Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Trail Crest exit permit/camp in Whitney zone?

I have a permit to enter on the Cottonwood Lakes trail and hike over New Army Pass and do the loop through JMT to Whitney Portal, with a specific Trail Crest "exit" permit included.

Does this "exit" permit allow me to camp within the Whitney zone? Just curious because I'd really like to camp at Guitar Lake on the last night before the summit.

Thanks,
mchiker

That won't be a problem.

Yes. You can camp overnight at Guitar Lake, or on the east side of Trail Crest too, for that matter. The Trail Crest exit permit is just a means of limiting the number of hikers travelling the main Mt. Whitney Trail.

All that permit says is you have to cross Trail Crest west to east on a specific day. Everything else is up to you.

How are you handling the logistics of the loop re: leaving a car on one end or the other and getting to it? I have a similar trip scheduled but haven't tackled that issue yet.