Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board I saw a backpack being wheeled up the trail yesterday

Heya! This is my first post. I've been lurking around reading for awhile, and something I saw yesterday (Sunday, 9/14) on the trail compelled me to post.

I saw someone rolling their backpack up the trail like you would with luggage through an airport. It was my first time on the Whitney Trail, and I couldn't think of a reason why someone would do that... a really bad back maybe? I don't know; it seemed out of place. Does that happen often there?

No, it doesn't happen much. Most people with back problems usually just take the escalator up.

Sounds like they had one of those travel backpacks that had little wheels designed for rolling it around airports and hotels.

It seems that someone someplace might invent a backpack "cart", so that on smooth trails, one could roll it along, so you wouldn't need to carry all the weight. And when the trail gets rocky, strap the whole thing on and carry it.

A frame and wheel or two from one of those baby jogger carts might be a good thing to start with.

I keep wishing I could come up with something, since my significant other is not in the greatest shape for carrying a load, so if I could haul a big load assisted by this cart, then getting us into the backcountry might be easier.

...Llamas are looking more and more interesting, too. :-)

I myself developed a wheeled "kickstand" for a backpack which reduces the load on the shoulders, as well as a wheeled descender that a hiker could sit on to go downhill. After millions of dollars in development, I shelved the project when I learned that mechanized devices (including anything with wheels) are not allowed in federal wilderness areas.

Speaking of llamas, we are now the proud owners of four (our elderly neighbors are giving away about 20 to good homes) and I don't see any problem with taking them on the Whitney Trail. Their feet are soft like moccasins and the animals chew cud which means they utilize everything they eat and leave very little waste. A lot less than horses or people leave. And they can carry up to 70 lbs. That would mean a real pillow, big air mattress, camping stove and decent food at Trail Camp! And you could tie them to a rock and they'd stay until you came back down.

Seriously though, I haven't even approached the Ranger District. I would probably get a big "no" without their even considering it even though this is a very non-invasive animal. In their natural environment they live at 15,000 feet. Sure wished I had a llama carrying my stuff last week. Maybe someday they'll be permitted on the trail.

Llamas aside, I'm not even sure about the wheeledpacks. There are wilderness areas around the southwest where there are signs forbidding mechanized and in some cases any wheeled devices--I wonder if the intent of the restriction includes wheeled bags. (Or llamas with wheels?)

In any case, philosophically it's not a bad idea for people who can't carry a pack such a distance, but from a practical point of view I'd rather not see them on the trail. One of the things that makes these places special is that not everybody can get there; if wheeled packs are in the near future, can an escalator be far behind?

> if wheeled packs are in the near future, can an escalator be far behind?

Oh good grief! Leave your stove home, too, since it is so much like a motor home.

And those walking sticks -- too much like a scooter!

The mechanized access rules are there to prevent bicycles from running hikers off the trail. It would take a pretty empty-minded person to equate a backpack with a wheel with a bicycle.

"...because the next thing you know, some **** will be riding his backpack down the trail, causing all sorts of havoc!"

Add another poster to the list of humorless hotheads who desperately needs a life.

I do know that any sort of mechanical conveyance, including anything wheeled, is prohibited in a Wilderness. You may skid a load but you may not wheel it. Is the Mt. Whitney special zone a Wilderness as well?

My guess is that the wheeled backpack was there illicitly.