Mt Whitney Zone Forums Trip Reports Mineral King to Whitney Portal

I too am looking forward to this info. I'm leaving Monday for a Tuesday overnite up the MWMR. I know nothing of this path, please provide info.

great TR and awesome photos - definitely "wish I was there" material. Thanks for the inspiration.

Thank you for the report Steve! High Sierra Trail or a trip like this is probably much more attainable to me then my dream of the JMT anytime soon.

Its almost like the mile and mile & half ending!!! Wow, ukulele on the summit! Once early in the morning near south Kaibab trail head, while waiting for sunrise, we heard some one playing saxophone with the notes reverberating across the canyons! Its Devine! Again looking forward to those gems of x-country hikes you are still holding as "Cliff hangers"! Thanks, Steve!

The Ukulele kid...

I met him, his father and brother on Forester. He played for several minutes, with Beatle sing-alongs. There were, at the time about 20 people on Forester, and it was quite the event.

The boy is attending USC School of Music in the Fall. He plays the piano, guitar, violin (which is his favorite instrument), banjo and several more. He writes music as well. A very gift young man.

Yes, it was a fun event on Forester. Oh, and his brother was quite the clown.....dad was very proud.

Paul

Wow, sounds like an impressive musician. Thanks for adding that, Paul!

Here they are in the hut. Musician and bro on the right. Is dad in the picture?

I can't tell for sure, but his father looks a lot like the guy in the red jacket.

paul

Steve, that was a great trip, great photos, and a great TR. It makes me feel like such a slacker, since I rarely carry a camera or write a TR. BTW, I was up on Sawtooth last Sunday on my way to Needham.

What did you carry for shelter? Did you have a minimal tent, a bivy sack, or something else? I'm debating what to bring for my trip to the GWD via Shepherd Pass next week.

Bob, thanks! I saw your spot track on Sawtooth, etc. yesterday. Nice hike!

Yes, writing up a trip can take a lot of time. I still have some pieces I need to put up so people to reference.

I carried, and never used, a Six Moon Designs Parka Tent. It can be worn during a storm: goes over hiker and pack. Biggest drawback is that it is so loose around the knees that it blows and flaps in the wind. I've been meaning to add some Velcro and string or something to control that. But then, since I never needed it, incentive is low.

As a tent, it uses a hiking pole, and ties down with about 6 pegs. There is no floor, so I worry that if I am really in a big downpour or long storm, unless I have the perfect spot with perfect drainage, things might get wet. Fortunately, the Sierra is mostly dry, so I've gotten away with it.

Steve, I don't backpack often enough to justify something like your Parka Tent. I have to choose between a 20+ year old bivy and the freestanding one-person tent that I used in the snow at Iceberg Lake in April 2009. The weather forecast and the amount of space in my pack will probably make the decision for me.

You must have met a different kid: Evan is only 15 (headed to his sophomore year in high school), and was hiking with his mom & sister.

The ukulele player's mom is on the right, then him, then his sister to his left. Dad was driving to pick them up at Whitney Portal at about the time of this pic! (My husband, son, & I are friends of theirs who had delivered their resupply at the Kearsarge/Bullfrog Lake junction a few days before.)

That is interesting. Meeting a kid on Forester, carrying a Ukulele on his hike of the JMT with father and son....and then another kid doing the same thing. What are the odds?

The family I met was from Mendocino.

Thanks for correcting me.

Paul

That is a funny coincidence, but I bet that after viewing "Mile, Mile & a Half", there will be more & more ukulele players on the trail!

NoUgly: On the summit, someone in the group that morning related that a year ago, they were in the A16 store (maybe San Diego), and saw the Mile, Mile-and-a-Half video (and I think talked with one of the participants). The story continued that this person had never even heard of the JMT. But it inspired them so much that here a year later, they were completing the JMT.

Does that describe your friends, or someone else?

Fun stuff!

Why is an Accordion better than a Ukelele?

Maybe. I went & saw the movie at a local theater, bought it, took it over to their house & we had a family showing, and they were bitten by the JMT bug! I'll have to ask them if that's the story they were talling.

Steve:
Did you already wrote about the whitney stream short cut you took from Kern river to Crabtree meadow? I did not see one yet here. Very much interested in this as I saw a short trail in the NG map from PCT near Crabtree meadow along the Whitney stream - probably leading to the packers camp you came across. Just curious and this could be a nice short cut to the Kern Hot springs from crab tree meadow next time! Looks like something I can try in the future with a day pack! Same thing about the crab tree lakes trail. I may include this as another day hike from the meadow to the upper crab tree lake and back - definitely not all the way to discovery pinnacle as you did! Here I know my limitations!

Krishna, no I haven't posted that report/description yet. The pictures are in the trip album, starting with this one. The captions are a start, too.

The Spotwalla link shows my SPOT track in the area, but I will be describing the shortcut better in a separate thread.

I saw that spur trail from Crabtree on some old map, too. I'll have to check my old Topo! map software. It probably does end at that camp.

Both the Crabtree-Discovery Pinacle shortcut and the Whitney Creek one would be excellent descent routes. Down from DP to Crabtree lakes would be easier than descending to Guitar Lake!

A day hike down Whitney Creek would require a return in the same day. I think taking a backpack down would not be that bad, if you took it slow and easy.