Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Water availability on the Whitney trail

This was an active topic when the board went down. In the interim, I went up to take some more pictures; I also added a few more details to the descriptions. Pictures and info <a href="http://members12.clubphoto.com/robert634908/2492263">here</a>.

On a related note, the water situation in the High Country and John Muir Trail into Mammoth Lakes is *dire.* I just returned from a couple day jaunt from Yosemite Valley into Mammoth Lakes and I toted all my water. Most of the water sources weren't free flowing and were stagnant, especially in Yosemite.

Almost all of the high country streams around Touloumne Meadows are now dry. They were running fine just 2 weeks ago but are dry as a bone now. I saw very few hikers on the JMT. I heard from one guy that the Rangers giving on permits at Touloumne Ranger Station were strongly discouraging anyone from going out for long treks because of the lack of water.

Also, an important point for anyone in Yosemite: the water faucet at Sunrise High Sierra Camp has been shut off. You cannot get water there until they close Sept. 12.

The drought has had bad consequences on the water situation up there, so head's up everyone on the JMT.

Candace:

I assume the Mammoth Lakes area is fine for water; I'll be there next week doing a loop around the lakes. We were considering hiking through to Touloumne Meadows, but your post, and a few other reasons, has me thinking that is a bad idea.

I just came back from Yosemite today. There was plenty of fast-moving water along the Merced River from Merced Lake to the falls. I heard about Sunrise Creek drying up, but was unaware of the water situation from Touloumne to Mammoth Lakes.

Robert

Just got done with a hike from White Wolf to Tuolumne Meadows via Grand Canyon of Tuolomne and the only feeder creek to the Tuolomne River still running was Morrison Creek. Still plenty of water running in T River and the fishing was great.

Mammoth is fine. Duck Pass, Purple Lake, Deer Lake, etc. still have water, though Deer Lake is lower than I've ever seen it. The area by Reds Meadow and Agnew Meadow still has water as well. Thousand Island Lakes and Ediza Lakes have running springs near them.

But the area from Happy Isles trailhead to Cathedral Lakes, then onto Mammoth on the JMT is dry. There are some underground springs flowing rather sparsely and a few sparse flowing streams, but nothing compared to what I've seen in the previous 10 years. "Dry as a bone" as a ranger told me on Monday at Sunrise High Sierra Camp. He told me Yosemite was seriously considering not issuing permits to hike in the High Country because of the extremely dry conditions.

But Mammoth is still fine in terms of water.

Thanks for the heads up Candace.

We are hikiing from Toulumne Meadows to Happy Isles starting this Monday, and the water issue is a concern. Thanks to Candace I checked with the Rangers at Yosemite Wilderness office, who told me that the water was just turned on again at Sunrise. This now makes the trip doable without heroics, as the only unusually long dry stretch is now between Sunrise and Little Yosemite Valley (Merced River).

Ken,
Glad to be of help. I'm surprised they turned on the water at Sunrise High Sierra Camp again, they were adamant they weren't going to do that because of the shortage. This is good news!

Bob R, Candace:

It's nice to see your posts again now that the site is once again active.

We successfully hiked up the main trail a couple of weeks ago. At the top I looked down the first chute of the MR. It looks seriously steep but I would like to take it the next time up the mountain. Is it really that bad? On the same trip we made it up the cables to Half Dome with no problems. Is the steepness on the MR comparable?

In regards to the John Muir Trail between Tuolumne Meadows and Mammoth (June Lakes), is it possible to hike it in one day? Some parts would be slow jogged. Is the trail pretty decent like the Whitney trail up to Lone Pine Lake, or is rocky like the Whitney trail higher up? How much water should be carried?

Got back last week from a Mammoth to the valley run <a href=http://homepage.mac.com/audiograce/JMT-2004/PhotoAlbum70.html> Pics Here </a>, and water levels ARE low, but as Ken said, the real concern is between Cathedral Lakes and Little Yosemite valley. Sunrise creek is not completely dry, but very low.

As you can see below There seems to be plenty of water between Donohue pass and Red's Meadow:
Above Shadow Lake
<img src="http://homepage.mac.com/audiograce/.Pictures/Photo%20Album%20Pictures/2004-08-19%2019.40.20%20-0700/Image-EC111583F25111D8.jpg" width=700></img>

Also, the Lyell Fork seemed to be ok.
Hope this helps.

Whit,
In regards to going from Tuolumne Meadows to June or Mammoth in a day it is quite doable especially if you want to do a little running/jogging. I've done it in both directions a couple of times each. Went from Agnew to Tuolumne in 8 hours on a pretty casual run/hike trip. Never really pushed hard and spent plenty of time looking around. The trail is in excellent condition and route finding is straight forward. Going to June shortens the trip but is still a nice finish past Gem and Agnew Lakes. The shuttle service from Agnew Meadows is a convenient way to get up to the Mammoth ski area if you finish closer to Mammoth. I prefered going south to north because of the long easy finish down Lyell Canyon but either way is great. If going north to south all the way to Mammoth I'd follow the JMT and drop down from Shadow Lake to the River Trail. If going south to north I'd probably do the reverse of that route or take the PCT to the JMT avoiding the horse traffic in the AM. The PCT is probably pretty dry right now, though.

Whit Walker

I can offer a few comments regarding your question comparing the Whitney MR to the Half Dome cables since I have done both. In a nutshell, the Half Dome cables are like a stroll in the park compared to the climb from Iceberg Lake to Whitney's summit.

My son and I did the regular Whitney trail as a day hike several years ago when he was 14. We trained like fanatics to be sure we were ready and did the hike round trip in a little over 8 hours. We went back to California this year for a 5 day back pack trip in the high country of Yosemite and decided to finish the trip off with a day hike up the Whitney MR.

We scouted the lower part of the trail the previous afternoon up to Lower Boy Scout Lake. The next morning we started at daylight, pushed a hard pace, and made it to Iceberg Lake in 4 hours. The next section from Iceberg Lake to the "notch" was to us the hardest part. This took us 2.5 hours (counting a first aid stop) and left my son with some nasty cuts on his hand where several moderate size rocks broke loose from his hand hold and slid over his hand. We climbed the chute to the left of the scree filled gulley, but the rocks were still very loose and it really worked on our minds, especially after my son cut his hand. After the notch we climbed the left chute all the way to the top, staying on the steeper left side instead of traversing across. Even though it was much steeper above the notch (almost straight up at the ending by the toilet), we made this section in 1 hour and found it overall easier than the section up to the notch. Overall time on the way up was 7.5 hours... much longer than our trip up the regular trail. We descended the regular trail in 3.5 hours after a short rest on top.

I think a lot of people probably underestimate the difficulty of the MR as compared to the main trail. I know I was a little too confident, but it all worked out OK in the end. Having said that, there were quite a few places where a small mistake could have been fatal. That is not the case on the main trail or even the Half Dome cable route.

WhitWalker:

It would be terribly difficult to do Yosemite Valley to Mammoth in one day. The distance would be approx. 52 miles! An ultra marathoner could do it, but not many others.

The day hike I do is from Cathedral Lakes trailhead in Touloumne Meadows to Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley. This is 21 miles and then I sleep over in Curry Village and return the next day, for a 42 mile two-day affair. Elevation gains are about 2,600 the first day and 6,000 the next day.

I have also done Touloume Meadows Lodge to Mammoth(Agnew Meadows) which is about 25 miles and then returned the next day.

I think the Cathedral Lakes-Happy Isles hike is more scenic and a nicer experience.

Why not try both, but I would NOT advise doing 52 miles in one day unless you're an ultra marathoner.

WhitWalker,
Either Candance was just expanding on your question or perhaps misread it a bit. I definitely wouldn't recommend going from Happy Isles to Mammoth, had you asked that, unless you were and ultra runner, as she suggested. I've done it twice to Reds Meadow from Happy Isles and it is a killer day. About 16.5 hours for me each time and the last part from Shadow Lake on in was hardly fun. One of the harder day trips I've done in the Sierra. As Candace suggested that section of the JMT has the makings of two good trips.

Scott,
You're right, I did misread WhitWalker's original post.

How many miles is Reds Meadow from Happy Isles? This has got to be 50 miles, right? Many times I've gone from Happy Isles to TL, that's 27 miles. Then slept over and gone on to Red's Meadow the next day, for another 25 miles, or so I thought. Is my estimation of 25 miles off somehow?

Are you saying you did 52 miles in one day? Wow! I'm in awe!

Candace,
Happy Isles to Reds Meadow Resort was closer to 57 and yes I did it once solo and another time with a group of four. I just looked it up in my log and it was actually 17.5 hours. The only splits I recorded were Tuolumne Meadows area at the Cathedral Lakes trailhead (4 hr 45 min) and the top of Donahue Pass (10 hr 30 min). Just had a light fanny pack and a hand carry water bottle. It whipped me good!

Scott,
You're da MAN! What an incredible accomplishment, hats off to you. What's you RT time to Whitney? I'm guessing sub 5 hours?

Candace,
Haven't made a try at a running round trip but probably not as fast as <a href="http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=002354"> Adam R. </a>My guess is that I'm probably at a time a bit over 5 hours these days. Adam is 5 years younger than me and more talented so I'll add a bit to his time for a projection. I've done a run/hike combo in 6 hours using the main trail.

Thanks all for your comments.

For the MR, I need both guts and a guide.

I believe that a fast day hike/jog from Tuolumne Meadows (Tanaya Lake) to Happy Isles via Clouds Rest would be scenically rewarding and within my limits. Likewise, a hike/jog from Tuolumne Meadows to Agnew Meadows/June Lakes also would be doable.

One the same trip that took me up Whiteny, I went on the Garnet Lake loop trail. It starts at Agnew Meadows and takes the River trail to the JMT and then back to the River trail via the Shadow Lake trail. Most of the trail is ideal for running except for a scree section on the JMT below Garnet lake and a steep, rocky, horse dropping heavy section of the Shadow Lake trail after leaving Shadow Lake.

Also, I would like to congratulate Deena Kastor of Mammoth Lakes for winning the Marathon Bronze medal at the Olympics under trying conditions. She probably trained on all of the trails we're talking about in this thread.

This deserves a permanent spot at the top!