Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board White Mountain

Has anyone out there ever hiked White Mountain and do you have any tips on doing it? My wife and I will be down there in August and plan to take it on. Also, are you still able to hike it without a permit?

Rainier Guy -
Permit is not required for White Mountain. You can drive to Barcroft station at 12K feet (during summer months), park your car and walk to the summit (6-7 miles each way, easy). In fact, I am going to do it this coming Thursday under full-moon! Will post my trip pictures here next week.

Misha

Misha am anxiously waiting for your White Mountain report! Hope you'll let us know the road condition up to the Barcroft locked gate, weather conditions, trail condition, etc. Would like to hike up the last week in June. Thanks.

Summitpost.com has good reports. The dirt road in is in good shape but long. You can camp anywhere except not within the bristlecone reserve. I usually camp at the end of the publically drivable road (the "gate"). Already above timberline there. When you park, make sure you use one of the chickenwire rolls that are lying around the parking lot. Wrap in around your car. Otherwise the numerous marmots may chew up your car's wiring or coolant hoses, and its probably expensive to get a tow truck. The marmots all disappear (hibernate) after the first snow dusting in Sept or early Oct. The trail in is of course a dirt road all the way. I keep considering mtn biking it but I'm always winded enough just walking in. No water on route (except at the research station, which officially is not open to the public, but many of the researchers are friendly and talkative). Look for mtn sheep on the cliffs to the right of the road at the end of the longer flatter section, just before the final "hump" up.

Very interesting and worthwhile area. The hike is 15 miles round trip, 11,700' to 14,246', plus a few dips. First 2 miles walking is on a graded dirt road to the lab, then the rest is jeep road. Summit is the highest point in the Great Basin and the highest point on any road in the U.S., and the peak itself is not white but red! You will see the marmots scurrying around on the middle part of the route.

Those who camp at the trailhead usually sleep in their vehicles rather than tenting, due to wind noise and lack of good pitching sites. If you do that, you will sleep much better if you acclimate first for an additional night at one of the lower campgrounds. Plus, on your acclimation day you can visit the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, which has an excellent ranger presentation twice a day, and a 4 mile trail.

Look forward to your report, Misha! I am going to try to tackle White Mt. in mid-July.

I have hiked the Methuselah trail (4.2 miles I believe) and it is one of those "hikes of your life." You wouldn't expect such beauty when you first leave Big Pine.

I am anxious to know about road conditions. Also I am interested in the talkativeness of the researchers at the lab up there, I am a very talkative hiker!

Thanks again

By all means do the Methuselah Trail if you have time. If you are camping my wife and I think the Grandview campground is one of the best kept secrets around. No water, 26 sites, and great views in the pinyons. Don't tell Sunset magazine.

If you want to do a little homework as a lead in to a conversation with one of the researchers you might want to visit www.wmrs.edu and check out some of the projects they have been involved with.

Also, if you have a high clearance vehicle with a nice low gear you might enjoy a return trip by going down Silver Canyon back toward the Bishop/Laws area. My Toyota 4WD pickup handles it nicely. There are some water crossings so you might not do this unless you are there later in the summer.

Hello Rainier Guy,

Last week I succesfully completed day hikes for Whitney, Muir, Langley and White Mt.

White Mt Notes :
Road conditions: Opened last Thu June 05.
Permit : Not required
Vehicle : High clearance prefered
Round Trip : 14 Miles
Trail head : Starts at 12K. Class 1.

I am going to hike White Mountain on July 5, as a practice hike for Whitney.

Sir Edmund, can you decribe how to wrap the chicken wires around the car? I assume it is the underside of the car that needs protection for marmots.

Thank you.

I will be staying in the Mammoth area to acclimate, and am planning on a daytrip to White Mountain, with no camping. Most reports speak of camping at the trailhead or nearby. Is it easy to so in a day or I am missing something?

Also, how serious is the marmot problem? If serious, a few words about how to use the chicken wire would be very much appreciated!

nhfours,

Reasonable to do in one day if you've acclimated and are in excellent hiking shape. But if you're staying at Mammoth, you will do a lot of driving - it's 90-100 minutes one way from Big Pine to the trailhead, you have 12 miles of dirt road and most of the paved road including Highway 168 is quite curvy. And you would have little time to visit the Bristlecones.

I don't know how often the marmots bother the cars or at what times of year; I didn't see any at the parking area during the 2 trips I was there. To use the chicken wire, you just take a roll of it and fence off the entire bottom of your vehicle at ground level, to prevent them from crawling underneath it. Some people do it and some don't.

Just a follow up note for this post -
Chicken wire? Nice story - completely untrue. While there are literally thousands of marmots at White Mountain (Fat ones, too - Like probably 30 pounders) there are pretty much none to speak of at the gate. The chicken wire is no where to be seen. If there was a problem at one time, there isn't now.
This is a fantastic place to hike. We just went this 6/21. It is beautiful this time of year, although windy. Beautiful in a different way than the Sierras. Definitely a great hike. Also, although not a technical hike, there is no such thing as an "easy 14'er"

Climbed White mtn today. Always good to bag a 14er. THe view of the Sierra from the summit was spectacular. Could see from the Whitney region northward to well beyond the Yosemite NP area.