BBA: thanks for the link. From that paragraph:
He also repaired the Smithsonian hut on the very top of Mt. Whitney. The National Forest Service hired him because of his excellent reputation as a stone-worker and mountaineer. He had to haul supplies up there with a mule. The hut had originally been built in 1909.
It is quite possible that they replaced the roof about the time you were up there.
I was first there in the late 70s, and I too remember the rocky uneven floor. In fact, the one thing I especially recall was the stench. Apparently hikers at that time were using the inside to urinate.
BTW, here's an interesting bit of history about Outpost Camp from that document:
My great-grandma ran a cook-tent at Outpost camp for two summers. She fed hikers that spent the night at Outpost Camp before they would head for the summit the next day. She even baked pies! Again, they had to bring the supplies in by mule. When my great-grandma was up there alone she would sleep with a hammer under her pillow so that she could protect herself if she ever needed to.
Great-grandma was Audrey King Prewitt. She was married at 20 in 1934, so I am guessing the Outpost Camp work was sometime between then and the 1950s.
