Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Message Board Group Hike 09/15/07 (Saturday)

Have a great time people wish I could go and meet some of you, my daughter has cross country and soccer all weekend, one of these times I'll meet you guys...Take lots of pictures...mark

I'm in! BeerBrewer was good enough to allow me to hitch a ride with him on the way up.

Question for you all - based on the number of people attending do you think I am going to have a problem grabbing a campsite at the portal's family campground if I arrive tomorrow evening?

I have no idea if I'll get one, but I think my chances are good. If there aren't any left, look for a black Xterra with a Chargers sticker on the back window. I'm on my own, so there will more than likely be room.

Time to get my 2 hours in before leaving. See y'all.

Dan

Yep, Paul is up there camped in the family campground. He hiked up to Kersarge yesterday and is doing something else today. He'll probably be by the store sometime this afternoon. Wish I could be there but Paul's neice (my daughter) has her 12th birthday tomorrow.

Ed

Hey, y'all! I was checking through my backpack, and I seem to have misplaced something, maybe left it on top of Thor? Should be a green plastic bag. It would be appreciated if you guys could check around while you're there. Hope it's still there!

See you at the Portal!

-L

Hey Moosie,
I hope it's not a wag bag!
Adam

I'm willing to bet it is - any takers?

see y'all up there this evening

T-Cat

I just want to wish everyone a good time - it sounds like fun to do a group hike like that - best way in the world to meet new friends.

Would you do us all a favour though and give a detailed description of the weather / conditions when you get back? I guess since our trip is 3 weeks from today (including 3 days of acclimating), I want to get as many trip reports under our belt as we can.

Thanks - So let me get this straight. You are bringing a moose along? ;-)

Cheers,

Jeff Long

Oh was that your offending bag I retrieved?

OK, I WOULD NEVER LEAVE A 'USED' WAGBAG UP THERE! EWWW!!!

Unless it had been used to haul something else...

Only 3 more hours of work before I leave!! WOohoo!!

Leaving here at 1pm! See you up there!

Change of plans for me. Looks like I'm not going to make it. My family has other plans for me. I guess I'll have to head up next weekend. You guys have a great trip. Have a beer for me, too.

Hey Snow Nymph...today marks four years since I last ran into you on the trail. You guys were heading up the switchbacks below Long Lake on your way up to Chocolate Peak; me and the guys were heading out after doing that peak the day before.

Good Weekend to all!

Inbound to the portal tonight, see ya there.....

inbound - the cat is out of the house

There may not be many of this group still with access to the Internet tonight, but here goes anyway.

"We" have caused some excitement in Lone Pine today. Several people evidently requested permits for more than just themselves, because the FS has issued over 60 day permits for the North Fork for tomorrow! This has them a little bothered, as you might expect. I assured them the actual number may be 15 or less, and told them I would provide an accurate count when we got back.

They were also concerned because the maximum party size for the Sierra is 15. I told them that I was aware of this, as are several others, and we would split the group if necessary.

By the way: I went over the past posts and, if everyone goes who said they would (and no others), there will be 26 people. So, realistically, 15 seems like it should be close. Nevertheless, we should expect to be in two somewhat-separated groups.

Also by the way: I think I will hang around Saturday night and do the Mountaineer's Route on Sunday. Some might be interested in joining me.

-----

I will leave home around 0600, pick up my permit from the night box, and should be at the Portal around 0745.

Just talked to Paul at 8:00am. There appears to be a fantastic turnout, possibly over 50. Bob R. is there to lead and the weather is great. To all of us stuck on our computers, we're missing a lot of fun.

Ed

I'm jealous. I hope you will post pics when you're back down.

Enjoy!

When we started up the trail, there were 18 people. This included one person who happened to be there at the same time and asked if he could tag along. We split into two groups--the first one with 12 people and the second with 6 people--with about 5 minutes between groups. After starting up the North Fork, the first group stayed north of the stream (the route with the skinny ledge and the elephant ear) while the second went on the regular trail that crosses the stream.

After we got together again, some people decided to go back. We entered the Whitney Zone, at Lower Boy Scout Lake, with a final party size of 15. One person turned around at Clyde Meadow and the rest went on up the Smiley Face route to Thor's summit.

We spent 45 minutes on the summit. For the descent, we again split into two groups, with 9 going down the SE couloir and 5 going down the Secret Route and back through the Ebersbacher Ledges again.

We coalesced at the Pizza Palace for pizza and beer, courtesy of Paul. Many thanks, Paul! And thanks for organizing the whole affair.

It was a beautiful day. As they say, a nice climb was had by all.

Wow! Wish I could have been there. Next year!

Thanks Bob for the report, and thanks for helping keep the groups small.

I am sure I am not the only one here waiting to see pictures and hear from the others.

What a fantastic turnout!!! I hope to make one of these group hikes sometime soon. Look forward to the various TR's and pix!

MC