Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board High Sierra Trail info

I've got a permit for the High Sierra Trail this Sept 13-18. Reading all the posts regarding exit permits, fees, etc relating to the Whitney Zone I went ahead and contacted Inyo to make sure I had all my ducks in a row. No exit fees are required as are no additional fees if approaching Whitney Zone on the High Sierra Trail from Sequoia/Kings Canyon. No permit required for Trail Camp if an overnight there is planned.We do plan on using the shuttle service from Wilder House and leave our car at trails end. Looking forward to our first Mt.Whitney experience.

Hey Mongoose
I'll be on the trail from Sept. 12-17...maybe I'll see you out there.
I'm curious about the Wilder shuttle...where can I get info on that?
Thanks

Hey Ouch!
Good chance of our crossing paths. You can get the contact for info for the shuttle at http://www.wilderhouse.com They tell me it's a 61/2 hour drive one way from Whitney Portal to Lodgepole. You need to factor in the shuttle time with registering at the ranger station for the trail head. We plan on camping at Lodgepole after the shuttle and registration and then heading out from Cresent Meadow in the morning.

Rosa- there is a book about Whitney that has some info on the HST. I don't remember the exact name of the book and could not find it on Amazon, but I did see it at REI. Its title is something about "Whitney from all directions", or "50 ways to Whitney", or something like that. Each route is numbered and there is a brief written description. The HST section is only 4-5 small pages, but it does have elevation profiles and some other good info. Nice to have, but not critical.

The trail starts about 7000' elev. and stays pretty much at that elevation except for a couple of passes. Kaweah Gap and one or two others. Of course, there's a lot of ups and downs in between, but nothing too strenuous.

It is a great trail and can easily be done in 8 days, although 10 would be nicer. There are a couple of places that would be nice to layover. Kern Hot Springs comes to mind as well as some spots on the Chagoopa Plateau and Big Arroyo. You'll like it.

What is the closest campground or place to sleep to the HST trailhead?

A few close campgrounds are Buckeye Flat, Potwisha, and Lodgepole. For a bed you would find Wuksachi Lodge near Lodgepole to be the closest. None are within walking distance of the trailhead.

msmith, Thanks for the lead on the book. I'm due for a trip up to Seattle/R.E.I. so I'll look for it.

Glad to hear there is a shuttle service to/from the trailhead... thanks mongoose. Now the hard part - trying to co-ordinate time off vs. permit availability.

Okay...so logistically speaking.
Day before you hit the trail....
You and your party drive a car or cars to the portal and leave it there. Catch a shuttle 6 1/2 hours to Lodgepole and are dropped off. Sleep in one of the above metioned campgrounds or lodge--none of which are within walking distance of the trailhead. Next day..how do you get to the trailhead?
I remember reading last year on this board that it's generally ok to leave a car at the portal for an extended time. Is this still true?
Boy...this is turning out to be pretty complicated. Worth it...but complicated.

Yep. Here is what we (party of 4)are doing just as an idea. It isn't easy. We are taking two cars to the Portal the weekend before our trip, dropping one, and driving the other back to So Cal. Two of our group are coming from the Auburn area and two from So Cal. A spouse of one of the Auburn two will drive them down the day before we leave to hike. We are staying at the lodge. The two from down south will drive up the day before so we can pick up the permit. We will meet and drive to the trailhead and leave my other car on the AM of our departure. After all that we get to do our trip and hit the trail. We all get to the east side a few days later where my other car is waiting, eat a big pancake at the WPS, drive over to the west side, where the Auburn two get picked up by the loving spouse again and the So Cal two drive the two cars home. After all that we will actually be driving for a gazillion miles at $2.15/gallon but what the heck the hiking is almost free!

There are trails from Lodgepole Campground to:
1. the HST trailhead at Crescent Meadow, or
2. that intersect the HST about half way to Bearpaw Meadow and
3. at Bearpaw Meadow. You could start hiking from Lodgepole and spend the first night somewhere between there and Bearpaw, or at Bearpaw Meadow.

Lodgepole is pretty much like being in Yosemite Valley in the summer. Lots of people and real noisy. You'll be glad to be out of there, whichever way you go.