Steve,
I have always wondered about the SEKI portion of the zone. Every map I have seen of the zone includes SEKI ground.
Also, in '09 there was a basket of WAG Bags at the junction to Upper Crabtree Meadow as we head towards Guitar Lake from Forester Pass.
Here you go:
The Inyo N.F map of the zone.Note the zone boundary is the Whitney crest. So the trail between Trail Crest and the summit is in SEKI, not the W.Z.
The trail is drawn incorrectly just south of the summit, where it appears to be on the east side of the crest.
SEKI cooperates with Inyo on the WAG bags. Inyo NF sends the wag bags over to SEKI so hikers exiting via Trail Crest will have one to carry. With the numbers of people camping at Guitar Lake, I am sure they would appreciate people packing it out of there.
The PCT association has PCT permits, and they charge an extra $15 for hikers who say they want to hike in "the Whitney Zone". (I believe the fee is passed along to Inyo NF.) I wonder if they realize the hikers can summit Whitney and never enter the zone.
