Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Whitney Lottery Application 2010

+ @ti2D...
Okay, I gave in and sent in for some dates. Since I'm pretty much okay for a walk in, I'll probably get my dates this year! Gary (Bulldog) sent in for some dates and I doubled them. I figure I can give em back to the forest service if both Gary and I get them.... and I did my 2010 donation to the service. I don't like doubling up, but Gary's coming from the East Coast and we need to up our chances.

I'm still out of shape. I have had a hard time getting it going with lots of stuff going on around here. My poor dog Daphne had to be put down last week. She was my only stability in the last 12+ years, so I tipped a bottle of Chardonnay before my wife took us to the vet so we could put her down. I probably looked pretty silly to the vet as I hugged my baby girl Daff. I never looked up once at the vet while I was there, just kept my eyes on Daff. My stepson Kaleb, who did Whitney with us last year was with us and he and I cried our eyes out. My wife had to be the strong one. My wife paid the bill and we had the funeral a couple of days later. She was an Akita and my "fishing dog". She loved the Sierras, especially swimming in the canals and North Lake. Long live Daphne.

I am excited to see what dates everyone gets and hope to see some of you on the mountain. Good luck to everyone. Also, remember that if you don't get the date you want, you can enter the "second lottery". I did that last year and got incredibly good dates, on the "waning gibbous!!!(the night before was full). And, Walk in is a very good option.

QS, condolences again on Daphne. As you know, I just went through the same thing with our 16 YO black lab Shadow, and it's devastating. My solace (and my wife's) that night 3 weeks ago was vodka/tonic. A lot of it.

I normally wouldn't put too much emphasis on the lottery since it's typically only me on these higher altitude hikes, and a walk-in is usually available, but my wife and 10 YO daughter are coming with me this year. As opposed to another grueling dayhike, I submitted for a two-nighter for 6 this year. I doubt my wife will go higher than Trail Camp (she's quite prone to AMS above about 12K - Pike's Peak was re-christened Pike's Puke in her honor), but my daughter insists she's going to the summit with me. That should be interesting. She may surprise me though. At age 8 she hiked about 50 miles with us during a week in the Cascades, but that was all below 10K. One thing's for sure - if she makes it to Trail Camp for an overnighter, the marmots better beware. She'll make it her mission to domesticate every last one of them.

I thought those pesky varmints were domesticated, Bulldog.

In '07 I rushed to meet my friends going up the chute and left all my breakfast foods out of my Ursack. Those marmots were kind enough to do some housekeeping for me. Unfortunately, they forgot to tell me where they put it before going out of town.

As a point of fact, I never advance permit the MMWT. I walk-in get my permit and hit the trail...after stopping at Joseph's to pick up enough ice to keep the Alaskan Amber ice cold for our triumphal return.

QS - In our family, it's cats, but the emotion is the same.

We had 6 cats for a long time. Then, beginning Nov. 2002 and ending this past autumn, we had to put down, each in their turn over time, 5 of the 6 (the other one ran off in early 2002 and never returned), starting with our favorite one who had cancer at a too-young age. For the first one, both of us were there, hugging on the cat (who was ready to go), and touching him continually while the vet did the deed (we had a long history with our vet, too). It was very hard, and when we buried that one, I cried my eyes out (as did my wife).

For the remaining 4, my wife was either away or couldn't handle going through it again, so it fell to me to be with each of those at the vet and to then bury them at our farm.

While the emotional impact of the final 4 wasn't quite as severe as the first one (cuz he was a very special personality), it still didn't make it any easier. So I am totally empathetic to what you had to go through. Our pets are truly part of our family.

And no, I'm sure you didn't look silly to the vet. Any good vet is very sympathetic when this has to be done. Many of them have pets of their own, being animal lovers themselves, and I'm sure they have had their times of loss too. Our vet has always sent us a pet sympathy card each time.

CaT

My daughter has a different definition. She'll try to leash them, take them for walks, and have them do tricks for treats. There's one big, fat pappy I saw up there in August she may try to saddle and ride.

Hello all!

I have a reservation confirmation for main Mt. Whitney trail, one day, and want to trade for another date. Here's the details:

Entry date: Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Exit date: Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Entry trail: Main Mt. Whitney trail
Exit trail: Main Mt. Whitney trail
Group size: 2

My husband and I went through the original lottery process back in February (including filling out nine alternative dates), did not get our dates, then went through the re-opening process on April 28th. I spent all morning on the phone re-dialing and finally got through and was issued a remaining spot on 9/14/10.

I start back to nursing school the day prior and cannot make this date. We would love to trade someone with an earlier date, preferably a weekday in August or September, but at this point we would take any day of the week.

Thanks for any considerations!

Welcome to the board!

You are welcome to comment, and you may have noted that we don't police topic drift.

Wendy, unless the policy has changed this year (and I don't think it has), when you go to pick up your permit, you have to actually be the person who reserved it, and they ask for ID.

So, it is not as simple as a agreed swap, where you show up to pick up another person's permit.

Sorry for the bad news.

WendyF wrote:
> ...preferably a weekday in August or September

Wendy, Ken is right about swapping permits. However, since you are interested in a day hike mid-week in August or September, you can get a no-show permit free just by showing up at the Visitor Center where you pick up permits.

Look at last year's Unused Whitney Permits - 2009, and the numbers of unused permits for day hikes. Pretty much any mid-week day, there have been permits available for day hikes. The no-shows become available at 2 PM the day before the hike, so if you are at the VC at that time, your chances are very good. (And they're free!) The unused numbers are what is left at the end of the actual hiking day.