Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board maximum group size

Does anyone know the maximum group size for backpacking trip in the Inyo forest (non Mt. Whitney trail). I have searched through VersatileFred's excellent page and the Inyo National Forest site, but still can't find anything. I am looking for the group size....not the daily trail quota.

Any thoughts?

Kent...I think it is 15...but im not positive

The 15 person group limit is for the MMWT. See Mt. Whitney Lottery .

I do not know anything about the other trails.

Thanks....that is helpfull. That is certainly above the 10 who want to hook up with me this summer over in the Cottonwood lakes area.

By the way Fred....your site is great...lots of interesting stuff....even for those of us familiar with the area.....like one stop shopping.

Kent,
Thanks for the compliment. Plato is attributed to saying that necessity is the mother of invention, and having some unexpected experiences with first timers on my first couple of day hikes inspired me to document lessons learned. While I cannot please everybody, at least the general items are covered in the blog and there are links to more specific topics if people are willing to take the time to look. Now that the topic is locked, it is a lot easier to find.

But isn't the limit per permit? So if you get more permits, the number of people in your group would be almost unlimited? Not sure, just asking.

Bob K...I am sure that you are correct. One could take a larger group by getting multiple permits with more then one leader. The real limitation is the daily quota number. On many trails, the daily quota limits a huge group from going.... like the North Fork, which has quota of 10 per day.

I actually think the experience is not as good with more people. Too many people slows the group way down and takes away from the wilderness experience. Can you imagine camping near a group of more then 15? It would not be pleasant.

An image of Woodstock just popped into my head.

When you fill out the wilderness application, in the Fees/Payment box (lower left corner of first page), under the spot to enter Group Size, you can see the words: max. 15

There is a link to the 2007 Wilderness Permit applications <a href=http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=005400#000021>here</a> in the "New for the 2007" topic.

Unless it is specifically prohibited, there is nothing wrong with multiple people leading multiple groups in the same area. That is because each permit holder is responsible for the conduct of his or her subgroup. The main limiting factor is the entry quota.

As for large groups they can become unmanageable. My first day hike up the main trail was in a group of 14 people with two coleaders. It was hard for us to stick together, particularly on the way down. I ended up being the only person to accompany the person who car pooled with me down to the Portal when her legs cramped up near Trail Crest.

Gee, if I were just a *little* better with Photoshop... what an image!

Omigosh Bsquared. You must be thinking along the lines of the Whitney summit tram, summit hut Starbuck's and castle pictures. Like filling in the area between Trail Camp and the switchbacks with Woodstock? Nightmare scenario. Bum trip, man!

(BTW, re your question on another thread, I think The Whale is a rock climbing area by Whitney Portal.)

Here is the link to the quota size for different trails. http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/inyo/recreation/wild/quotas.shtml

Many of the trails have daily quotas that are not very large....ie 10 for Meysan lake or 10 for the North Fork with 40% being held back for walk in.

I remember reading that Kashcraft couldn't reserve 8 permits on the same day to take his family up the MR to Mt. Whitney. So he reserved 6 one day and 2 the next. Fortunately, when he picked up his permits at the forest service they let him trade the other two and start at the same time. On that trip he ran into a ranger shortly after starting up the trail. He had some explaining to do, with a group that size.

Maybe a ranger can help clarify. http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/inyo/contact/index.shtml#wilderness

If the maximum group size is 15, getting two permits for two groups of 15 would result in a group of 30 unless the groups hiked and camped separately. I have seen this spelled out in some regs (not sure if Inyo has this). It's not clear what "separately" means, but consider the reasoning: Large groups are *generally* more of an impact on wilderness aesthetics. FWIW.

While permits for 15 (it is only 10 in Yosemite) are available, I would recommend that several members of the group apply for permits in smaller numbers so that the total is achieved. Then, on the trail spread out and camp in small groups as well...not all together.

The JMT has plain-clothes Rangers who specifically look for large groups and make sure they are not over-using the trail. If you take out a permit for 10 at Yosemite, they will look for you also.