Answer to some questions, please. I am going up Aug 2. First question; will the snow melt off this route any quicker than the main trail? I plan a car-to-car day hike, so is this route as easy to stay on as is the main trail in the dark;I would like to start hike at 2am. Is this wise to start in the dark or ill advised? I have been to summit 4 times on main trail and would like to summit via MR route and either down climb MR, or come down on main trail. Thank you all for your replies!
Hello hiker,
In Sept., 2012 I did (more or less) exactly what you are getting ready to undertake. I had been to the summit 3 previous times (most recent was June 20, 2012), and on Sept. 20th went up the Mountaineer's route. There are some obvious differences:
2012 was not a high snow fall year, so no snow to deal with, and perhaps more importantly the creeks were not raging
You can view my trip report here: http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/27939/Searchpage/1/Main/2917/Words/Mountaineer%27s/Search/true/First_Time_-_Mountaineer’s_Rou#Post27939
I really echo Steve's suggestion that you preview the trail to LBS the day before. This gives you the opportunity to scout the creek crossings, and get familial with the E-Ledges. I would not personally cross the ledges before day light (30 minutes prior to sunrise), or after dark on the return. The good news is that in early Aug. you will have more day light and should still have time to hike to the summit and back via either route. I was back to the portal before dark starting at 4:30 AM, returning via the main trail. Of course I did not have to deal with raging creeks, or snow covered trail. Not sure what you will encounter on Aug. 2nd.
If you have the flexibility to delay your hike I would recommend the middle of Sept. Fewer afternoon thundershowers/storms, mosquitos may be gone, generally good weather, snow should be gone, and hopefully the creeks will have abated.
