Received this as a PM:
I'd like to climb the mountaineer's route. If I have a "Day Use Mt. Whitney Zone" permit for example on a Wednesday but want to camp Tuesday night at Upper Boy Scout Lake in the Whitney zone what permit would I need?
As I understand it the "overnight visiting Mt Whitney permit" for the North Fork Lone Pine trail would limit camping to the Lower Boy Scout Lake and the only other permit for camping in the Whitney Zone is the Mt Whitney Trail Overnight.
Many thanks for posting the
video coverage of the mountaineer's route.
That "Day Use Mt. Whitney Zone" permit is good to climb either the Mountaineers Route or the Main Trail. But the key there is "Day Use". It is not intended to be used with any other permit.
If you want to camp at UBSL, you need the permit for the
North Fork Lone Pine Creek JM34 Trail. (Please be aware, it is NOT a trail.) Quota for those is 10 per day, 6 reservable (and gone) 6 months in advance, with 4 available for walk-ins at 11 AM the day before entry. (At 11, they draw numbers out of a hat, and lowest number gets first crack at the permits available.) If there are any no-shows, they become available at 11 AM the day
OF entry.
The "overnight visiting Mt Whitney" designation is required so you can even FIND the North Fork permit, and it also triggers the $15 per hiker charge for being within the Whitney Zone.
The NFLPC JM34 permit does not limit you to camping at LBSL. You can camp anywhere along that route, Lower Boy Scout Lake, Upper Boy Scout Lake, Iceberg Lake, or even the summit of Mt Whitney! The only thing you cannot do on that permit is exit via the Main Trail. That requires the "Overnight Exiting Mt Whitney" designation, which then gives you the second "Trail Crest Exit Permit" to select, which is required to use the Main Trail if you are coming in from anywhere other than the Main Trail (or outside of any Inyo National Forest trail head).
