Mount Whitney Backpack

[gpsjoe]

Following in Tim’s footsteps (at least partly) GB and I decided to try to do something in the Mount Whitney area. We had no permit but decided to go there and see what we could do. If the permit didn’t work out we would have done some legal day hiking. But as I waited for GB to arrive in a local restaurant in Lone Pine, CA, she stopped at the visitor center on her way in and somehow came out with a permit for a 7 day backpack using the Whitney Portal. They didn’t much care where you started.

She also rented bear boxes at the visitor center. I objected strenuously. Who wants to carry an extra 2 to 3 pounds in the form of the Government issue bear box (REI sells see through bear boxes that even look lighter than these). But I lost that battle since it is a law and there are stiff fines if you get caught camping at a site without a permanent bear box. As it ends up we camped at 3 sites without a bear box in place and were checked out by the Crabtree Station Ranger while camping at Bubbs Creek. Another Ranger checked our permit while we were coming down from Forester Pass. I have never seen such active enforcement but we were clean.

The weather was perfect all 5 days. Sunny skies sometimes with a few white clouds. Never even a threat of rain. The air was perfectly clear all the time. No smoke or haze and the pictures are a thing of perfection. Occasionally it was windy but that’s to be expected especially at the higher elevations.

My photos are posted at Mount Whitney Backpack. There are 101. Last time I said don’t look at all of my pics but this time I think you should. Especially if some day you might consider going there. For scenic beauty, I think this area is off the charts.

The photo file names have the date and campsite or destination for that day in the title. And they are in order of their shooting time.

We took off from the Onion Valley Trailhead taking the paved road out of Independence (16 miles from Lone Pine) for 10 miles. We climbed 2,600 feet to Kearsarge Pass carrying our 45 to 50 pound backpacks filled with 5 days of food and warm clothing for anticipated cold temps and the usual stuff as well. Beat up after that climb we camped at Kearsarge Lakes (the first one you see in the picture). There was a bear box there. We did 6 miles on 9/10.

On the second day, 9/11, we hiked 8.4 miles and 2,200 feet of elevation as we headed toward Forester pass on the John Muir trail. We stopped at Bubbs creek to camp (11,200 feet elevation), about 3 miles before the pass.

On 9/12, our 3rd day, we traveled 12.1 miles doing 2,000 feet just to get through Forester Pass and then to camp at Wright creek. After Forester there is about 3 miles of hiking on moonscape where you see an occasional Marmot on the rocks who came out to watch the people go by. Then back into the Forest and past the Tyndall Creek ranger station and on to our campsite at Wright Creek. There were other campers there.

On 9/13 we hiked 8 miles to Guitar Lake starting with a fast and easy 0.8 miles down to Wallace creek where there is a permanent bear box but no campers this day. It looked very attractive to me. Then we climbed up and hiked over the Sandy Meadow plateau, another moonscape for about ½ mile before descending to the Crabtree Ranger station and then climbed again past Timberline Lake and onto Guitar Lake. We arrived at Guitar at 12:30 PM. I think we were just in shape because of the previous 3 days of lugging the pack and were able to do this quickly. We had time to do some local hiking around Guitar lake and that was cool.

Our final day was super strenuous. From Guitar Lake at 11,500 feet you climb to the intersection of the trail that takes you to the peak if you turn left and to the Portal if you turn right (at 13,500 feet). We dropped our backpacks at this intersection and hiked to the peak with a minimal load in lightweight daypacks we brought along. Total about 5 pounds for GPS, camera, a little water and a snack. Summited Mount Whitney (just under 14,500 feet) well known as the highest point in the US (excluding Alaska). That’s a thrill for me. Then we hiked out to the portal to make it a 15.8 mile day with 3,200 feet of climbing and 6,200 feet of descending.

The last day was tough and we just got out as dark was happening about 7:30 PM. This would be the only day that I would change if I do it again. I would camp at one of several locations on the return trip and have an easy, enjoyable hike out the next day.

All-in-all this trip was as close to perfection as they get, I think.

All pictures were taken on a Panasonic TZ3, my newest and favorite camera for hiking and backpacking. It’s new in 2007 and features a Leica lens with 10X optical zoom from 28 to 280 mm. So most shots are 28 mm except for a few where zoom was used. It fits in the palm of your hand and weighs 9 ounces with the battery installed. MSPR $350, web price around $300. It’s been reviewed positively and you can find reviews on the web if you google Panasonic TZ3.

[thesuperstitions]

Another outstanding trip Joe! Great pictures from that camera too!

[Davis2001R6]

Glad you were able to make it out there Joe, great pictures. The forrester pass looked like a killer. 13K+ feet

So which did you like better, Colorado or the Sierra's?

[sbkelley]

[gpsjoe]

That is a loaded question Tim. Both are hiker/backpacker heaven on earth and I will most happily go back to either. There are differences in the forests and rocks but both create visual images which boggle the mind. I don't know how to say one beautiflul image is better than another but I'm glad they are different since that gives me two places to go.

The physical challenges in both places are about equal as well. Although I was amazed by the grading of the California trails. They seem to have been designed for backpackers carrying heavy loads. By this I mean they make more use of switchbacks to reduce the steepness (and increase hiking distance) of trails than I have seen in Colorado or elsewhere. This was true hiking from the Whiney Portal and Onion Valley Trailheads.

[Davis2001R6]

From Guitar Lake on up, they is a great grade, good for hiking with a backpack. Some of the passes we much more difficult than that I thought.

Well hopefully next year I will get a week in Colorado to go play. I've heard great things of Chicago basin and I think it's relatively close compared to some places.

[azbackpackr]

The Calif. trails were designed for pack stock, that is why they are so well-built. And considerable effort is made to do trail maintenance as well. Unlike, ahem, many areas in Arizona.

I did a different loop in July '06. Camps: 1. Horseshoe Meadows (car campground) to 2. Chicken Spring Lake, 3. Rock Creek, 4. Crabtree Meadow, to 5. just above Guitar Lake. Next morning up that same grade you mentioned, left packs at the same saddle, did Whitney. Our last night (6.) was spent at, oh what the heck is that bp campground called above Portal, the one where you can see the big waterfall from camp? Anyway....super awesome trip. My pal with the permit went and did a different loop this past summer but I could not afford to take that much time off this year. Alas.....

By the way, with no permit in hand, or if you are just traveling by car, you can camp at Horseshoe Meadows car campground, if you dare to drive that road. It gets avalanched every year, and there are big bites taken out of it and scree piled up along its sides. Very scary road!

Now will look at your photos. Thanks for posting. Helps me (and probably Tim will agree) relive some of the best backpacking I've ever done.

[sbkelley]

[gpsjoe]

sb, do you pick up the train in Durango? Is that a regular stop every day on a specific schedule?

Do you have take the train or can you drive and park somewhere nearby?

[sbkelley]

You can pick it up in Durango or Silverton. When I lived in Wyoming, I was coming from the north, so I took an afternoon train from Silverton. For coming from Arizona, it would make more sense to take one of the morning trains from Durango.

The train will always stop at Needleton (the drop-off point), either coming from Durango or Silverton. The schedule is online at http://www.durangotrain.com/about/schedule.htm, and Needleton is one hour from Silverton, and 2 from Durango.

You can park and walk if you'd like, but that turns the round-trip mileage to and from the Chicago Basin to a minimum 25-mile backpack from Purgatory ski area, and that's if you don't do any hiking up the 3 14ers there. The train allows you to have a 6 miles in-6 miles out approach. Plus the train ride is such a blast anyways, it'd be a shame to miss it.

[Davis2001R6]

Scott now wanting to hijack this anymore, I would like to get some more info on the area from you to set-up a trip next year. I'll just create a new topic for it, as I think some other people on here are interested as well.

[Lizard]