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

i still haven't figured out which acclimation hikes i'll be doing, but narrowed it down to prob: Cottonwood Lakes area and Onion Valley/Kearsage Pass Trail. REI didn't even have some maps on local hikes that i wanted. I don't know if my local REI will have maps for those areas. Can i get maps on the way from Phx, at the ranger station, or are there some trails up there where they have maps at the TH or where we could get away without having them or just printing something off the net? thanks.

The main Interagency visitor center 1 mile south of Lone Pine will have all you need. But they close early, about 4 p.m., I think.

TopoZone can offer a printout, but you have to scale the map to what you need, and you seemed to have a problem there. Being frugal and usually needing a new map only once, I often print out from TopoZone, taping them together if the printout is too small to cover an area. But depending on your printer, rain can ruin the printout, and then you'll be stuck.

If you can't find any maps in Lone Pine and you have a little time on your hands, drive up to the town of Bishop where they have a climbing shop called Wilson's Eastside Sports, www.eastsidesports.com. They have all the topos you need and more. Plus you can stop by Erick Schat's Bakkery and pick up some really tasty breads, pastries, etc. Hmmm, I can't wait to get up there again. Sorry...

In regards to hikes to do before Whitney, I would hike the Cottonwood Lakes Trail, an easy-moderate 6 mile hike up to the lakes, 12 miles roundtrip, with only 1,000-2,000 feet of elevation gain, but it starts at ~10,000ft. The day before Whitney, you can hike 2 miles up the main Whitney trail to Lone Pine lake since a permit is not required. Then you can get an idea of what the terrain will be like and a feel of what to expect, although hiking in the dark is a completely different experience.

Here's another great site to checkout for more information: www.summitpost.org

Good luck,

mj