Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Advice for Securing Tent at Trail Camp

We will hike to Trail Camp on July 29, and summit Whitney on July 30. Typically, we simply stake our tent, but we've heard that might not be possible. Does anyone have suggestions on the best stakes (we use MSR Mini Ground Hog Stakes) or stake alternatives to secure our tent, given the possibility of high winds at Trail Camp?

Also, since we will not carry our large packs/gear to the summit, it is appropriate to leave tent in place until our return? We've heard stories of tents being blown away, or ransacked by marmots! What is the safest way to leave gear while we're gone?

Thanks!

If you can't stake it properly, put in some 5 lb rocks.

Or, unless you plan to spend another night at Trail Camp, you could stow it in the morning, so it's ready to carry down in the afternoon. If there is any thunderstorm activity, though, it might be nice to store all your extra gear inside until you return. Just don't leave any food inside -- the marmots will chew through to get to it. In fact, leave it open a little, so they can get inside without chewing, regardless of having no food.

They sell snow anchors for tents that you can also fill with rocks, although I doubt even that will work for any serious winds. We always leave our tent wide open when we leave camp set up at TC, with as little on the ground as possible. Last time, we left our sleeping pads (not bags, just the pads) on the floor of the tent, and we couldn't believe the number of dusty little marmot footprints that were all over them when we returned. There was zero food in the tent.

What did you do with your remaining gear (sleeping bags, stove, water filter, sleep clothes, etc.)? Did you carry it all to the summit? If not, how did you secure it?

Second this, just leave the zipper open enough for a marmot to squeeze through.

We stowed most of it up in a gear loft inside the tent.