Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Current road and trail conditions

Not yet, Paul:




Here's proof that the Marmots are out:




I put on the brace and stuffed my foot into a new pair of Motorcycle Adventure Boots...
Doesn't hurt unless I try to flex my foot, so shifting was interesting...
Checked to verify that Inyo Isn't Just Slow With Road Openings Postings...
Went to Onion Valley for Lunch and a Nap...
367 K, which is way more than I'll do in a day in Leh...
Uncomfortable, but Tolerable...
3 weeks from today, I need to be at LA(X)...

I have a video of me Gimping around the OV Campground, but it's too big for SmugMug and I don't know if I'll take the time to edit...
Report: It's mostly clear of snow and a bit of clean up will have it ready...

What's going on with the re-opening of Horseshoe Meadows road? Construction?

I wish Inyo County Roads would explain why the road is still closed and give an estimate of when it might open. C’mon, it doesn't require much work to put an explanation onto the status report.

On a different subject. Richard, how are you doing injury wise. You haven't posted much since the accident. I hope all is well, or getting better.

Paul

Well, its about time.

I just checked the Inyo County Road website and they list the Horseshoe Meadows Road as being open.

Paul

Upper gate was still locked...leading me to believe that it's INF, rather than Inyo Roads that kept the gates locked...probably WAY Understaffed...

The Inyo Roads Crew was working hard...a LOT of Sealing on the lower road and they were working the road down from The Crossover...

Snow on the way up to Trail Pass...guess is 2 more weeks until it's a walk-up...

LOTS of snow on the slope below Trail Peak...agile youth...probably no problem...me with a gimpy left leg...it hurt to kick into the firm snow...I bailed down to the Meadow and XC'd it back to the TH...

I'll probably head back up with Mircospikes to try The Loop...

A few photos over at SmugMug...

Thanks Richard.

I suspected that the road would be closed at the last gate. However, it is good for PCT hikers resupplying in Lone Pine.

I plan on heading up to Horseshoe and the Portal on Sunday with my dog.

I have reservations for the Portal campground Memorial week. The grandkids are coming up. They like Horseshoe Meadows to hike from...maybe, if doable, Cottonwood Pass and Trail Pass.

paul

We are doing Kennedy Meadows up to Horseshoe Meadows (coming down Mulkey most likely) starting two weeks from today. Hopefully it won't be a slip and slide coming down to the parking lot.

Walking around the snowfields on the way down through the trees was no problem...and since much of the Mulkey Pass Trail is gone...I don't think you'll have any problems...the off-trail was a bit of work on the way up Trail Pass...

Hey all!

Anybody have recent updates on the Main trail conditions(predominantly inquiring about snow?) How are the 99 switchbacks looking? Still need to take the snow field up?

Also if anybody knows about the North Fork(Mountaineer's), please let it be known!

Any and all information helps.

Thanks!

-Bear

Main trail sitchbacks still covered, all tracks still going up the chute. All snow past Mirror lake and all water frozen. Trail Crest to Crooks has a handful of big drifts but nothing treacherous. Spoke with a group that went North Fork for Whitney / Russel and they said the snow was good.

Also, creek crossings all seem really low.

Sounds like the trail will be a snow-free affair very soon.

Paul, Cottonwood Pass is trivial...easier than Trail Pass at this time...
The Cornice will probably be gone in a week, or so...

The Loop is a challenge unless done EARLY...post holing under Trail Peak is nasty in the afternoon...
I'd call it about a month away from full melt-out...

Frogs and Mosquitoes out and annoying...

I gave a PCTer from CO a ride down to Town...he waited 2 hours for me to arrive back at the TH...He really enjoyed the ride down on the motorcycle...
Eight were at/near the gate...the word must be out...

A few photos over at SmugMug...

Thanks Richard....good talking with you at Horseshoe Meadows.

I'll be up there with the grandkids hiking on May 24 and 25. Do you think the section from Cottonwood to Trail would still be a problem?

I gave two PCT hikers a ride to town also. One from the UK and one from Quebec. They were lucky, with traffic at Horseshoe Meadows this time of the year is scarce. I am driving them back this morning.

pau
l

I'm pretty sure there will still be plenty of snow on that slope...the question is: will hundreds of PCTers put in a packed track?
Based on what I saw yesterday, I'd say it's only in the tens (if that) as far as numbers so far...I only encountered the CO through-hiker on the PCT...
I'll be back up there for workouts many times...I keep you informed...
BTW, I still prefer TP/CP over CP/TP for The Loop...
BTW2, very late wake-up this morning, so obviously, that hike beat the crap out of me...

Thanks

I dropped off the PCT hikers this morning. There was an addition, another PCT hiker in town joined us. She was from the Czech Republic. In terms of speaking english, she said to me was, "don't speak english."

paul

I did the TP/CP Loop again today...
Rather cold and the wind didn't help...30s in the morning...40s in the afternoon...
Trail Pass is a Walk Up...I didn't step on any snow on the way up...and I didn't have to do any off-trail to avoid snow...
The Trail Peak PCT section has a track now...pretty easy...but annoying...and I would imagine the post holing would be bad if the weather is warm....
There are also a few snowfields to negotiate just south of CP...you could probably avoid it by dropping down onto the meadow and using the other trail...
I'll be leaving the spikes behind from now on...
Cottonwood Pass is almost snow-free...a few steps on snow crossing what remains of the cornice...

1 PCTer on the PCT...
4 on the CP Trail heading back in...guessing they came out at TP or Mulkey...smart move avoiding that 5 miles to CP...

A few photos over at SmugMug...

BTW, the Upper Gate is Open...and someone did a nice job of cleaning up around the bathrooms at the TH...some Bear Box rearrangement too...
Guessing it will all be a Mess after MD Weekend...

So just confirming, if we're coming in from the south, both Mulkey and Trail Pass are totally clear descents to the parking lot? We were thinking of turning off at CP just to add a few extra miles at the end but it sounds like we might encounter mushy mid day snow.

How were the mosquitoes by the way on a scale of 1 to 10?

I can't tell you what Mulkey is like...Hillary did some major damage to the trail...last time I used it, parts of the trail were washed away...I doubt any Trail Crews have been up there to fix it...
I wouldn't add the miles to CP for a few more weeks...unless you like the potential for post holing if you're not there early...
You could add a little distance by taking the Mulkey/Trail Pass Trail off of the Trail Pass Trail...(it takes you east of the creek on a fairly nice, sandy trail to the Corral area...the Junction is not signed and if coming down TP Trail, it's easy to end up going this way, anyway...Ask me how I know...I put a log across the Junction yesterday...just in case I ended up doubling back...)

Paul could probably tell you more about Mulkey...and also about alternatives for getting to Cottonwood Pass...I know he's done lots of exploring down that way...Looking South from the PCT, there is no snow as far as the eye can see...only a little on some of the high peaks...

Wasn't annoyed by any mosquitoes this trip...

Yes, Horseshoe Meadows Road is open all the way to the trailhead. The last gate was open this morning, Tuesday.

The temperature at Cottonwood Pass Trailhead on Tuesday morning was 8:30am, colder than I expected, 36 degrees.

I hiked up to Trail Pass, and to my delight, the trail was snow free (except for a small patch). I ran into several PCT hikers.

I headed south on the PCT to Mulkey Pass (no snow, south facing) and descended Mulkey Pass. Again, there was no snow on the way down.

Richard, yes, the Mulkey Pass descent to Mulkey Meadow can be a problem at the upper part, however, once at the bottom, the trail is very visible. The trail takes you past an old cabin. The Mulkey trail meets the Trail Pass trail and yes, can throw you off.

I have three more days of day hiking until my grandkids show up on Friday.

Oh, I forget to check the water faucets. Not sure the status.

paul

An additional note regarding Horseshoe Meadows......the water system is not active.

Temperature this morning at 8:40am was 46 degrees, which was 10 degrees warmer than Tuesday.

In regards about descending to Mulkey Meadows and doing the loop back to rail Pass. The packers frequently descend the trail, so following he trail is much easier once they start the season.

Today’s hike was uneventful....ran into 5 PCT hikers. All skipping resupply at Horseshoe Meadows but exiting Onion Valley.

Paul

Day hike yesterday. Still snow above Mirror lake. The tarn at Trail Camp has water access at the east end. Still no tracks through 99 switchbacks, heard some people tried both directions. Snow in the bowl and chute is soft but I only postholed a few times going up and down mid day. Some drifts left along the back side beyond Trail Crest, a couple tall ones but not treacherous. Mellow snowfield left on the back slope, and the iceberg in the summit hut is about half volume.