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#50753 07/21/08 05:46 PM
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 25
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 25
Heading up this route 9/17 with a trail crest exit on 9/19. I have a few questions on this route.

What would be the best place to camp the first night... UBSL or Iceberg Lake? Secondly, how long should it take to reach the destination on the first day?

The second night has us camping near Guitar Lake. I was wondering if there might be better campsites in the Arctic Lakes area? We plan on taking our time heading down thru this region and would prefer to stay off the busier trails for as long as possible.

We are hoping for a moonlight summit so we can watch the sunrise from the top. Any info on time frame from Guitar Lake to Summit would be very helpful.

I just want to thank everyone who uses this board for making this the #1 source of info on Mt. Whitney and the surrounding area....keep it up.


Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 72
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 72
I don't know if it's the "best place to camp," but, when I did this route, I stayed at Iceberg Lake rather than at UBSL. The next day I went over the pass and down to Guitar Lake. I had planned to camp there, but I arrived so early that I thought I'd push on and perhaps camp at the sites just below where the JMT meets the MMWT. But I got there earlier than I expected, too, so I hiked over Trail Crest and all the way out, making my trip a day shorter than I had planned.

Just as well. A strong snow storm hit the mountain, blanketing everything all the way down to the Portal. (This was in late September.) I read later that day hikers had stumbled down to Trail Camp, begging to be let into tents, because they didn't have proper clothing and because the trail was obliterated.

As for Arctic Lakes, I don't remember seeing appropriate camp sites there--at least not in the upper regions--but I do recall a fine one just over the crest of the pass. Had I known about it, I would have stayed there instead of at Iceberg.


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White Mountain/
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Elev 12,410’

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Death Valley/
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