Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion What are your plans this year?

Don't I know it . My first MWMT trip, in August of 1964, blown out by storm system: only at TC (and down to about 9500 feet) it was 6 inches of snow for about 5 days straight. We were headed for Lake South America and Kern Canyon: I still haven't made it there. As you know, backed off of Kaweah Gap by snow 2 years ago. Well, third try in 49 years, and I WILL be prepared. Changing out some gear as well as adding food at MTR. Adding a fleece layer and maybe tech cloth shell, maybe a gas stove, to the bucket there, for the high country to the south.

I have telescope peak

Whitney from horseshoe meadow through the Miter with my mom

Shepherds pass to hopefully do Williamson and Tydall planned for this year. I hope to sneak one more trip in there too.

trip #1 out of South Lake, JMT southbound

trip #2 North Lake/Lamarck to South Lake loop

Highpoint FL or maybe Rum Doodle

Atherton Tablelands, perhaps Green Island.

Mid-life crisis.

40? No worries: 40 is the new 30!

Dear Moose: My people are hacking your email address, so that you can be added to the top-secret circular.

40? I wish!!!

2013 Main Goal/Almost Done Deal: Complete the JMT: Mammoth to ...that peak that gets so much attention on this forum...

Shameless promotion of my wife and I enjoying the North Section JMT from Mammoth to Yosemite: JMT Northern Section 2011 Big Snow

This is my plan for the summer. It might not mean allot to most people but maybe of some interest to you deep Sierra explorers.

I'll try not to fall and smash myself up this year.


June 1 - 1 - Eleanor Creek
June 2 - 2 - Edith Lake
June 3 - 3 - Twin Lakes
June 4 - 4 - Bonnie Lake
June 5 - 5 - Black Bear Lake
June 6 - 6 - Layover
June 7 - 7 - Cow Meadow Lake
June 8 - 8 - Lord Meadow
June 9 - 9 - Flora Lake
June 10 - 10 - Lake Eleanor
June 11 - 11 - Laurel Lake
June 12 - 12 - Bearup Lake
June 13 - 13 - Tilden Lake
June 14 - 14 - Lake 8920
June 15 - 15 - Benson Lake
June 16 - 16 - Layover
June 17 - 17 - Piute Creek
June 18 - 18 - Maltby Lake
June 19 - 19 - Mono Village
June 20 - 20 - Extra Day Food
June 21 - 21 - Spiller Creek
June 22 - 22 - Shepherd Lake
June 23 - 23 - Upper Lee Vining Creek
June 24 - 24 - Tuolumne Meadows
June 25 - 25 - Layover
June 26 - 26 - Upper Lyell Canyon
June 27 - 27 - 1000 Island Lake
June 28 - 28 - Reds Meadow
June 29 - 29 - Trail Work
June 30 - 30 - Trail Work
July 1 - 31 - Trail Work
July 2 - 32 - Trail Work
July 3 - 33 - Trail Work
July 4 - 34 - Trail Work
July 5 - 35 - Reds Meadow
July 6 - 36 - Pika Lake
July 7 - 37 - Cecil Lake
July 8 - 38 - Little Mcgee Lake
July 9 - 39 - Climb Red & White Mountain
July 10 - 40 - Pioneer Basin
July 11 - 41 - VVR
July 12 - 42 - Layover
July 13 - 43 - Big Margaret Lake
July 14 - 44 - Climb Sharktooth & Silver Peaks
July 15 - 45 - Climb Saddle Mountain
July 16 - 46 - Devil's Bathtub
July 17 - 47 - Climb Graveyard Peak & stay at VVR
July 18 - 48 - Layover
July 19 - 49 - Climb Volcanic Knob & Camp West of Recess Peak
July 20 - 50 - Hilgard Lake
July 21 - 51 - Climb Mt. Hilgard
July 22 - 52 - Seven Gables Lakes
July 23 - 53 - Big Moccasin Lake
July 24 - 54 - Three Island Lake
July 25 - 55 - Climb Seven Gables camp at Sandpiper Lake
July 26 - 56 - VVR
July 27 - 57 - Layover
July 28 - 58 - Florence Lake
July 29 - 59 - Red Rock Basin
July 30 - 60 - Climb Mt. Shinn & Ward
July 31 - 61 - Hell For Sure Lake
August 1 - 62 - Lake Confusion
August 2 - 63 - Lake Ambition / Climb Reinstein
August 3 - 64 - Cathedral Lake
August 4 - 65 - Climb Finger Peak
August 5 - 66 - Tunemah Lake
August 6 - 67 - Layover
August 7 - 68 - Climb Tunemah Peak
August 8 - 69 - Lake 10,232
August 9 - 70 - Climb Scylla camp at Lake 12,080
August 10 - 71 - Muir Trail Tarns
August 11 - 72 - Upper Dusy Basin
August 12 - 73 - Parchers Resort
August 13 - 74 - Layover
August 14 - 75 - Dusy Basin
August 15 - 76 - Lake 11,120
August 16 - 77 - Climb Giraud Peak camp on Palisade Creek
August 17 - 78 - Lake 10,960
August 18 - 79 - Climb Mt. Shakespere camp at Lake 10,565
August 19 - 80 - Lake 10,240
August 20 - 81 - Layover
August 21 - 82 - Dumbbell Lakes
August 22 - 83 - Marion Lake
August 23 - 84 - Lake 10,240
August 24 - 85 - Climb Marion Peak camp at Marion Lake
August 25 - 86 - Leconte Canyon
August 26 - 87 - Dusy Basin
August 27 - 88 - Parchers Resort
August 28 - 89 - Layover
August 29 - 90 - Upper Dusy Basin
August 30 - 91 - Lake 11,676
August 31 - 92 - Climb Mt. Sill
September 1 - 93 - Lake 11,475
September 2 - 94 - Climb Goodale & Striped Mountains
September 3 - 95 - Lake 11,607
September 4 - 96 - Lake 11,388
September 5 - 97 - Layover
September 6 - 98 - Lake 11,680
September 7 - 99 - Climb Mt. Wynne & Pinchot
September 8 - 100 - Below Arrow Pass
September 9 - 101 - Climb Arrow Peak camp at Lake 11,000
September 10 - 102 - Paradise Valley
September 11 - 103 - Roads End
September 12 - 104 - Layover
September 13 - 105 - Bubbs Creek
September 14 - 106 - Upper Vidette Lakes
September 15 - 107 - Below Mt. Tyndall
September 16 - 108 - Climb Mt. Tyndall
September 17 - 109 - Whitney Creek
September 18 - 110 - Kern Hotspring
September 19 - 111 - Layover
September 20 - 112 - Forester Lake
September 21 - 113 - Crystal Lake
September 22 - 114 - Climb Sawtooth Peak camp at Columbine Lake
September 23 - 115 - Redwood Meadow
September 24 - 116 - Lodgepole
September 25 - 117 - Layover
September 26 - 118 - Lonepine Creek
September 27 - 119 - Lake 11,710
September 28 - 120 - Climb Lawson & Kaweah Queen
September 29 - 121 - Lake 11,600
September 30 - 122 - Lake 10,600
October 1 - 123 - Day hike up Picket Creek
October 2 - 124 - Chagoopa Plateau
October 3 - 125 - Lake 11,800
October 4 - 126 - Layover
October 5 - 127 - Climb Red Kaweah
October 6 - 128 - Hamilton Lake
October 7 - 129 - Lodgepole
October 8 - 130 - Crescent Lake
October 9 - 131 - Lake 9840
October 10 - 132 - Ferguson Creek
October 11 - 133 - Connector Creek
October 12 - 134 - Lake 11,280
October 13 - 135 - Josephine Lake
October 14 - 136 - Layover
October 15 - 137 - Glacier Lake
October 16 - 138 - Climb Triple Divide Peak
October 17 - 139 - Junction Meadow
October 18 - 140 - Crabtree Lakes
October 19 - 141 - Primrose Lake
October 20 - 142 - Horseshoe Meadows

Amazing!

RoguePhonic's plans deserve a thread of their own. I can't wait to see the pictures. There must be a book, there.

Due to an awful lot of late night and early morning faxing, I now have permits this summer for three far shorter, classic trips:

(1) Desolation Wilderness
(2) Lyell Canyon to Mammoth (JMT)
(3) High Sierra Trail leaving from Crescent Meadows. Currently, the plan is to do a lollipop loop rather than the whole traverse, though that may change.

Advice appreciated re (3): I'd love to do the whole HST but the logistics of Whitney Portal back to Crescent Meadow make my head hurt. This has been the subject of prior threads -- paid shuttles, two-personal-car-shuttles, key swaps. If folks have suggestions beyond the obvious, please let me know. Were we to do the whole traverse, I would want to avoid the logistics of having two groups coordinate a key swap from different directions...gotta keep it simple!

Thanks!

You just need to ask a big favor of a friend and have them drive with you to Whitney to leave a vehicle and then they drive you to Lodgepole and drop you off.

Other wise try to make the time to loop the whole thing.

Says the guy who lives in Bakersfield! Hey, want to be my friend? Though you'll be deep in the Sierra, I suspect, on the trip of a lifetime.

Even if I was not in the Sierra I don't drive so I wont be of much help. =P

We'll probably just do some sort of loop.

But I did figure out that, from the Bay Area, it is entirely possible to do the thru hike, Sequoia/Lodgepole to Whitney Portal, using no cars, and instead a combination of Greyhound, ESTA, and a Visalia-Sequoia NP shuttle (and, of course, hitchhiking from the Portal to Lone Pine). It is not nearly as time consuming as one would think (the worst part is the ESTA/Greyhound bus trip from Lone Pine-Reno-Oakland, which is about 12 hours).

Look at bus connections back to CM right from Lone Pine: to Yosemite is easy, CREST to Yarts, then Greyhound or AMTrak (yes a lot of AmTrak routes include buses) to Visalia, then SEKI shuttle. Requires a very early am start in Lone Pine (CREST stop is a block or two from the Hostel) and possibly an overnight in Yosemite (Camp IV or backpackers CG with a next day permit). I would look into whether you can get all the way to Visalia Holiday Inn in one day, then catch the SEKI shuttle in the morning.

Great lollipop route would be return from Whitney by Pants Pass or Pyra_Queen Col. In fact from Whitney summit, that would probably be as fast as by bus from Lone Pine! See Steve C's HST report from last year, and keep in mind that both Pants and PQ are easier E to W.

BTW, at Whitney summit, you HAVE done the whole HST. Like the JMT, Whitney is the terminus, not the Portal.

Now that's a hike, RP. Looks like adequate time to acclimate to the elevation.

One other option might be to hook up with a Whitney hiker that is finishing their hike on the same day that you hike out to the portal. Provided that hiker had room, and was going to Fresno, Visalia, or the Bay Area they could easily drop you off at you car (well a bit out of the way, but not much, and something a fellow hiker might be willing to do). Even if this strategy fell apart you would still have the option Steve pointed out.