Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Newbie questions

I'll be going up the main trail starting from Whitney Portal for the first time Aug 2, and have some first-timer's questions that I hadn't seen the answers to:

* Aug 2 will be New Moon. If I start at 2am, I figure it will be pitch dark for about 3 hours (sunrise at 6am) How hard will it be navigating the lower sections of the trail in the dark with a flash light? I suspect the trail is probably so well-trodden, it should be easy to follow, but is it? Are there any stretches entirely below tree cover?

* Found this weather forecast/calculator: http://www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks/Mount-Whitney/forecasts/4418. It puts the summit temperature at about 39-43 degF with no/little wind chill, but not freezing. Does this sound about accurate for this time of year?

* It also forecasts some "rain showers". What does a typical afternoon rain shower look like on Whitney this time of year? Torrential for a short time? Light drizzle for a long time? Most importantly: visibility. Do the clouds usually create fog/whiteout conditions or is the cloud cover above the mountains and I can continue hiking and not lose my way?

* Last reliable water source is at Trail Camp, mile 6.3, this time of year? I'm planning to take bottles for about a gallon of water, mostly empty, and fill them at Trail Camp. Does this sound about right?

* I'll be going solo, as my two intended partners didn't get along with the altitude on a practice hike last week on Mt Dana, and there's no chance Whitney would work for them. Any particular advice for solo hikers, other than Don't Be Stupid? :-)

Thanks!!



Johannes.

Darkness: up to Outpost Camp or even Mirror Lake is pretty easy to follow. The trail can get mildly confusing above Mirror Lake in a few spots (not an issue of tree cover ... more of being on granite).

Temperatures: yeah that's possible. Forecast will change daily between now and then.

Showers: Whitney and the Sierra crest make their own weather. Rain/thunder storms on the crest can be ferocious ... or not. Everything from blue skies to puffy white clouds to threatening clouds to Armageddon. You have to pay attention to what the clouds are doing, particularly once you hit Trail Crest. The 2 miles from the JMT junction to the summit can easily take 2 hours (each way), so you have to take that into account before you keep heading up. White outs are not so much the problem (though I've seen early morning fog on the summit) as is thunder/lightning, high winds/rock fall, etc. Most people time summits between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the latest, this time of year ... and even then, no guarantees .... Could be beautiful, could have thunder (hint: get down fast!), could have hail (hint: get down really fast!), could have snow. Obviously, you don't want to be anywhere near the crest or summit if there is a risk of lightning.

Water: You can fill at Trail Camp. There may be water on the lower portion of the 99 switchbacks, which is cleaner water -- you can ask hikers coming down the mountain. The cleanest water at Trail Camp is at the Northwest side near the inlet.

Solo: I did Whitney a bunch of times with friends before I started doing it solo. Other people will tell you "there are so many people on the trail it's perfectly safe." Whatever. I will say that the fact you had no problem on Dana is great, but not predictive on what will happen on Whitney. Sorry, I can't be more helpful than that.

Good luck, be safe, have fun.

OK then. There is also a lottery forecast calculator at www.winthelot......

hi, some questions to anyone who may know the answers please

we're also newbies and are going up the day after Johannes
1. do you know if you have to treat the water at trail camp?
2. is there water available on the lower portion of the switchbacks, if yes does it need treating?
3. does the water at mirror lake need treating?

thanks
pete, ben and woody

you should probably filter all water to be safe. Some people take their chances but there are a lot of people at Trail Camp which means there are a lot of marmots, marmot poop running off into the water etc. Mirror is not much different. You'd probably be OK but always better to filter/treat the water. Trail Camp is pretty much the lower portion of the switchbacks (they start almost as soon as you leave the camp), there are some reports of water beyond that this year from snow melt but in general do not count on water past Trail Camp.
This makes me curious how many people dont bother to treat their water. I know some don't and a guy did say it wasn't that risky but he was filtering his water as he said it....

Well, since you asked, ln about 50 years l almost have never filtered for microbes although l do use a Steripen pre-filter to keep visible particles out of my drinking/cooking water. Sources l have tapped include the inlet above Trail Camp pond, Mirror Lake outlet, and the 23rd switchback. I do carry a filter, currently a Sawyer Mini. I have never had a water-borne disease. All that said, l would never encourage someone else to dip and sip like l do. Your peace of mind is worth lots.

thanks thorn and burtw for your replies
happy for others to post re water options

Great! also i love what Burt has to say, seems like many people who decide to go without filter do just fine.. we drank some in Yosemite by accident and survived hahaha.. i also forgot / hopefully you already saw the first timers and main trail conditions threads, be sure to look those over.

I wrote l "almost never" have filtered for microbes. It might be helpful if l describe the 2 times l have filtered in the past few years.
(1) Hiking on San Gorgonio the only water l found was in an almost stagnant pool.
(2) Camped at East Lake, there was a steady all-day rain. I could imagine all the "stuff" on the ground around the lake washing into the lake without being filtered through the soil or being acted on by sunlight and oxygen.
To the best of my memory, those are the only times l've filtered in the past couple years.

I filter water regardless. Sure it takes a little extra time but I'm not in a rush. I'd rather wait for my water to filter than to take my chances with the runs. If you're worried about weight, the sawyer mini only weighs 2 ounces.

Thanks, everybody, for the replies. I did the hike on Aug 2, summitted, and made it back down in one piece.

Here's a blog post on what I learned, in the hope that it may be useful to others: http://upon2020.com/blog/2016/08/things-nobody-tells-you-about-hiking-mt-whitney/ (I hope I got that right, corrections appreciated)

on the water front we left the portal with 2 litres each and filled up with about 3 litres at the 23rd switchback (we drank plenty while refilling) no need to treat as coming straight out of the ground, with good winter rains and a late snow fall there is plenty of water at the 23rd

two of us summited the third turned back at trail crest as wasn't feeling strong enough and some AMS

Nice blog entry Johannes, please note you can always call 911 on your cell phone regardless of what the network signal strength indicates

Yeah all of a sudden I've been seeing a lot on social media about using 911 even if there is no cell service. I believe there is part truth and part falsity here, and folks should not rely on their cell phones in the backcountry, although they may be helpful.

1. If there is a cell tower nearby, you can use 911, even if the cell tower is owned by a provider with whom you do not contract. The provider must relay the information to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), regardless of whether or not you contract with them. That is an FCC rule. https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/911-wireless-services

2. If there is no cell tower within range, your call will not go through. Cell phones need cell towers. Period.

3. However, even if your phone appears to reflect that there is no service, it may still be able to communicate some information with a cell tower that is in range. That is explained in this article. http://www.backpacker.com/skills/beginner/prof-hike-this-post-might-save-your-life/