Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board camp sites

Considering the traffic at Trail Camp, are there any good overnight sites near there?

You could consider the area at or around Consultation Lake if you don't mind off-trailing a little and a slight descent toward the lake, then having to hike up to the trail the next day as you start off again. It's scenic, more remote (i.e. less populated) and with water available. Make sure to set up camp the required distance away from the water and "leave no trace." Mr. Rockwell will no doubt have other recommendations, as well.

I normally don't blurt out when there are plenty of others who can provide good answers on a subject, but since this is a direct invitation....

A large and mostly overlooked area for camp sites starts next to the solar toilets and extends east for several hundred feet, to past that little pond on your left as you hike up. There are well over a dozen nice spots, north of the trail and tucked among the slabs, and not visible from the trail. You do have to go farther for water, but if one person takes a pack with everyone's canteens/bladders, a single trip for dinner and breakfast for the party should suffice.

Some of the sites are convenient to the stream coming from Trail Camp pond, and then it is a short walk.

Maybe a bit off this topic...concerning the sites at Consultation Lake, is there any worthwhile fishing there?
Is it worth it taking out a pole?
Coming in from Guitar/ Horseshoe and have it with anyway?

Mark, there are BIG fish at Consultation Lake, especially at the outlet. Dare I say up to 2 feet long?

I'd never counter Bob R's observations and, though I enjoy fishing a great deal, I'm certainly no Ichthyologist, but given the altitude at or near 12,000', doesn't Consultation freeze solid over the winter? and if so, how does any fish avoid winter kill? Better get that big boy while he's not looking....

I hoofed my backpackers collapsible fishing pole up to Trail Camp last week. Hit the summit the next AM, and hit Lake Consultation that PM. There are a LOT of trout in the lake. I'd cast out, and either land a fish, or get hit two or three times reeling the lure in. I landed eight fish in half an hour. I de-barbed my hooks, and went catch and release. I hooked nothing over a half pound, but for a little fish they put up a good fight! That was my third time fishing up there, and I've done well each time. By the way, my covertable pants legs fell out of my jacket pocket somewhere in the boulder field on the shore of the lake. I looked for two hours, but couldn't find them. If you find a pair of legs up there, please let me know !

I'm going up the trail this weekend, Aug 28th, with 4 other guys- my first attempt. We plan to spend a night near Consultation before going up to the summit.
Is the Consultation Lake area suitable for a stake down tent? I have been using a Spitfire solo for a while with success in other areas, using titanium stakes,(plus it weighs only 2.6lbs), but was concerned about the ground conditions up that high. Appreciate any knowledgeable replies. Thanks!

JoeHiker 53 - on the issue of stake driving at Consultation, although I have no first hand experience with the ground conditions there, I would tend to doubt ability to stake a tent - it's mostly scree and level rock in places and suspect as to whether any effort would get a stake down. Probably guying-off to large, heavy rocks nearby would be best bet. Good Luck on your summit effort this weekend.

I allways bring my fish'in pole into the high country. Consultation lake was great fish'in. caught some of the biggest high mountain trout ever. why i don't see more poles on the trail is a mystery. oh ya , my biggest fish was around 1 lb. and belive it or not of the 28 fish i caught 1 was a steelhead, a big one,got a picture of it. i catch and releace,i know how to do it with out killing the fish and i wish more people would learn. it's fun.

Steelhead = "a rainbow trout that has returned from the sea."

Hmmmm. That's a heckuva climb up to Consultation Lake from the Pacific. (Congrats on your lunkers, Dan, but I think you probably landed a not-so-colorful rainbow.)

I haven't fished Consultation Lake, but you would be surprised to see the fish that come out of the high lakes. A lot of the higher lakes aren't free of ice until mid-July or later, depending on the previous winter's snowfall. But I have seen some large ones; someone I was with at Lake Italy (11,200') saw a dead 14" golden there. And I have seen plenty of 10" trout come out of lakes over 11,000'.