Mt Whitney Zone Forums Thread Like Summary - June 24:General Questions

Hello all,

I was lucky enough to score three permits for this June. This is my first time hiking this hike and I'm extremely excited!! I have a few questions about the hike and leading up to it.

1) I've been reading how Horseshoe Meadows is a great campsite to acclimatize to. I just looked at their website and it's first come first serve. Do I have to arrive super early to secure a site, I most likely won't arrive June 23rd until later in the evening/ afternoon. I'm from Ohio and would really like get some level of acclimation to the altitude.

2) Is parking an issue for the Mount Whitney trail at Whitney Portal? We plan on trying to get there by 0230 on June 24th.

3) We won't have to visit the visitor center at all for our permits, the permits are printed out at least 14 to one day before the hike?

4) Any good restaurants in Lone Pine?

I'm excited to hike and see the area, thanks in advance!

Something is broken on the Inyo N.F. website tonight. I am emailing them. This link is broken:   Permit Pickup Instructions

Here's what I did to pick up my permit for the Whitney Main Trail last week:

Send an email to: SM.FS.WildPmt_Inyo@usda.gov
Subject should have: Hike start date, Trailhead

Email body should:
give the reservation number
give the group size
For Mt Whitney, you should state that you have viewed the "Mt Whitney Leave No Trace Video"
Say how you will store your food.

When all else fails, call the Wilderness Permit Office: 760-873-2483   then press 0, then let it ring and ring until someone picks up. If it disconnects, repeat the process.

I’ll be there to climb Wotans Throne, but we’re probably going to do the MR and then tag Muir first. We’ll be looking for water on the way down. It’s been 30 years since I climbed the MMWT without snow on it, so I don’t remember where the water was. At 72, I don’t think I can keep track of that many switchbacks when I’m tired, so I’ll plug 36.5612, -118.2833 into my phone and walk down like a millennial zombie until I find it.