Mt Whitney permit

[TollerMom]

T minus 37 days or so until we climb Mt Whitney. The obsessing has begun as I dream of this every night. Our permit was for 4 people but my co-worker and her new husband bailed on me. That left just me and my intrepid [Resolutely courageous; fearless] hiking buddie.

One afternoon recently we were training on a hike for elevation and we came upon two gentlemen who were hiking down from the lake. We stopped and chatted, and of course the conversation turned to our Whitney hike (did I mention I was obsessing...). It turns out these two guys - a local physics/astronomy professor who looks about 70 and his former student had applied for permits and were denied. My friend and I looked at each other, looked at them and said "We have two extra permits! Would you like them?". Their eyes got really big; like they were little kids on Christmas morning with a new bike under the tree.

So we now have two new friends to hike Whitney with!

[tmountainnut]

T minus 37 days or so until we climb Mt Whitney. The obsessing has begun as I dream of this every night. Our permit was for 4 people but my co-worker and her new husband bailed on me. That left just me and my intrepid [Resolutely courageous; fearless] hiking buddie.

One afternoon recently we were training on a hike for elevation and we came upon two gentlemen who were hiking down from the lake. We stopped and chatted, and of course the conversation turned to our Whitney hike (did I mention I was obsessing...). It turns out these two guys - a local physics/astronomy professor who looks about 70 and his former student had applied for permits and were denied. My friend and I looked at each other, looked at them and said "We have two extra permits! Would you like them?". Their eyes got really big; like they were little kids on Christmas morning with a new bike under the tree.

So we now have two new friends to hike Whitney with!

Nice. So you're day hiking it, right? Thats going to be quite the day for you guys.

I'm still a little disappointed i didn't get an overnight permit, but its looking like i'll have a shot at Rainier this July instead. I guess i'll have to try again next year.

[TollerMom]

Yes, I am day hiking it. We plan on being at the trailhead (which is 30 minutes from our hotel in Lone Pine) no later than 3am. If we are too excited to sleep, we may get a 2am start. I estimate it should take us between 14-16 hours RT. I have been looking at charts that show mileage vs location along the trail that will give us an idea of our pace.

I went up to the portal a couple weeks ago for a bit of recon. I wanted to see what the beginning of the trail looked like in the daylight as opposed to pitch dark. I was able to hike up to Lone Pine Lake el 10,000 before hitting the Whitney Zone where permits are required to continue. There are 28 switchbacks just to the lake which is about 3 miles in. It was a climb from the get-go.

Along the trail we saw many day hikers who couldn't manage the altitude even at 10,000. And several unprepared with no water or snacks. We offloaded some of our water and food to a guy who was sitting along the trail looking quite worked! He had a heart condition, an empty 16 oz water bottle, and his friends had left him behind. Bad, very bad!! Hikers don't abandon their friends!

[John B]

TollerMom,

Have fun on Whitney. I have climbed it twice--once up the "tourist route" and a second time up the mountaineers route--much preferred the latter.

tmountainnut,

I believe you can still avoid the permit issue prior to May 1--we climbed the mountaineers route the last weekend of April in 2008, had bluebird weather (camped above upper boy scout lakes), and had a fantastic time! Just sayin....

[tmountainnut]

TollerMom,

I finally got a permit this year. Super stoked to climb Whitney in June :-)

-Ted

[toejam]

I believe you can still avoid the permit issue prior to May 1--we climbed the mountaineers route the last weekend of April in 2008, had bluebird weather (camped above upper boy scout lakes), and had a fantastic time! Just sayin....

Wow - is it April already? I did an April Mountaineers Rt climb a few years ago and keep telling myself I'm gonna do it again. That is a great way to climb Whitney. Much better than fighting for a permit, hiking with a thousand people, camping at Trail Lake, and carrying 10 days of food, which is the way I'll climb Whitney this summer.

[toejam]

TollerMom,

I finally got a permit this year. Super stoked to climb Whitney in June :-)

-Ted

You should consider the Mountaineers Route, and climb Mt. Russell the next day.

[tmountainnut]

You should consider the Mountaineers Route, and climb Mt. Russell the next day.

I would rather do the Mountaineers route, but there are no permits for that route for awhile. I do have a plan on getting Russell while I'm out there though. I'm pretty much finished with the 14ers in Colorado (4 to go, all in the Sangres). The only reason I'm even considering doing Whitney as an overnight is because I'll be going with a friend from LA, and he'll need a little more time to acclimate.

[TollerMom]

TollerMom,

I finally got a permit this year. Super stoked to climb Whitney in June :-)

-Ted

. AWESOME! A note about the ' thousands' of people on the trail...that was not my experience at all when I hiked last July. We leap frogged a few groups but for the most part, the trail above and below me for a good distance was clear. Edited April 3, 2015 by TollerMom