Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Famous people on the Mountain

Up here in Idaho, we hear of sightings in Sun Valley of people like Arnold Schwarzeneggar, Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, (Demi before the split) and others.

I am curious if you have heard of or seen anybody famous like this making a push for Whitney's summitt??

Well, Mad Dog Roy Earle died on his way up the Main Trail.

His death may be relevant to the discussion of firearms in another thread.

doubt you'll see any of them until they can land a Boing 727 in Lone Pine That airport below Sun Valley is something else...

did John Wayne ever go beyond the Alabama Hills?

I hear there's a celebrated Moose who appears on the trail every now and again.

I've also heard of some guy named Doug that strolls MMWT or MR from time to time.

John Muir 1873

everyone since then (especially Hollywood)is .......

Hulda Crooks.

They re-named Day Needle after her.

I saw Kevin Bacon and Michael Gross eating dinner in Lone Pine. They were making a movie (Tremors) in the Alabama hills. It was a while ago.

I summited with Kevin Bacon in September 2008. Wish I had a picture of the register with my name next to his. I'd spent 3 days on the trail with him before I knew his last name was Bacon when he signed the register. He looked nothing like his movie persona and he gave me his business card at the end of the trip and it said he was a real estate agent from San Diego. He was pretty Footloose on the trail though which is not a good thing at 14k.

For you old timers I once skied a run at Heavenly with Barbi Benton. Well not so much with her but close enough...

Alan, was that on Whitney? I saw the Bogart movie High Sierra long ago and it's really fuzzy in my data banks. I'm also wondering if he had one of Doug's pancakes before starting up . . .

Was that on the "bunny tow"?

And was there a guy in a robe skiing behind you?

According to Wikipedia



And find the exaggeration in this:

Hmmmm - the Portal being halfway up Mt. Whitney? You know me, Alan - that can be argued several different ways. Halfway from sea level? No. Halfway from the Owens Valley elevation? No. Halfway from the mountain's trailhead? Hell no!

Hi We promise in the next book "The rest of the story" it will include many famous people Well you know the ones that tell you over and over really that they are famous . And the standard movie line we can help you?


The location where Bogart was shot is about 75' off the road near the old trailhead and about 20' from the old trailhead bathroom, that was taken out with 69 mudslide.

Rip Torn came in one day to ask where the waterfall was I thought it was a joke, never heard of him . I never watch movies and seldon TV so as the people come in most times I never have a clue who they are . One person ask if I knew who he was I said no , we talked awhile longer he said he would sign the guest book and I could check later.

The person that stands out of all the years is the JMT hiker that finished during one of the Badwater races. He came down the road from the old trailhead limping and not moving very well as he walked by I ask him if he was OK he said he had just finished the JMT in memory of his buddies that didn't return from Vietnam, he had lost both his legs .He in my mind is very famous it will take more than a few movies to equal his position . Thanks Doug

Two years ago my pal and I were headed out to Horseshoe Meadow from a backpacking trip, and while taking a lunch break who should come walking up the trail but Micky Dolenz from the Monkees. We talked to him for a half hour or so. He was on his way to summit Whitney over the course of about 5 days, and said he backpacks in the Sierras every summer. Very nice dude.

Ran into Chuck Yeager, who as a younger man, spent many many days backpacking in the Sierra, as documented in his book, Press On.

Fred Becky (Seen him up at Ice Berg Lake a couple of times.)

Rosabela and Alank

No bunny tow and no 40ish dude in a robe - this was years ago. True story though - I can produce my daughters birth certificate to prove it: 15 years after that run down the "bunny hill" Barbi Benton's father delivered my daughter. I was sitting in his office and noticed a picture and asked if that was Barbi (not her real name) and he admitted it was. Awesome Doc. One of those it's a small world stories.

I feel famous when I'm on top of Whitney!

the best way to answer that one is to ask others who are around if they know who that person is, because he/she can't remember...

Good old Dr. Klein!

B