Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board High Sierra trail

Hi All,
I have a permit for High Sierra trail.. starting at Giant Forest Museum on 9/5. Would like to know what kind of weather others have encountered in previous years in early Sept. Any other input would be appreciated.
I've hiked the first 22 miles in Oct/2014 and had great weather, no bears or other people for that matter.
THanks for your comments.
Safe Hiking
Rick

I hiked the HST in 2013 the last week in August /first week in September. Beautiful conditions, no bugs. No wildflowers either.... Every year can be different of course.

thanks for the info.. I know 2 years ago there was an early snow, but almost all was gone when I hiked the first of Oct. Is it typical to have rain in the first part of Sept. I've not been able to locate any sites that have historic weather data. Anyone have any good sites that provide historic weather info in a localized enough geography to be useful?

I've done a couple trips in the High Sierra (HST, Whitney, Langley) over Labor Day weekend and never had rain. But I'm always prepared!

As always, Akichow is right on with her advice. The weather is usually good that time of year but even if you have a short-term forecast for clear skies as your dates approach you should be fully prepared for precip.

And with any luck maybe you'll see a bear. The few times l've been that lucky are on my mental highlight reel of mountain thrills. (Of course, we're talking California black bears, not Rocky Mtn. Grizzlies.)

Have a great trip!
Burt

Thanks Akichow and Burtw
Always good read your experienced advice. Thanks. Will be
prepared, prefer to see bears at a distance though.
I read an account somewhere the other day where a
bear had taken off with a closed Bear cannister. The
hiker eventually found it, but I had not heard of that
happening before. Any thoughts?
Safe Hiking to All
Rick

There are a couple of specific spots in Yosemite, SEKI, and at Whitney Portal, where there are a large number of hiker/campers going through, and the bears are more used to people and can get a little aggressive. Otherwise, the bears are shy in the Sierra. I don't worry about bears, though I do store my food properly.

If you are traveling alone l have some serious advice for you: Carry a Personal Locator Beacon! This Tuesday l was hiking off trail coming down out of the Palisades Basin when l fell. My injuries themselves weren't life threatening but l couldn't walk. I activated the Beacon of the PLB I have carried for the past 5 years and within 2 hours l had been spotted by a SEKI SAR copter crew. I was out there overnight, which was OK because l knew l would be taken off in the morning.

The next morning the lift off my ledge in a litter and then airlift to a heliport outside Visalia, where l was transferred to an ambulance, was so smooth and professional that it was almost, but not quite, worth the fall just to experience it. I was treated in a trauma center and got home Friday. I'll be back hiking in the Sierra in a couple weeks.

I was off trail, you'll be on. That reduces your risk of an accident but doesn't eliminate it. A PLB is worth every ounce and square inch it takes in your pack.

Hi Burt,
Sorry to hear about your fall. Glad things went smoothly for you. Yes
good advice on the PLB. Also taking a SatPhone to keep the wife happy.
Thanks Akichow for the input on bear activity. Really looking forward
to this trip, hopefully without any drama, but always prepared.
Thanks,
Rick