. My daughters are about half Apache and Cherokee.
best of luck.

Rafael...

Felipe;

Not trying to be flip and no judgement intended, just being practical. You can check a thread from last summer by "pediwent" about a trip up through Rock Creek Canyon. If you're the sort who shrinks in horror from blowing through a light as it turns red when you can see for miles nobody's coming on the other road, just because it's "against the law", then you can consider my advice "extremely poor". If you're a practical sort, then you will know that you can get permits to enter elsewhere and that nobody will check you for a permit while you're going DOWN the Main Trail. It's just a way to get things done and accomplish your goal of going up there!!

The thing about the quota system is this: the real problem is pressure on the local environment around Trail Camp and Bighorn Park. People camp there and foul the waterways. The outhouses are maintained at trouble and expense by the Forest Service. They have to helicopter out the "honey buckets" from Trail Camp. So, they want to limit the camping pressure on those areas and they don't really care if someone walks through the zone on the way out. Hence, you're more likely to get eaten by a Cougar than get into real trouble for hiking down the Main Trail with no permit.

Anyhow, there are various ways to get up there and back. The MR is one way to do it, but the back routes are pretty nice if you have the time. Personally, I'd figure 2 nights if you're really fast to do the Rock Creek Route, but 3 is better because it makes the whole affair nicer what with having time to enjoy the process and time to look at stuff on the way.

Cheers

Adrian

It doesn't matter which direction you are traveling, they check people going in both directions. You never know when you are going to be checked. Travel without a proper permit at your own risk of being stopped and fined and/or asked to leave the area imediately or nothing.