Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Lost camera- 10/3/07

Help!

Our group of six summited Whitney on Wednesday, October 3rd. Foolishly, I had my camera hooked to my daypack on the way down. The last picture I recall taking was at the windows or perhaps a photo of Guitar Lake. The photos just before that would have been at the summit with my two sons and with another hiker in our group. The brand was a Fuji digital camera, but I can not recall the model number. It was in a black camera case.

I am hoping someone found it, perhaps on the switchbacks or at Trail Camp. If anyone did, please contact me and I will be greatly in your debt if I could recover the camera.

Chuck Ellsworth

You mean Wednesday, October 3? You can edit your post to change the subject.

Chuck, We will be attempting to reach the summit on Monday and will look out for a camera. Leave your contact info in case we find anything...

That's a bummer about the camera. Congrats on the summit. How were conditions? have any pics of the trail, etc? What gear did you have?

I'm trying to summit Saturday. I'll keep my eyes open for your camera.

I am part of a 10 person group. I'll pass the word along for our hike on Saturday! Sounds like it's going to be a busy day on the mountain...

Thanks to Versatile Fred for correcting the date. It was a long day yesterday.

Also, thank you to all of you for agreeing to watch out for the camera. I suspect someone found it either on Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning. Although I cannot be certain, I suspect I lost it between Trail Summit and the bottom of the switchbacks. I do not recall seeing it when we got to Trail Camp, packed up our full packs and headed down the mountain to Whitney Portal Campground- a modification of the original plan because of the stormy weather starting to blow in. I could have lost it anywhere from trail Summit to Whitney Portal, but I do not expect anyone to search for it. Odds are someone found it shortly after I dropped it along the way. I am just hoping they read this posting.

As for trail conditions, they were snowy and icy from the start of the switchbacks to the peak, with a few bare dirt spots along the way. We did not have crampons, but we should have, so I would highly recommend them to anyone going up in the next few weeks.

Have a great trip, and thank you to everyone for watching out for my camera. Andy yes, we did have a bear story out of the trip.

Thanks-

Chuck Ellsworth

Well lets hear the bear story. You cant leave us hangin' like that.

First the good news! My camera might have been turned in at the Bishop Ranger station, but they cannot verify that it is mine at this point. Time will tell.

Okay, now to the bear story. On Wednesday afternoon after we got off the summit, we agreed to return to Whitney Portal instead of waiting out the high winds at Trail Camp. Back at Whitney Portal campground, we were visited repeatedly starting from around 3 AM. It was a mother and one cub that first got into my backpack- no food but the cub did tear up the Charmin Toilet Paper roll that I had in my pack. I guess the ads are true after all. I got up, chased them off and then heard a nearby camp banging pots and pans and chasing them off even further. Thinking that was the end of it, I went back to bed, only to hear the same bear roaring (more like an elephant than what you would expect from a bear) again about 6 AM. This time several of us got up, found the cub standing on one of the backpacks, chewing some gorp through the hole in the pack he had just created. Yes, we realized that no one should have left any food in their packs, but one of the group forgot to remove his gorp and put it in his bear canister. It cost him a hole in his backpack. Once we chased the bears off, they hung around, staying about 100 feet away for about an hour, just glaring at us. We showed them the fish in Lone Pine Creek and explained to them that fish were better food, but they did not buy it. Finally, they left after deciding there was no more treats in their future.

We felt bad about giving the cub positive reward with the food, but it was simply an oversight due to the tiredness. It was a mistake we would never make again.

Now for the really good news, The Ranger Station in Bishop called back. They did have my camera, turned in by some kind hiker who found it along the trail.

Thanks to all-

Chuck Ellsworth

That's great that you got the camera back, and the bear story is pretty good too. That's a good way to learn a lesson about bears. I can't imagine many people let that happen twice, good packs are expensive, and pretty useless once they get a big hole in them.

im glad your camera was returned, there really are good people out there huh!

Yes, the bear lesson was well learned and won't be forgotten.

The point about good people being out there is especially true and this illustrates the point so well. The kind of people who invest hundreds of dollars into the right gear and take the time to get in the shape necessary to do a trip like this are naturally self selected and I believe are more self-less and considerate than the average person. Consider the fact that we all feel safe leaving our tents and full packs in places like Trail Camp while we make the run to the peak. There just aren't that many places in America, or the world, where you could safely leave your valuables and necessary possessions like that unattended. People who hike, beyond the casual recreational hikes, are a different breed.

I hope the person who returned my camera identified him or herself so I can properly thank them. I know I would have done the same thing and I believe most hikers would also have done so. It is a different kind of person who engages in these activities and I am proud to be numbered among that group. I hope to always be worthy.


Chuck

congrats on summit! I understand how easy it is to overlook things when tired. My girlfriends & I did Whitney in a one day push, & hit the tents at Portal(with my trail clothes on). We made sure everything was out of the car,out of tents & into the locker. I was almost asleep when I realized I had jelly beans in my pocket! I didn't want to get up, but I did. We woke up around 4am to a bear nudging our feet. I was so glad I noticed those beans.