Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Cottonwood lakes to Whitney Portal Topo

I just received my permit notification for a cottonwood lakes to whitney portal trip in September. I have been searching all over for a good topo map of this trail, but I am not having any luck. I have a topo program for all the national parks, but the map is missing everything before New Army pass. Does anyone have a topo map they would be willing to share?? Also, any details regarding trail issues or unmarked splits? Most of what I have seen shows a well maintained trail with signs, but I will be doing this trip solo and I really want to make sure I am well prepared. Any info or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

mrtbones

My favorite map of this area is available at the Whitney Portal Store. It is laminated and called "Mt. Whitney Area Map" for $2.50

The Tom Harrison Mt Whitney High country map has an insert with the whole route. The scale is rather large but it should work. I'm doing the same route starting September 5th for the 1st time and I'm not too worried about getting lost on this route. There are a lot of trails through the area and you could make a wrong turn without a good map. They sell these at the visitors center for 9 bucks.

When are you leaving cottonwood lakes?

The best mapping are the USGS quads, Mt. Whitney, Cirque Peak, Mt. Langley and Johnson Peak. If you want one map go to a third-party vendor like Off-Route. They will print a custom map on waterproof "paper" in 1:24000 format.

Harrison Map and USGS map are in complete, Harrison doesn't have the trailhead area and USGS lacks the trail from current trailhead to the South Fork of Cottonwood Creek.

mrtbones,

Check out mytopo.com. You can create a custom map of the area, waterproof and easy to follow at 24:000. Price is $10-15 (depending on size) and turnaround is fast.

For all the details on the trail check out Paul Richins Jr's Guide to Mt Whitney. Search Amazon and you can usually find it reasonably priced. Lots of help in here with which ever trail you pick.

LonePalm