Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Mount Whitney Friday - 04/18/2025

Good morning,

Who feels like summiting Mount Whitney this April, on Friday the 18th?
It usually takes me around 5 to 6 hours. If you have similar timing, that would be ideal.
We can plan to leave at 6 a.m. from the beginning of the trail.

Feel free to contact me,
Daniel

Hey Daniel, just a note here that you may already be aware of, so bear with me.

Don't forget that the Portal Road is closed between Lone Pine campground and Hogback Road. This, as Doug has pointed out, you need to either take Movie Road to Hogback or Moffat Road to Hogback and then exit Hogback just below the first road switchback (where the lower gate is). These roads are dirt and sand, with washboard surface at times. So, you need to anticipate about 9 miles on a dirt road. I did take each road to see which one might be the best way to get to the Portal Road and found taking Moffat Road to Hogback the best way.

Now, I was up in Lone Pine last and was surprised to find that the lower gate was hard closed. The gate was locked. I had to, as did other hikers have to walk the 4 miles (or so) to the Portal where the trail starts. There were some angry hikers not anticipating the extra miles.

That was last week, however, I would call Inyo County Roads: 760-878-0212 - Public Works Roads, and find out the current status so that you can anticipate your starting point.

Paul

I was shocked the gate that said road closed was closed. How could that be! The County road crew is working on the road to get ready for the summer season and yesterday they removed the last large rock off the road , they still have culverts to clean and sweep the road before it will open, they have been opening the gate but don't plan on it being open and if you drive around the gate you could be locked in until the county crew gets to the area.

Hey DanielH; Looking forward to any updates you may have regarding road/gates/trail conditions upon return! I‘m planning to do the same the following week. Thanks!

Doug is correct that the gate may be open for work then closed after they finish working for the day.

Last week, there were two vehicles parked on the big turnout at the top where the road heads into the canyon. The cars were parked there for a couple days. Each day I hiked, the gate was close.

Paul