Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board First Timer Questions

I am doing my first Mt. Whitney Hike on July 11th.

1. To find a parking spot for an overnight when is a good time to head up to portal?

2. When camping at Trail Camp do you keep the bear canister 50yards from your campsite? I don't see this as practicle with so many camping in that small area. Is there a communal pile or something?

3. Do most people use summit packs? I am considering it, will I return to a pack trashed by Marmots?

4. How much cash do I need to bring for a breakfast pancake? Post hike beer and burger? T-Shirts?

5. Does anyone know if the World Cup championship game will be on any radio station in the area I could listen to while hiking?

Thanks, hope to see as many of you as possible up there!

1. Parking...any or no time. Parking is a a premium especially on summer weekends. We have found the best place to park is the overflow parking lot.

2. Bear Canisters...more like 5'. Bears are not the issue at Trail Camp, marmots are.

3. Summit packs...A summit pack makes sense or you can just use your regular pack. The issue is water weight, 6 to 10# of it.

4. Coin of the Realm...$50 to $60, at least.

5. Who needs no stinking soccer...Good luck.

#5 - Occasionally I listen to FM on my Sansa Clip, and about the only non-religious or non-country station I can get is 92.5FM - here's a website.

I can also get a few Hispanic stations, so perhaps one of them will have the World Cup, but since I don't speak Spanish ... Once I'm in the mountains I usually have to get above 10K' before there's much reception. I don't know how representative the Sansa Clip is in terms of reception compared to other FM radios.

Thanks for the info guys, still looking for clarification on 4 & 5

4.5) Was looking for this years going rate for, pancakes, beer, burgers, and shirts individually.

5.5) Are any AM stations in the area broadcasting the games? preferably in english but can deal with español.

Pancake is $4 and three sausage patties are another $2.75...Don't remember the prices on the other. I do remember they had really nice Fleece jackets for $40. Seemed like a steal to me.

This is too funny. are you serious? IMHO you would be better off watching or listening to the game afterwards (modern technology...I think you can record it).. and enjoying the trail minus the telecast. I think you might have two great experiences, rather than one, less than optimal, adventure. What if your team wins! What if it loses? What will you miss?

either way, I hope you have a great time....