Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Whitney zone

Should I be unable to get a permit next week for the MR. Can I still hike up to Lower Boyscout lake? I was looking at a topo map http://lwp.smugmug.com/gallery/1494143#71585731_UKm6b-X2-LB

at it looks like the whitney zone at the MR area does not start until LBL. Can I day hike up to that point without a permit? I will stay a night at the hostel and try the next day for a permit, but it would be good for acclimation and also save time the next day for route finding should I be able to get a permit.

The official map of the whitney zone shows that little boy scout is outside of the whitney zone

http://fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MEDIA/stelprdb5144745.jpg

That is what I thought. As I understand it, you only need the permit to go into the Whitney zone, so I'm thinking that would be a nice pre-trip excercise for me.