Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Trip reports for 2017

WOW!! So amazing. And totally kicked our asses. Don't now how people do it (or even would want to) in one day. Amazing but crazy/stupid for others unless they are in incredible shape. Saw many people coming down and till going up after 6pm on the day we summited. Saw one guy running down the trail and he said that he would do it round trip in 8 hours bc his wife was waiting at hotel. He hoped to do it again today. Jesus.

Close to impossible to cross all water crossings without water shoes. I tried to hop along the rocks and stay dry, even w my water shoes, and found it impossible and I'm 6'1". Invest $12.99 at Big 5. Well worth it.

Took 3 fit and trained women 7 hours from Whitney Portal, with packs ranging from 28-34 pounds, at 10am (that was part of the problem) 7 hours to Trail Camp. Changed into water shoes 2 times. First time about 1 mile up the trail and second time just getting into Outpost Camp. Leave water shoes on after first, long crossing at Outpost Camp (IMPOSSIBLE to navigate wo getting wet) bc there is a shorter one a few minutes after that. Oh, and no mosquitoes there either.

Small amount of snow around a beautiful meadow just before Trail Camp. Nothing needed here.

The push to Trail Camp was interminable. All those rocks. Seemed never ending. It was also really hot. But got to TC and set up camp. As soon as the sun goes behind the mountains it gets really cold. We planned the trip around the dates bc of the full moon. But were so spent that we went to bed by 8pm-in the daylight-both nights!! Didn't see 1 star or the moon.

Saw a few wag bags on the trail at TC but found that the owners picked them up on their way down. Luckily. Finally had to "wag" myself. Wasn't as bad as you think it would be but luckily it was on the morning of the last day. So I just stuffed it away.

Beware of the cat size marmots! They will steal your shit right under your nose. One opened a freeze drip bag of eggs and ran off w a bag of apricots. Crazy brave little shits! At first I thought they stole the coffee fixings, then I thought they took our Aleve and xanax. That would have been bad-but turned out just the apricots.

We left out packs open in out hallway open tent and everything was fine. Left the bear box about 30' away from our camp. We heard that there were currently no bears at TC but that they were at Outpost Camp. But I'm sure that that could change in an instant.

Left Tuesday morning at 9am to summit-def should have left earlier. Took approx 2.5 hours to do the switchbacks. No snow, just some water that's easy to navigate. Another 2 hours to get to the summit. Long and tedious. I built up the small cairn that was on the trail bc people were just stepping over it and ending up at a giant snow patch covering the trail. One poor guy accidentally went there (and this is about 20 mins from the summit) and was so exhausted by the detour that he decided not to summit bc of it. I was ahead of my friends so I added to the cairns that were already there.

Be sure to review your pix that you take up there. My selfies sucked and my group shots were just okay. No great pix to send my friends. And who doesn't want to do that? I earned bragging rights. Although I related it to natural childbirth. When my BFF asked me if I would recommend it I said that I wasn't sure. It was REALLY HARD.

Finally stumbled down to TC about 3.15 later. I waited at Trail Crest for my friends and got cold. So I put on my jacket. Then when we started down I got hot. Then the sun started going down. I was praying to get to the cables. It took f-o-r-e-v-e-r to get down. Everyone says that it seems never ending going up the last mile to the summit but that wasn't my experience. I was so excited and pumped to be there I was good. But it seemed to take forever to get down from the switchbacks.

Finally arrived back at camp to see that the critters had indeed visited inside our tent. So I did a little housekeeping so my friends might not notice the marmot poop and pee on their pads. But everything was fine. Cooked up some delicious dehydrated Fettucine Alfredo w Chx and was in bed earlier than the night before. Camp is very quiet at night and we just hear a few people coming through in the morning.

Left TC at approx 10am. I was def not looking forward to going down all those rocks to that waterfall that is just above Outpost Camp but it actually wasn't that bad. I mean, really, going downhill is a piece of cake after all the uphill. We reached Whitney Portal at about 230. Somehow my pack weighed 6 pounds less. I have a 3 liter camelbak and water is about 2 pounds for every liter so I only came down w 1.5 liters, didn't fill it all the way. 3 is def not necessary w all that water everywhere.

All in all I'd say it was a successful trip. No injuries, nothing forgotten, many lessons learned (figure out how to go lighter #1) and many laughs shared. Where is everybody going next? I've done Kalalau on Kauai, Half Dome and Machu Picchu.

ps
Jolly Ranchers were a great treat to be had along the trail and fun to share w others we met. But the orange I ate on the summit was the best ever.

I noticed the one in the top picture when I was there last weekend--that one was right at Trailside Meadow, and literally threw shattered rock across the trail for several yards. I couldn't tell where it fell from, but by the huge impact mark on the rock ledge above and all the granite powder, it looked like a very hard impact.

We were wondering about that red tint in the snow. The red snow goes right up to the lake at trail camp, where the water enters the lake where i filtered my water and felt fine. should we have avoided filtering near that snow?

rock slide pictures look gnarly

My group went up On Sunday Aug 6 for the day hike. We started just shy of midnight, and took our time, made the summit just shy of 9am. We were there at the perfect time for the Clouds to burn off enough for us to see some nice views.

WATER hazards: There are 5 or 6 places on the trail where you can get your feet wet, in pretty cold water. Careful on the second river crossing as you can get your boots wet there. If you bring a pair of sandals or water shoes put them on at the first sign of water at outpost camp. There is a series of 4 water crossings and I'm glad I was wearing my sandals for 3 of them. At night, it was tough to see rocks or logs that people tried to put on the trail to avoid the water. Ive also seen people hop on a rock only to lose their balance and jump both feet ankle deep into the river. There are about 4 water crossings at outpost camp that you can walk thru in your water shoes/sandals before changing back into boots. A couple of the guys in my group were hiking in cold wet shoes from this point and they did not say it was fun. There is one or two more parts of the trail where you have water running down the trail but you can make it up those if you are careful in your hiking shoes.

The WAG bags on the trail are a really ugly sight. Most of the people I meet on the trail are super nice I cannot imagine why anyone would not care so much or expect others to pick up their WAG bag and carry it down for them. So selfish and inconsiderate. I hope the Visitor Center will implement something to make it stop.
What if you have a $50 deposit per permit. They mark the WAG bags they give away and the rule is that you have to either throw away or show an unused WAG bag as you return from the hike. The person would mark the bag so that no one else can say its theirs as well. and if you are marked off then you get your deposit back.

but would that make people do their business just behind a rock instead of in a WAG bag? so they could bring back an empty bag?

I realize the water crossings are a hassle, and even dangerous, but it is great to see water still flowing after so many years of drought!

The red tint in the snow is a type of algae. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watermelon_snow

The WAG bags serve such an important purpose. Sad some don't get it!

Love reading the posts from excited people!

Bear very active in the campground and Portal near the trail head ,bear waits for you to set your pack down,next the bear is hitting the food storage lockers,as you open the locker the bear will come towards you ,most often the bear will get some bags out of the locker once you move away.

Sorry for the long post. Hopefully something useful to you is buried in it.
My son and I made it to the summit on Tuesday, August 15 having stayed at Trail Camp the night before and at the Whitney Portal campground the night before that. It was a great experience that left us in an exhausted state of awe. I don't know how single day hikers do it. Very impressive.
Thought I'd update some information about the climb. The snow melt and underwater trail conditions seem to have changed considerably in the past week or two.

Whitney Portal
THERE IS NO POTABLE WATER AVAILABLE AT WHITNEY PORTAL
I didn't see this on any websites or trip reports. Each of the water spigots at the campsite and trailhead area have signs mentioning that testing discovered e-coli in the water. The test occurred on July 31. They are unsure of the cause but hope to have the issue resolved by the end of August. Ask when you pick up your Whitney permit. They should know what the current situation is.

Parking for hikers is plentiful so don't worry about that like I did.


Portal to Outpost Camp
Not much to say other than conditions are excellent and the hike is pleasant. You can see elevation gains on any map, but that only gives part of the story. The other part is the terrain. The terrain in this section is more or less smooth/ flat (meaning not rocky) with only a handful of large steps (you won't notice them going up but you'll notice them descending on tired legs). There are two stream crossings before Lone Pine Lake that have high rushing water. We found both easy to cross, hopping from rock to rock, but probably couldn't have done so w/o trekking poles for balance. Moving water is plentiful on this stretch of trail. Maybe consider leaving the trailhead with an empty bottle or two and filling as you ascend. As you approach Outpost Camp there is one section in the meadows (?) where you will have to balance on thin branches that have been laid over the underwater trail. Again, difficult to do w/o poles. In short, bring poles or water shoes for this part of the trail.

Outpost Camp to Trail Camp
Lots of available water at Outpost Camp to refill water bottles. After Outpost Camp the trail terrain goes from smooth/flat to rocky and uneven all the way to Trail Camp. It makes for a fun and beautiful ascent but can really slow you down on the descent. Water is still flowing strong on this section and there are many places to refill water bottles.

Trail Camp
We arrived around 1:30pm tired and happy to be here. Plenty of campsites were available all thru the day. Wind comes from left to right as you enter camp. Best sites will be up against rock wall to your left. The wind can be brutal overnight and when trying to light your stove so protection is desirable. Some folks from the Forest Service were inspecting/surveying the camp ground while we were there. One of them saw my son and I filling water bottles from the lake. He mentioned that they had counted at least 18 abandoned wag bags and another 12 open piles of poop in the area around the campground and cautioned us about filling from the lake. Not an official warning but one that I took to heart. I don't trust my filter / iodine when there appears to be an obvious e-coli risk. We dumped that water and filled from the snow melt entering the northwest corner of the lake (located across the lake and all the way to the left when facing the lake). We walked right across the snow cover to the water source (as did many others) with no issue.

Trail Camp to Summit
We departed camp around 4am with headlamps but turned them off around 5am. No snow on switchbacks. There is plenty of water running across the trail on the lower switchbacks. When we were there it was running heavy enough to easily fill water bottles. Came across one small area where slower water had frozen on trail, no more than 2' long. Caught us by surprise. The 99 switchbacks begin rocky and uneven but grow a bit flatter/smoother as you ascend. We began the switchbacks too fast and didn't think about how much altitude we were gaining with each step. I think this is easy to do. After an hour we were in bad shape but some Gu and a couple gulps of water restored our energy. The trail to the summit is obvious and easy to follow, with one hopefully temporary exception, the actual ascent of the Mt. Whitney peak. The trail skirts along the western side of those noticeable spires alongside Mt Whitney. At some point the trail begins to steeply ascend the Mt Whitney peak but b/c of snow cover many got confused here. It's not exactly obvious but a trail detour has been created for anyone wanting to avoid the snow cover. Just below Whitney peak, when you begin to think about climbing toward the peak, look for a small bit of plastic yellow ribbon on your left. The detour is to your right. There is also an arrow made of rocks pointing in the direction of the detour trail but this might be less obvious. The detour trail is not obvious at its start and on our descent we ran into a number of confused hikers near the beginning of the detour. But once you start up the detour trail you will notice it is pretty well marked with cairns and the occasional yellow ribbon. Regardless, you can't get lost at this point b/c it's obvious which direction the nearby summit is.


I include this part only for your planning purposes. I am 49 and my son is 17. We are both active and fairly in shape. We did not train for this. I run 30-ish miles/week and my son is active but not an athlete. We live at sea level in Virginia and arrived at Whitney Portal w/o acclimatizing. Because of past issues with altitude sickness my son was on Diomox. Fortunately neither of us had any significant altitude sickness issues on this trip. I would consider us faster than average but certainly not fast hikers. On the way up we stopped every 20 or so minutes to drink some water.

Portal to Trail Camp
Departed 9am, Arrived 1:45pm

Trail Camp to Trail Crest
Departed 4am, Arrived 6am

Trail Crest to Summit
Departed 6am, Arrived 8am

Summit to Trail Camp
Departed 8:30am, Arrived noon

Trail Camp to Portal
Departed 1:15pm, Arrived 4:30pm

Excellent report.

paul

Aweesome report thank you. BTW a group of 7 of us are planning this exact plan on 24 of Sept. And I am the oldest at 50 down to 39. A qq what time did you bed down at Trail Camp. Seems like you got there plenty early?
Thanks again

Afternoon rain last night about 9 PM , Hearing about bogus reports of water crossings on other boards. Any one being told they need ice axes or crampons at the shops? heard that also this week for the main trail.

Now for the Oct. permit holders after the storms start watching for reports of people making it past trail Camp. Had a call for the last week of Oct. conditions most often it will be Winter Mountaineering. And day hiking is over. Watch the webcam for snow coverage on Thor ( the flat mountain in the center of the cam shot) Thor is 12,000 ' and will indicate snow level in the Trailcamp area.

OK so first hand report on the giant water crossing from a 73 young lady No Problem !

Here is a quick trip report on my 21st time on Mt. Whitney via the main trail.This was a day hike which I did Sunday August 27th. I started at 1:30am. I do this for a number of reasons. One of them is to make sure I am not hiking down the mountain in the dark. Also to hike during the cooler part of the day. Since I was hiking solo, I did not take as may breaks as I do when I'm hiking with my wife.

The trail was clear most of the way up. There was one part of the trail that was covered with water. Nothing to be concerned with. A couple of rock steps and one tree branch to step on. This was on your way to Outpost Camp. The only other spot that was a issue was two small snow fields right before heading up to the top.

I reached the top at 8:00am. Weather was great! Only had to wear a long sleeve shirt over a short sleeve shirt. I was wearing gloves to keep my hands warm.and as always hiking in shorts. Spent 60 minutes on top taking photos and eating some food.

Started hiking down at 9:00am. It took me 6 1/2 hours to hike down.this was due to the fact I stopped for lunch for 20 minutes at Trail Crest, fished at Mirror Lake for 30 minutes and trailing for all the people heading up the mountain. Plus at 57 I tend to slow down my pace going down the mountain to save my knees.

Looking forward to #22.

Happy Hiking!

CalSurfer

Trip report for Saturday September 9.
Arrived in Lone Pine from L.A. at about 1:00 PM and drove straight up to Horseshoe Meadows to acclimate a little bit (2 hours). Then down to the Hostel where the room was very nice. Had some dinner and then went to bed for a few hours sleep. Woke up and drove to the portal at about 11:30PM and sat in my car until 1:30AM. My hiking partner and I hiked up to Lone Pine Lake without headlamps because of the bright moon. We actually didn't use our headlamps all night except for the water crossings. We could see clouds coming over Trail Crest and we were anticipating some weather because the night before it had sleeted and snowed in the upper elevations. The water crossings at Outpost camp were OK because somebody left branches in the water and we did not get our feet wet. We stopped after Mirror Lake to snack up for the long slog up the rocks to Thor and Trail Camp (my least favorite part). We stopped again at Trail Camp to eat again and I had to put on my heavy jacket and gloves because it got cooold! It was at this point that I hit the wall of sorts, I didn't want to go on I just wanted to go back to my car and sleep! I made myself press on with mighty effort and by the time we reached switchback #20 I got my second wind. Counting the 99 switchbacks really helps keep my mind on the goal and they don't seem to take forever when you know where you are (the cables start on #47 BTW). As we ascended, the trail became covered in snow. Snow! I wasn't ready for how much snow there was! And it was slippery in the shade! There were also ice patches where puddles had formed from the storm the night before. Switchback #99 was covered in about a half an inch of snow the whole way. After Trail Crest it got really dicey going down the hill to the JMT but slow going worked well. The trail from JMT to about the 3rd window was covered in slippery snow as well which was very scary on some of those tricky steps right next to the drop offs and it took a long time to negotiate those sections. We considered turning around because we did not want to go back over those spots if it got colder, but we went on anyway. The fog was thick in the valley of Trail Camp and it was rising up between the needles and windows like cauldron smoke, but it was only fog not angry clouds so we pressed on. We reached the small snowfield near the summit and it was narrow and slippery but pretty easy (30 feet maybe). Finally, the summit! I celebrated my 5th Whitney ascent and ate lunch. The fog was thick on the east side so we could not see Lone Pine or Trail Camp, but the western views were open and beautiful with white puffy clouds. It was not cold or windy at 14,508 feet. I was anticipating the dangerous trail conditions on the way back but the sun had melted all of the snow and it was fine! The light snow drizzle started as we were coming down the 99's and lasted until Trailside Meadow. We were in the dark by the time we reached the North Fork crossing coming down and my partner was so tired he did not want to cross the swollen creek so we took the "shortcut" down instead. It was very rocky and brambly and rough but we made it (thanks to the instructions I read on the boards)! 5 summits out of 8 attempts, no altitude sickness of any kind once again.. I will be back next year I think!

-Dan

Great report Dan , we are in the I don't know season now snow ,rain ,sleet, wind and hours of sun. Yesterday was great or ....

Trail camp would be the last choice for camping , high winds, colder nights and at 12,000 you will not get a peaceful sleep.

Always wondered why people go from sea level to 12,000' caring 40-50 pounds and stay 1 night then carry the 40-50 pounds back down past Outpost?

Summit this AM 20 degrees high wind so as they say bring a Jacket and since the kitchen is closed some snacks.

Sorry I missed you Doug, started too late and finished too late for cheeseburgers! I will definitely see you next year...

I would wonder that too. That is not my acclimatization plan of choice.

Mine is (1) spend a night or preferably two at 8,000-10,000' before starting Whitney (e.g., Mammoth Lakes, Onion Valley, Horseshoe Meadows); (2) get a waf I mean pancake at the store the morning of the hike to ensure adequate energy for the day, and ask Doug about the weather; (3) hike up to Trail Camp with a 22 lb pack and spend the night; (4) leaving some stuff at TC, hike up to the summit, back to TC, and either spend another night or pack up rest of stuff and hike all the way out; (5) celebrate with a beer at the store.

This gives me time to smell the roses and eat the cupcakes.

Room 5

8 is quieter.

Or I could just sit in room 5 or 8 and eat cupcakes. (?)

9/24/17 to 9/25/17

Five of us out of a total of seven (two dropped out last minute due to injuries sustained in training which started 6 months earlier) summited on 9/25. It kicked our butt but we overall we are ecstatic for the experience and closer as a group for it. I was the oldest at 50 (hiked Halfdome 4 years ago with same group of friends) and the rest of my friends were in late thirties buddies from HS. The super athelete among us was 43. He set the pace and managed to look like GQ model regardless of how cold it was or how tired we were.
Mammoth Lake Inn: We started on 9/22 staying overnight at Mammoth lake inn (9000 ft) since we were all driving from the Sac/Bay Area. We picked up permits the next day 9/23 at Lone Pine Ranger station and drove to Horseshoe meadows for our first night of camping at 10,000 ft. We set up camp and played flag football at HM and then drove back down to Lone Pine for dinner at Totems cafe. We were anticipating it getting cold so changed into base layers at the cafe bathroom and tried to eat and have one last beer. We could not eat much the nervousness and anticipating was growing. Called family and let me them know we are a go for the next day and would not have cellphone coverage.
Horsheshoe Meadows: Spent one very very cold night with almost no sleep due to 16F weather. Woke up to ice condensed on the sides of the tent and the bivys. We threw most of our stuff together and drove down to LP asap to escape from the cold. At night I did have regrets about not having Diamox since some of the sleeplessness was perhaps caused by elevation.
Lone Pine: Repacked everything at LP. Breakfast at Lee's frontier Inn. with a huddle up to decide on if we were going to go on the hike and drove to WP with decidedly mixed feelings and tiredness from lack of sleep and dreading the cold. Had one Diamox and Imodium (not a wag bag fan) at WP and decided to hike to our destination Trail Camp. If we we made in time and were still good to go we would attempt to summit otherwise we would not and turn back.
Trail Camp (12 K): Started at 11 PM an hour behind schedule and almost right away started running into Day and Overnight hikers talking about how cold it was the previous night. Ranger checking our permits just before WZ said her water tube from the hydration pack was frozen overnight. But she said weather was clear and supposed to be warmer by 2 deg. The hike itself was beautiful and was gradual and not as steep as we had trained for/anticipated. We got into TC late 6.30 PM as sun was setting. We set up camp and thanks to the more experienced among us we set about getting water and cooking. Had dinner and hit the tent again at 9.30 PM. We were listening and looking at few of the hikers coming down the switch backs till late at night and thinking wow thats crazy. This time I had I think 7 layers on and double socks. Had one Diamox. Slept fitfully but better than before and woke at 6 AM ready this time to attempt the summit. But pushing ourselves out of the tent took some decidedly heroic effort.
Summit: Had one more Diamox and started up the Switchbacks in good spirits. Made it past Trail Crest and then past the JMT intersection and into the rougher areas of the trail. Then the combined effect of lack of sleep , food and elevation started getting to me. We were about 5 hours and 4 miles in at this point. I was seriously running out of energy and started slowing down. My younger fitter friends waited for me (love my brothers) and pushed me till the top. Decided to leave my heaver backpack at about 1 mile from the summit and just took water. Made the summit at 1.00 PM. I was out of it. Foggy thinking and lack of energy and lack of appetite read AMS. My group was fine and enjoying the phone calls to family. I did too and then after one final group pic and video started the way down.Had one more Diamox for good measure. No headaches just fatigue and foggy thinking. Jokes my friends were telling me were just not clicking in my head (sigh). Weather was clear no storms and it was just crystal beautiful where we could see for miles
Down to Trail Camp: Started down and narrowly averted disaster. Fell and broke my pole when it slipped off a rock. Scrapped knees and hands. Thankfully nothing serious. But the look on the face of the couple making their way up was priceless a mixture of shock and pity. Made light of it but was very very careful after that. Made it up the JMT portion and down the switchbacks and into TC by 5.00 PM.
TC to WP A couple of our super athletes went ahead and set up water filter and within about 30 mins we had noodle soup, broke camp were back on the trail at 5.50 PM. The goal was to try and get down to WP by 9.00 PM for Pizza and Monday nite football. Alas try as hard as we could we could only make it by 10:30 PM mostly because I was just dragging. Drove around LP and eat some cold pasta at a gas station(only place open) and hit the bed at WP Hostel. Drove home the next day with a lifetime of memories condensed into 48 hours.

Cold nights now , pond had ice this morning so was down around 20's wind very strong last few days but calm this afternoon. Short hours of sun now so you will be hiking in the dark , leaving around 3 AM still gets you into the cold zone for a short period but leaving before 3 AM will add hours in the coldest section of the trail.

Trail out of trail camp can be hard to follow in the dark coming down so stay alert and make sure you are on the "Trail" not just tracks.

Very short sections of ice and most are not having a problem they are stepping to the side of the trail. Watch the water crossing for ice , some are using the rocks early morning and falling, the rocks have a thin coat of ice till the sun hits the area. Spikes would not help since you would be jumping rock to rock and the spikes on dry rock may cause you to slip. Poles work best and walking in the water also avoids falling. My thoughts are if walking in the shallow water bothers you more than a chance of fall and splitting you head open ?????

Hello all,

QUESTION: Does anybody have a record of actual temperatures on Mount Whitney last week, Monday September 25 to Wednesday September 27?

My nephew and I summitted on Wednesday September 27th (both first timers) and we were lucky because the weather was BEAUTIFUL that day! Monday night was a bit chilly but I heard that it had warmed up considerably from the previous week. Our first night was Monday September 25th and we camped at Lone Pine Lake. We set up a two person tent with the rain fly to conserve heat. We came prepared with Thermarest pads, wool socks, several layers of thermal underwear, fleece layers, mountaineering jackets, gloves, and sleeping bags rated to 20 degrees... and Monday night was STILL a very cold night :-) We debated Tuesday morning whether we were prepared to even attempt Trail Camp at 12,000 that day, but we KNEW that the weather trend was for warmer weather, so I am glad we pressed on. We camped Tuesday night at Trail Camp, reached the summit on Wednesday, spent the night again at Trail Camp Wednesday night, and descended Thursday morning. We were lucky that the weather warmed up and both nights at Trail Camp at close to 12,000 ft. were considerably warmer than our first night at Lone Pine Lake at close to 10,000 ft. I found a great website that has weather forecasts for different elevations (www.mountain-forecast.com) but unfortunately I could not find historical data.

THEREFORE: I would like to know if anybody has a record of the actual temperatures at different elevations for last week, Monday September 25 to Wednesday September 27?

P.S. By the way, I just found out about this great website (www.mountwhitneyportal.com) and this Message Board! I wish I had found it prior to our trip!!! But I will definitely check it out again next year for our *next* Mount Whitney trip :-)

Thanks!