Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Trip report MWT 5/15-17

We left Huntington Beach on Thursday at 12:25, 35 minutes ahead of schedule. With the lovely socal traffic, and a ½ hour stop in palmdale for Subway, bad Chinese food and Starbucks (for a clean restroom) we made the visitor center at 5:15.

“Trail Camp!?” asks the ranger, with a look of doubt in his face. “yeah” I said, “why?” “Pretty ambitious with all the snow” he said. Those guys always crack me up. Of course I always go into the visitor center with a grass hat, Bermudas, a button up Hawaiian shirt and deck shoes on, just to throw them off…

Permit in hand we headed up to the portal to set up camp for the night, and enjoy a delicious, juicy portal burger. WHAT??? The grill closes at 6pm? Why didn’t I get the memo? I assume too much. Our dreams of bovine bliss dashed, we headed back down to Lone Pine. Seasons or Merry go Round? We finally settled on the Pizza Factory. Aside from the constant hacking away by the woman making our pizza, it was pretty good, although very expensive. We headed back up to the portal, agreed on a 3am wake up call and hit the sac.

Normally, I do not sleep well (if at all) at elevation. Thursday night would be no exception. Tired of trying to go to sleep, (I know, ironic isn’t it?) I got us up at 2:30am and packed up. In our sleep/oxygen deprived states, it took us two hours to get our sorry butts on the trail. Just one more minute to get our trailhead photos…Oh good, the “brand new” batteries that Ass assured me he had, are not so new after all. In fact they were dead. Oh well, I still had my phone and the old batteries for the camera, we just may be able to squeeze out a few shots on the summit.

With the half moon we were able to cruise up the trail without headlamps. The sun came up just as we were getting to Lone Pine Lake. In no hurry, we walked down to the lake to take in the scenery. We refilled our bladders and continued up the trail. And what an awesome trail, as trails go. The heavy packs, not so burdensome on such a mellow grade. A far cry from the 60lbs we each carried up the North Fork not a year ago.

Normally, switchbacks are not much fun. The Main Whitney Trail is different; every switcher brings a new perspective to this corner of the Sierra Nevada. What makes this trail so neat is that there is no shortage of sights to see along the way. Starting at the TH it’s not long before you can see and hear two enormous waterfalls to the southwest. Before you know it, you are passing the North Fork, then Lone Pine Lake. After a couple more switchbacks you reach Bighorn Park, a large open meadow laced with alpine streams. Before you leave the park you’ve made outpost camp and the site of yet another breathtaking waterfall, while all around you sheer granite cliffs begin to dominate. In just a bit you crossing the Mirror Lake outlet and headed up to the ridge for more impressive views up the mountain and down into the Owens Valley. I could go on and on, but back to the trip.

Enjoying all there is to be enjoyed on this trail hardly left time to notice that we were now at Consultation Lake and just below Trail Camp. It was 11am on Friday, and Trail Camp was ours. We both found ourselves a nice comfy site and settled in. We spent the afternoon napping and watching hikers come down the 99 switchbacks. Oddly, not one person came down the snow slope on Friday afternoon. After talking with a couple of hikers who climbed down the 99 switchbacks we agreed that climbing the slope would be our best and safest course of action. Later in the afternoon, we were joined by two 20 something brothers from Pittsburg, PA. They carried a rental tent, rental stove, rental crampons (no axes or poles), cotton cloths and a rented sense of confidence. They were nice enough for sure, but in our eyes were unprepared. Trying not to be preachy (we're no experts ourselves) we tried to caution them about the possible dangers of what lay ahead. Unphased, they went about there business of setting up camp not 15’ away from us. They admitted to us that they did not bring their issued wag bags with them in the interest of weight. This was as they pulled their propane camping stove out to boil water in their 4 liter steel pot. I always bring extra wags, so I offered one to them in the event that their plan to stay constipated for the weekend failed. They refused.

As the afternoon rolled on, the clouds rolled in and it started snowing. Assured by the forecasters that this would be passing quickly, we sat on the rocks thoroughly enjoying our luck at such a spectacle. As promised, the snow quickly stopped and the clouds dissipated as the sun set behind Mt. Muir. At 6pm I took a Tylenol PM and started reading the latest issue of Popular Science. By 7:30 I was actually sleeping at 12,000’…Go Chemistry! While I did wake up a few times during the night, it was definitely the best sleep I have ever had at that altitude. I woke up at 3:30am and started breakfast. We were on the white stuff by 4:30am, headed for the slog, I mean slope. The snow was in great form as we started up. While I have been practicing snow travel and safety at my home mountains (Baldy, San Gorgonio) this was the first time I would be able to apply my new skills to a real mountain. We slowly headed up the grade, picking landmarks as milestones on the way up. As we climbed we were joined and almost overtaken by a fellow in a red cap. I reached the top at 7:30 with a sense of accomplishment; Only to be joined just moments later by the man in the red cap. He must have been 70 or so. I can only hope to be in such great shape at his age. Needless to say, he beat us to the summit. Ass and I made the summit at 9:45. The old batteries squeezed out a few summit shots before we had the pleasure of meeting the great Kurt Wedberg as he led his group to the summit. He offered to take a picture of us since our batteries were now dead. Thanks again Kurt. I called my lovely wife and my mom to let them know I was still alive. I talked to my oldest son Gavin (almost 7) who was thoroughly impressed and my younger son Kobe (almost 5), who could have cared less.

We left the summit at about 10:30am and headed back over to Trail Crest. Just below Day Needle we saw the first of the two brothers that camped next to us. He said he was low on water and food and that his brother was out of water and food. Ass and I had plenty of both and offered it to him, but he refused. I asked how they got up to Trail Crest. He said that he crawled on his hands and knees, without crampons to the top and that he planned on glissading down the slope with crampons on his hands! I cautioned against that idea and suggested that he carefully step down the slope instead, he seemed offended by our concern. About 10 minutes later we ran into his brother. He confirmed that he was out of water and food, but also refused what we offered. He was still over an hour from the summit. We continued on back over to Trail Crest and made a safe glissade down to the moraine. Back at camp Ass found that the hiding spot he found for his food was not marmot proof. His food wrappers were scattered about the area and every bit of food he had left was gone. We quickly cleaned up all the trash we could find (including 4 wag bags left by previous hikers) Luckily the brothers did not take us up on our offer of food earlier in the day, so between the two of us we still had enough to last us until Sunday morning. See Shayda!!!

We goofed around camp for the rest of the day, greeting the newcomers and congratulating the summiteers. The brothers finally returned. Apparently, they had run into a ranger that was able to talk some sense into them and guide them safely down the slope. Thank goodness for that. They packed up and headed out on Saturday night.

I crawled into my bag at about 7pm to read about the latest scientific advancements and fell asleep at about 7:30. We were up and out of camp by 9am and back down to the portal by noon. The last three miles I was guided blissfully along by the make believe scent of bacon wafting up from the Portal Store. I have heard rumors of a monster that lurks at the store: the Moose Burger. While I never new the details of this monster, I could only assume it was a double cheeseburger with bacon. You could imagine my delight to find I had been correct. But, to just call this monstrosity a double cheeseburger with bacon would be gross understatement. When my name was called and I walked back into that store to pick up my order I was overcome with a combination of excitement, fear and embarrassment. Wow all that for me? These wonderfully frightening burgers were made with 2 humungous beef patties absolutely overflowing with massive piles of thick, perfectly cooked bacon, probably a 1/4lb of cheddar cheese and of course perfect proportions of lettuce, tomatoes onions and pickles, Every eye in the store was on me as I picked up the two mutant burgers. Even Doug Jr. gave me this look like “why?” I was now committed. I could not possibly justify the slaughter of an entire cow and pig for our two burgers if we could not finish them. So finish them we did, to the amazement of ourselves and several onlookers. After the feast of feasts we hobbled down to the creek to relax and reflect. It was 1pm, 78 degrees and beautiful blue skies. What an absolutely frickin awesome weekend.

I will post pics when I get a chance.

p.s. To those who leave your wag bags for others to clean up: may the fleas of a thousand camels infest your armpits!

What a fabulous TR... I am envious of how easy you make it all sound. It's all just 15 minutes away.

Congrats on your summit.. can't wait to see the pics...

Nice report. When you get a moment can you post more detail on conditions/pics.

I'll be hiking the main trail in just under 2 weeks. I'm trying to finalize my pack list and get mentally prepped for what to expect.

So are you advising the snow chute vs. the switchbacks at this point? Could you relate the Chute to anything else you've climbed? Ever been over Bonny Pass in the Wind Rivers?

I'm planning on bringing crampons and axe. What is snow or lack of snow condition on the rest of the hike. No need for snowshoes I assume.

Can you describe the condition of the trail?
Snow/Ice?
Crampons or snowshoes needed?
Was Trail Camp covered in snow (before it started snowing)??

And how did the Marmot get to eat your food? No Bear canister?

Sorry, I got so wrapped up in story telling...

Disclaimer:
The conditions I will mention below are no longer accurate. Conditions vary by the hour, and snow is melting as I type.

The trail was dry (with the exception of a few very small patches of little consequence) until just below Consultation Lake. From here there were a few spots with a bit of exposure. At this point we opted for the "Trailside Meadow" route which parallels between the trail proper and Consultation Lake. You can follow this snowfield all the way to Trail Camp. We were at this point by about 10am and did not have any trouble, hikers coming up after us were complaining of post holing. So, depending on your timing you may not need snowshoes, although a few folks I saw this weekend were carrying them.

Most of the campsites at trail camp are dry and the little lake there is partially melted out making for easy water. As per reports of those coming down the switchbacks, they are still pretty treacherous, but those are second hand reports. I met a team near the summit that said they had come up the switchbacks, but that they ended up scrambling up most of the way to avoid the snow covered exposed parts.

We opted to go up the chute. We were on the slope by sunrise so the snow was firm and grippy. Beyond trail crest the trail was almost completely dry (again, with the exception of a few very small patches of little consequence) until just before the summit. There was about 100 yards of traverse across a low angle snowfield. At this point we decided to go straight up the boulder field to the right of the trail. This route is much more fun than the trail and will get you to the summit quicker.

Bear canisters are not required until 5/22. I took great care in making sure the little fur balls couldn't get at my stuff. Ass on the other hand, underestimated their strength and paid the price. If you go before the canisters are required it may be wise to take one anyway to safeguard your stuff from the marmots.

Here is some more general information that may be helpful
 

Wonderful report, southswell! Here's a pic of the switchers vs. the snow slope on Sunday (from the Russell-Carrillon Col):



Hope to meet you up there someday!

-L

Where's the best place to access the chute in this pic? Thanks

Thank you all for your comments

Here are the few photos we did get. They start on the summit. All other pictures were taken after the summit.

SoCal,

I left out certain parts that might better define the difficulty of this hike for me. Like how I felt sick when we got to trail camp, the stopping every 15' on the slope, or every 5' on the way back up to trail crest, or the dry heaves back down at camp.

I am quite a big boy (250 +/- 5lbs) and these hike are definately taxing on me. I do train hard, but I eat heartier. I am at a constant battle with myself to lose weight. unfortunately weight has always won.

Burk75,

Check out this picture. It is a photo of the chute from Trail Camp that clearly shows tracks from the lower switchbacks over to the bottom of the chute. There are several ways to access it, but the easiest is just to follow the low ground West between the moraine and the switchbacks until its obviously time to go up.

Southswell... I have no doubt that we all have our difficulties on the trail. When I'm writing a TR I disguise the stop at the end of every switcher by saying "and then we stopped and talked to so-and-so" lol...

Mom and I were discussing it last night actually.. and truely... you hit LPL.. and then its only a few more minutes and about 5 switchers to Bighorn Meadow.. right? A nice cruise through the meadow and up a tiny bit to Mirror... then we know that Trail camp is only a little bit beyond that (15 minutes... 3/4 of a mile... or somehting like that ) but what takes so freakin' long? Well... in our experience at least...

Again... congrats on your Summit... ya dun good!

What a great TR, thanks for sharing! Really enjoyed the read.

Thanks for the great story! And congrats on making the summit. Glad to know that more than one senior citizen is pushing people up the mountain. I will be forwarding your story to my 69 year old dad. He and I will be going on his first trip up June 29,30, July 1(my 3rd). He's been looking forward to this for years. I just hope we have good weather so we can enjoy it as much as you did. It should be a great father/son trip no matter what the weather is like.

Nice pictures and trip report.

Thank you all for your kind replies.

AMphony,

I really hope everything lines up for you and your dad at the end of June. I did Langley about that time last year. Certainly a beautiful time of year.

Brady

Congratulations, southwell! I hear ya on the "not sleeping well" at altitude. I have resigned myself to the fact that this will not change for me (and the older I get, the more I feel the effects)! Interestingly, I do not suffer from AMS, just lack of sleep. But standing on a summit, I seem to get a second wind...

Thanks for the TR!

Great TR! A group of us are going up on Thursday, May 28. Do you think we will need crampons?

GREAT TR BRO! But being a lifetime OC resident myself have to take offense to the comment real mountain....C'mon man SG and Baldy rock!!!!!!!!

Jeff,

Poor choice of words on my part. I do love San G and San A and San J for that matter, and consider them all "real" mountains.
I am sure they will punish me fairly.

CRSO,

I would be uncomfortable making that determination, and would have to say yes by default. I truely hope you have the time of your life though.

B

I watched a full lunar eclipse on top of SG. It was cold and I would say that is a real mountain. It didnt peak until 3-4 am but the tequila was flowing.....
eys