Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Water availabilty on Gorgonio

On July 13th, a few friends of mine and I will be doing a one-day hike up the Vivian Creek trail to San Gorgonio, as we prepare for Whitney in a day in early August. I was wondering if anyone has recently been up the Vivian Creek trail, as I wanted to see about water availability along the trail, especially at High Creek Camp. High Creek Camp is my usual spot to filter water, both up and again back down. Because of the light winter this year, I am not sure how much water is flowing. Any information would be helpful, thank you.

Whitney Mike

It's looks like it's trickling. Probably safer to pack extra water.
I'll probably head up in the next couple of weeks.

http://members.boardhost.com/sgva/msg/1182969083.html

http://www.sgwa.org/trails.htm#wilderness_conditions

http://www.howlingduck.com/cgi-local/display_water_data.pl

I did the Vivian Creek route two weeks ago and there was a decent enough flow to fill bottles. "Probably" OK in two weeks. GREAT trail.

Mike
I am headed up the Vivian Creek trail on Friday...I will respond back and give you an update on the water situation.
Ed

I would appreciate the report Ed. It sounds like High Creek Camp will have ample water to filter, but having your accurate, and up-to-date status will be better. Enjoy your hike.

Whitney Mike

Hey Whitney Mike!
I just got back from San Gorgornio on Sunday 7/1. There is plenty of water at Vivian Creek Camp and High Creek Camp. The trail is hot and dusty. I consumed more water than usual due to the heat.

Have fun! The views are magnificient!

Mike
Water is available at Vivian Creek Camp and High Creek Cam...both have slow flows but enough to fill your Camelback. I hiked with 3 liters of water and we ran out around Vivian Creek. Therefore, if I was to hike it again this summer, I would carry along a water filter as the daytime temperatures are pushing the extreme level. We started our hike at 6:00am and by the time we cleared the tree line the temps were really hot. I would also start earlier...say before sunrise...even in the dark with a headlamp would work. BTW, the temp at 6:00am was 77 degrees at the trail head.
Ed

Thank you Karen and Ed for your up-to-date reports about the availablity of water at High Creek Camp. I will pass this onto the rest of my group on Monday, especially Ed's suggestion about getting an early start. I was originally planning on a 7:00am start, but now may have to rethink that.

The big fire in the San Bernardino National Forest last year about this time of year, caused us to cancel our planned Gorgonio trip, and now it looks like the fires going on right now in the Eastern Sierras may force my wife and I to cancel our planned vacation to Glacier Lodge, west of Big Pine, in two weeks.

Whitney Mike