Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Non-Californian seeks help w/Whitney travel plan

I live in South Carolina and got a backcountry permit for Mount Whitney in August. I have read that the road from Long Pine to Whitney Portal is undergoing some work and parking near the trailhead is limited. I've also read that flights in and out of Mountain Lakes Airport are unreliable. My plan was to fly into LAX, catch a connecting flight to Mountain Lakes, then rent a car and drive to Whitney Portal. Now I am second guessing my plan. If a Californian was coming to South Carolina to hike The Foothills Trail I could give all kinds of helpful advice. I'm hoping someone very familiar with Mt. Whitney, especially traveling to and from, could offer some helpful advice to me.

I think you mean Mammoth Lakes? Other options.

1. Fly into Burbank or LAX. If Burbank, catch the Metrolink train to Lancaster from the airport. If LAX, take the Flyaway bus to downtown LA, and switch to the Metrolink train to Lancaster. From Lancaster, take the ESTA bus to Lone Pine (very limited schedule, does not run on weekends, so please study the schedule). Southwest Airlines flies into Burbank.

OR

2. Fly into Reno. Catch ESTA to Lone Pine (very long ride!). Again, very limited schedule.

Links:

ESTA
http://www.estransit.com/routes-schedule/

Metrolink
http://www.metrolinktrains.com/

Flyaway Bus
http://www.lawa.org/FlyAway/Default.aspx

If it were me and getting to Lone Pine in the least amount of time is the main objective, I would fly into LA (either LAX or Burbank...I prefer Burbank but airfare might cost more), rent a car, and drive to Lone Pine. It's about a 3 hour drive from LA to Lone Pine.

you are from SC, I am from Va and have done this umpteen times:
Fly to Las Vegas (stay if you like) and drive 4 hrs to Lone Pine via either Beatty or Pahrump. The mountain scenes are far better going through Death Valley than coming up from LA and Mojave Desert.

What is your opinion of the Ontario airport? I checked for a flight on 8/24 from Greenville/Spartanburg to Burbank and there is none.

Thanks for the public transportation links. My original plan was to rent a car. But I see that due to road construction on the hwy between Lone Pine and Whitney Portal there may be limited parking at the Mount Whitney trailhead. So the public transportation route is a definite consideration. Plus I've read where Marmots are bad about eating the hoses and belts on parked cars.

Richmond, VA..........home of Buzz and Ned's BBQ, best ribs I've ever had!! So you've driven across Death Valley. What time of the year? My permit to take on Mount Whitney is for late August. Is it safe to drive across Death Valley in the summer?

Ontario is the best airport for Lone Pine if you are planning to rent a car and drive. It is the shortest distance. And Southwest flies there. Burbank and LAX are better choices if you are not renting a car.

I agree with Harvey that, if you plan to rent a car AND have time to enjoy the drive, the ride through Death Valley from Las Vegas is fantastic. Though rental cars were much more expensive from Las Vegas last time I looked.

The emigrants who got stuck in DV and named it didn't have air conditioning in their wagons. DV is safe to drive anytime of year in a car in good operating condition. And every rental car has AC so it wouldn't be unpleasant. I second the idea that the drive through DV is more interesting than the road up the Owens Valley.

Haven't flown out of Ontario before. Google Maps is showing 197 miles from either Burbank airport or Ontario airport to Lone Pine, 214 miles from LAX to Lone Pine, and 223 miles from Las Vegas airport to Lone Pine. I was able to find a bunch of flights from Greenville/Spartanburg to Burbank on 8/24 on Google Flights but with long travel times (~10-13 hours) with most flights having 2 stops. Ontario looks a little better (~8 1/2-11 hours with 1-2 stops) and LAX and Las Vegas even better (6 1/2 - 8 hours with 1 stop). Looks like LAX and Las Vegas would have the cheapest flights. The public transportation options from LAX or Burbank sound like a fun adventure but it would be a really long day after all that flying, especially if any of the buses/trains get delayed.

If I was looking for the most hassle free without regard for $$, I would fly into Burbank, take Uber to Lancaster, and ESTA from Lancaster to Lone Pine, assuming that the ESTA schedule lined up with my needs.

If renting a car, while the mileage from the LA airports does not differ tremendously, I believe Ontario is the quicker/easier drive if you take into consideration issues like freeway access and traffic during many parts of the day, with Burbank being a very solid alternative. I would avoid LAX if reasonably possible. I've flown into all three airports multiple times, so this is based on my own experience, but reasonable minds can disagree.

hassle free-ness is key

I can leave East early am, arrive in LAS before lunch, by car to Lone Pine by 4-5 pm same day

I agree with others that flying into ONT would be your best option. Much, much less traffic to deal with IMO. ONT is near the junction of I-10 and I-15 and it's an easy drive up I-15 to Hiway 395.

If you fly in on a Friday, be prepared to deal with some terrible traffic no matter what airport you fly into.

Also the drive up I-15 to Hiway 395 is much improved now that the construction along that stretch was recently completed.

By "backcountry permit" I think you mean overnight permit. Parking passes are provided for those with permits, so while finding a space could be a problem, you should have a reasonable window of opportunity to find a space since your departure time is not too restricted.

You did not specify your arrival/departure dates, so some of the following may not apply. Do you plan to arrive a couple of days early to acclimate? Will you be staying in a hotel, or camping? If camping, where do you plan to camp? etc.....

As to logistics, I'm with Harvey on this. It should be relatively easy to find flights into LAS and having a car would provide additional flexibility. You will need to get to/from:
Hotel
Visitor center (to pick up permit)
Trail Head
Perhaps a trip to Horseshoe meadows to help acclimate
restaurants
etc....

While Lone Pine is very walkable, it could also be hotter than hades. I guess the distance from town (hotels) to the Visitor Center could be 1 mile (RT). At 100+ degrees this might not be so much fun.

If you do take public transportation (or do not want to risk parking issues) there are options to get to the trailhead. I doubt there is UBER, but there are a couple of folks offering shuttle service.
I checked out the cost of shuttle service from East Side Sierra Shuttle (http://eastsidesierrashuttle.com):
- From Lone Pine: $65 plus $20/extra passenger. If you are staying at the Mount Whitney Portal Hostel and Hotel (highly recommended) there will likely be others in your same situation. Perhaps not too difficult to find someone to share the cost of the shuttle.
- And to leave at 2:00 AM (or other "non business" hour) an additional $100.00. So, for one person, leaving at 2:00 AM the total would be $165.00
- This additional charge does not likely apply to you since you will most likely be leaving Lone Pine during normal business hours.
- Getting back to Lone Pine is normally easy. Stop at the Portal Store for a beer and a burger (you will have earned it) and check with those folks around your table and you will likely find someone willing to give you a ride. Worst case is to walk down the road a bit, and stick out your thumb. You should be able to hitch a ride within 10 or 15 minutes.

Agreed that traffic is a big consideration. Freeway access from Burbank is great but traffic on the 5 and 14 freeways would be significant on a weekday during afternoon rush hour with lots of commuters heading home to the Santa Clarita and Antelope Valleys. Worse out of LAX during afternoon rush hour as the 405 is heavily congested through West LA and the San Fernando Valley. Lunch hour on the 405 through West LA is no fun either!

Thanks to everyone for all the feedback. I've just about decided on flying into the Ontario airport to avoid the worst traffic. I found a flight that arrives there from GSP via Fort Worth early in the morning.

As to my plan, it goes as follows:

Day 1: Arrive at Ontario Airport, rent a car and drive to Lone Pine, get a hotel room, pick up my backcountry permit and bear proof container, get my gear and supplies together, and rest.

Day 2: Either drive or get a shuttle to Whitney Portal Campground to spend the night. That's going to depend on the road construction and available parking. I'll keep reading this board for updates.

Day 3: Hike to Outpost Camp for night one on the mountain

Day 4: Hike to Trail Camp for night two on the mountain

Day 5: Hike to the summit and then either hike back down to Outpost Camp for night three on the mountain OR all the way back down to Whitney Portal and then back to Lone Pine for the night. This part of the plan I am undecided on. My permit is good for three nights on the mountain.

Day 6: Drive back to Ontario Airport, turn in my rental, and find a nearby hotel with an airport shuttle.

Day 7: Fly home

Still haven't decided on whether to bring my own gear (pack, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, tent, hiking poles) or to rent them. I'll bring my hiking clothes, water filter, headlamp, etc.. I've got two months to figure that out.

Thanks to all for the great feedback!! Thank you!!

Hello. Sounds like a good plan. Just an FYI ... you can easily extend or shorten your permit when you pick it up. As long as you enter on the date it says, it is good for up to two weeks in the Whitney Zone. The rangers will allow you to modify your exit dates at pick up.

I haven't done quite that itinerary myself. I've done it as 3 days/2 nights, with both nights being at Trail Camp/Consultation Lake. And I've done it as 2 days/1 night, with the one night being at Trail Camp. (And I've done it from the West side, but that's a whole different ball of worms). Your day climbing from Outpost Camp to Trail Camp will have a lot of down time ... maybe bring a fishing rod for Consultation Lake... in past years, I've seen pictures of big trout.