Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board A little help

My girlfriend and I are planning to do Whitney in a day, going up next Sunday, July 22nd. The problem is we've been unable to reserve a campsite at Whitney Portal. We'll stay in Lone Pine if we have to, but would rather be at Whitney Portal's 8,000 ft. of elevation to aid with acclimitizing. My understanding is there are 10 backpackers campsites by the trailhead that are first come first serve. Is that true? If so, do you think if we arrived early in the day on the 21nd (8 AM?), we'd have a realistic chance of getting one of the backpacking campsites? If not, is there anyone who is going to be camping at Whitney Portal on Saturday, July 21st who would let my girlfriend and I use part of your campsite? We're both 30 something professionals who will be very, very quiet. You won't even know we are there! Any chance for a little help? Please post your reply here.

You shouldn't have much of a problem getting one of the first come first serve sites. They are designed for people to come in for one night before starting a trip. If you got there at 8 AM you might find people haven't left yet from the night before. The sites are $8 per night. Arrive in the morning and grab some breakfast at the Whitney Portal Store. They have a great breakfast and some of the largest pancakes you'll ever see. After breakfast I'm sure you'll find a site.

As a back up plan you can always lay out a sleeping bag by your car if need be but I doubt it'll be an issue. The only thing working against you is the day you are coming in.

One alternative to finding a campsite at the portal is to go slightly out of the way to Horseshoe Meadow 12 miles South of Whitney Portal. On your way up Whitney Portal Road heading West (approx) 2 miles or less turn South on Horseshoe Meadows road, follow that all the way up the mountain until you see walk in campgrounds there. It usually has a couple of spaces available but fills quickly on weekends. The great thing about Horseshoe Meadows is that the campground is at 10,500 and will allow you to better acclimate. Even better, go up Friday mid-day and you will have 1.5 days to acclimate at higher altitude thus giving you bodies more time to be prepared.

Good luck on you hike.

Lilbitmo

I think it is better to sleep in Lone Pine if you are already acclimated, I get a better night's sleep, and I am in better shape for the hike (my wife's uncle says, "Hike high, sleep low, it's the only way to go" but he never met a rhyme he didn't like), plus I eat a decent "breakfast" in town to fuel up before I drive up to the Portal to start around 3 a.m. And if I am not already acclimated, I won't try to get that way with one night sleeping at the Portal.

Coming from the Bay Area, if I really need to quickly acclimate for a trip to the Eastern Sierra, I like to leave early in the morning and get to Tioga Pass by late morning, hike to the top of Mount Dana (it is at 13,000, but it is only 3 steep miles each way so you aren't too high for too long), then go spend a night in Mammoth. I've never tried this for a quick trip to Whitney, but I had a friend who, after hearing about what I do, got to Tioga by 10 a.m. on a Friday, was up and down by 4 p.m., got to bed early in Mammoth, got up early and hiked to Kearsarge Pass on Saturday, got to bed early in Lone Pine that night, and got up early to dayhike Whitney on Sunday. He said considering he left sea level Friday morning for a Sunday Whitney dayhike, he felt a lot better than he would have expected. He said he felt more effects of altitude doing Mount Dana than he did Whitney.

Me, I wouldn't leave sea level Friday and hike Whitney Sunday, and I don't know if something similar would work for you or even fit into your schedule, but it's an idea that worked for somebody.

Meanwhile, if you get in early Saturday morning, you should be able to find a first come first served site at the Portal.

When I was at the Portal for a week last august for the research project, the walk-in sites were not full any nite, even the weekend. In the unlikely event they were, I can't conceive that someone would not let you share a site.

BobT, when you mentioned "13,000, but it is only 3 steep miles each way"----I thought, Man, I hate those trails that are uphill both ways!
(but knew what you meant!)

Oh, an M.C. Escher mountain

Actually, if the trail is as steep as Mount Dana, I'd rather have uphill both ways. Although it takes more energy and effort and strain on the heart and lungs to do the uphill, the downhill is much harder on my knees, without the cardiovascular benefit of the uphill. In my old age, I'm OK with a good workout for my heart and lungs, but I'd rather avoid torturing my knees. Cactus-to-Clouds has always been an appealing hike because I can take the tram back down for much of the downhill journey. People talk about doing Whitney twice in a day. I could do that if I could skip the downhill part. I only wish I could get trails that were uphill both ways.