Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board 8/3 Summit and Questions

This post comes a little late, but my girlfriend and I made a successful summit on 8/3. A bit breezy, but a fairly clear day. Took 8 1/2 hours to summit, but about 6 to return (we were hauling ass to get back to the portal store for our well deserved burger!) Overall, it's a good hike, not great. The sights are more "amazing" than picturesque, and it's a loooong day. It was more of a rite of passage for me, more so than a fun day out on the trail.

Thanks for everyone on this board for all the useful information!!!

A couple of tips I learned. If you camp at the Portal, site 39, though somewhat far from the actual portal, is very nice. Secluded, and the sound of the nearby creek helped relax me at night. Also, a warm up hike to Mono Pass from Mosquito Flat was AWESOME! Some of the best scenery in all of the Sierra, and the trail is almost a dead-on copy of the MWT, in terms of grade and switchbacking. About 9 miles with 2,200' of gain to 12,000 feet. Could not have been a better warm up (we stayed in Mammoth for 2 days, so it was convenient). The only other things have already been mentioned: don't carry too much water, there's plenty along the way, and HIKING POLES are a must!

I have a question though...we never once saw any "official" looking person anywhere near the Portal, let alone the trail to check permits, either the day of the hike, or the day before wandering around the portal. Do they actually check your permits, or very rarely? We saw more than one person hiking with no visible permit being carried. I guess it's more the Honor System?

Permits are checked occasionally. I have run into rangers camped overnight at various spots on MWT and NF LonePine and I am sure they glanced at my tag. I imagine it is less likely on a Monday, when you were there, than on a weekend...

Twice now, when dayhiking Whitney, I was not issued a tag at the Visitors' Center when picking up my permit, but was told to simply hold onto my permit sheet. I did so, and was never questioned by the rangers I saw on the trail. Other times, I have been issued a tag. I have never hiked Whitney without a permit.

I mention this after seeing it posted here, and in another recent thread, below.



The inference here seems to be that no visible tag means the hikers are not permitted. In my experience, "no visible permit" does not necessarily mean "no permit".

J-G

true that -
Toe tags are not always issued. It is the responsibility of the hiker to know the group leader's name on the permit. If questioned it is a simple matter to verify with a radio callout. Stongly encouarage playing by the rules.

Some interesting information about the permit issue. The three people that we saw and talked to, all knew that they did not have a permit which is why I was wondering if this was common.