Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Palisades Glacier

We are hoping to hike up towards Palisades Glacier tomorrow. Any thoughts on how to best at least see the glacier and how many mile that would be?

The glacier is about 10 miles in via the North Fork trail! There are a ton of steep switchbacks near the glacier, the last 3 miles are pretty tough. Bring a fishing pole for some nice brookies in the lakes leading up to the glacier. Sam Mack meadow is beutiful, just a few miles out from the glacier. Enjoy seeing what is responsible for carving out what we all love!

The mosquitos were nasty when i was out there about a month ago!

The trail doesn't go all the way to the glacier. The last mile or so involves climbing over boulders and frictioning up slabs. It is fairly strenous, and the route is not terribly obvious. It would help to have a GPS and a track to follow, or to go with someone who has been there.

An alternative green (no batteries required) approach would be to take a map and the skills to read a map and compare it to nearby terrain, or to go with someone who has the map and skills.

Dale B. Dalrymple

Another alternative is to harvest, skin, preserve, cut & sew your own clothes and footwear; likewise prepare provisions for sustenance and defense; and GO EXPLORING.

If you are just wanting a look at the glacier and not necessarily do the climb all the way up to it, the best vantage point is gained by a short but steep climb up a ridge on the north side of Summit Lake. You also get peeks from Fourth Lake and from the north side of Black Lake.

If you do go up to the glacier, it's true that the last part of the route is strenuous and not terribly obvious. Our mistake was recognizing the terminal moraine and then trying to climb right up that, thinking we'd have a view at the crest -- but of course the glacier has retreated far beyond that point. Instead you have to stay to the left, off the vast pile of rubble, and follow it up to the top until you finally do have to boulder-hop the final stretch to where you get the fabulous view of the glacier that you're seeking. There are ducks marking the way if you are patient enough.

Finally about mosquitoes: we spent four days there July 19-22 and were able to pick breezy campsites away from water and had no problems. People who picked other campsites were indeed miserable, however.

Please practice these activities with the bears in the conveniently signed bear activity areas. This will either help reestablish the bears' natural fear of humans or provide the bears a food source only secondarily related to human food in the campsites.

Thank you,

Dale B. Dalrymple

A short instructional video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcsXC2xFis4

That was G R E A T !! Wagga

Dont trifle with me, D.B.D., secondarily related, haH!, 5/4 of people have TROUBLE with FRACTIONS.

I just hiked down from the glacier yesterday. Follow the North Fork trail to Sam Mack Meadows then take that trail to the base of the morraine. From there the trail fades and you need to pick up on the rock cairns. Can't be too much trouble if you can follow the rock cairns and have a general idea of the direction you are heading towards. Try to aim for North Palisade. I can't remember if you can see North Palisade from the lower moraine. You can identify North Palisade from the high snowfield around 13,500'.

I do have to admit that even though I have been in the area more than half a dozen times, I still find it silly that I get lost coming down. Most of the time I'm dead tired from hours of hiking beforehand but I think my biggest mistake is dropping down too far being lured by the beauty of the 3rd Lake.