Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board campgrounds

What's the deal with the Portal campground, do i need to book it in advance, if not what do i do if noone is around to pay. If they are all booked up would i be able to just sleep in by bivy-bag near by or will that cause some sort of problems.
does anyone know if I could get a wilderness permit on a walk-in bases for a few consecutive days, or do I have to get a new one each day?

portal needs to be booked use the home page to do that july thru sept.pretty hard to get in on the weekends
there are walk ons you need to get there pretty early to grab one of them
good luck

If you are looking to get around the overnight permit by using consecutive day permits the Rangers are wise to that. I think they will only give you one day at a time per person.

Thanks

JJBB

I don't want to try to get consecutive day permits, what I want to do is go up the MR, so what I was asking is if I can get consecutive wilderness permits on a walk-in bases?

What I was also asking is does anyone care if I bivy near at the campsite or anywhere near the portal?(if I can't get a spot at the camp)

You do not need a permit to day hike the MR route. If you plan to camp a night or two on route then you do need an overnight permit. Those can be tough to get. I think they are down to 6 reservable and 2 walk-ups per day now. There are hikers camp sites at the portal that are on a first come basis. Although it is discouraged, I have never had a problem sleeping in my truck if the sites are full.

Not sure, but I think some of the Mountaineers Route permits are available ONLY on a walk-in basis. You can call the ranger station and ask. When you get a wilderness permit, it is good for as many nights as you want to go -- you don't get a new permit for each day.

As for setting up a bivy sack and camping, if you are out in the woods, nobody cares. I have camped like that numerous times. If you are in someone else's camp site or in view of the road, it matters. I have camped in parking lots (setup late, get up early) in the past, and there was no problem. However, around Whitney Portal, I am just not sure where you could find enough level ground for a bivy that wasn't already in use as a camping area.

you can camp pretty much in the Alabama Hills wherever you want. Just find a flat site. I did it all summer last year. Also the MR permits are 6 reservable and 4 first come first serve basis and are rarely all used up.

Chris615 what day sre you going up I have a four day reservation in late july.
There are 6 of us going I have the biggest camp site #44 if your going up then you can stay at our site for a night.

My plans are to try to bag Mt Elbert on Friday May 13,(if I'm lucky) and then hitch-hike or bus down to whitney and try to do the MR. I'll probably spend a few days camping in death valley and along the way so maybe May 17 or the monday after the 17th I'll try Whitney. But thanks for asking.