Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Theft

I am attempting to climb Whitney in about a week (June 8-10) via the main trail. I plan to leave my tent and other heavy belongings at the campsite closest to the summit and dayhike to the top from there. Having never been to the Whitney area before, I am wondering if leaving my tent and other "heavy" things at this point is both wise and prudent. Im sure 99% of those on the trail respect the property of others, but I can't help but wonder if this isnt inviting to those who don't. Is this ever a problem and if so, how often?

Thieves never walk more than 50 yards up a trail -- too much work.

You will find hikers are an honest bunch.

...but then there was that one guy who complained that someone moved his stuff and stole his camp site. He was not a happy camper.

Out of sight, out of mind is a good policy. Most who camp and hike Whitney leave their tent up and valuables out of sight. It is rare for any gear to be stolen at Outpost or Trail Camp. You should be okay, but like I say, out-of-sight is a good way to go.

As a rule, most criminals are too lazy to hike very far. A trailhead parking lot on the other hand......

brandison,

Since you said you want to camp at the site nearest the summit (Tarail Camp), the only real thief you have to worry about is



I took this while going through Trail Camp on my way to the summit last September. This guy was going from tent site to tent site (while all the tent owners were summitting) looking for what he finally found. He was relentless! Once he found this apple, he could have cared less that I came up this close and snapped his picture!

CaT

To add to the Marmot warning... I recommend you keep all your food and toiletries in your bear box, outside your tent when you hike. Leave your tent closed and clean of food inside. I have done that without incident. I had a friend say he heard to leave your tent open so the Marmots don't chew through. He found his tent filled with "land mines" left by the critters!

Hey i heard those fat thiefs are very filling when you run out of food ....

... if you can catch one!

Last August while sitting in trail camp, I was amazed at how tenacious the Marmots can be. I was sitting in my camp taking a little power nap and they would come up and tug a my pack with me leaning against it. After about 40 taps with my treking pole ,they finally found a easier campsite. I must have thrown rocks for an hour til they left. But, when a neighbor showed up later, all their packs had holes chewed into them. And yes, they did say they had left food in their packs. SO, put everything in the bear ( Marmot ) canister.

One time, on top of half dome, I was eating breakfast when a marmot stole my bag of cherros. That little guy is quite friendly up there. Perhaps you've seen him.

The most brazen marmot I've ever seen wasn't around Whitney but rather on the slopes up to Wheeler Peak, the NM state highpoint. If you scroll about halfway down in this page, there is a nice shot of our "friend."

Whenever Nathan and I would stop (between 11,000' at Williams Lake and 13,000' at the summit ridge) to catch our breath, this guy would be right there, begging for a handout. He would actually walk (waddle is more like it...he was pretty well fed) up and put his front paws on our boots and look up at us.

He finally departed in a big hurry when he crossed from his territory into that of a much bigger marmot about 100 yards farther uphill. The big guy chased him all the way out of sight and that was the last we saw of either of them.

The golden-mantled ground squirrels back down at Williams Lake were similarly bold...they would actually sit there and complain at you if you stopped and didn't feed them.

That said, I've never had a problem with the two-legged critters taking anything from my campsites either in the Sierra, Rockies or elsewhere. Mostly, I figure if I'm a good day's walk from the nearest trailhead, the other people there are generally pretty good folk. I make sure anything that looks valuable is either with me or hidden inside the tent. I figure it keeps the honest people out...and the dishonest ones (as observed elsewhere in this thread) are too darned lazy to hike up there on the off chance they might score something out of a campsite.