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Heylow! Boy Scout Troup 86 from Lancaster has a camping trip planned this weekend Aug 1 2 and 3. Can anyone give me an aprox temp range forecast for the daytime and night time at the Whitney Portals area? Also, does anyone know how far the hike is to Boy Scout Lake? One more please, any bits of advice for dealing with camping in bear country would be appreciated. Last time I went camping there, bears were not an issue. Yep, been that long. Thanks a ton!!
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Joined: Jan 2003
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This is the weather forecast for Whitney Portal, starting on Friday.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 67.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 52.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 67.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 52.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 69.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 52.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 68.
The hike to Lower Boy Scout Lake is about 2000 vertical feet. Since there is not an official trail, mileage is a guess. If there were an average grade trail to the lake, it would be 3-4 miles. You should count on about 2 1/2 -3 hours to get there.
There are bear boxes at the Whitney portal Campground. Keep all your food (and scented things like toothpaste) in the bear boxes. Clean your car so there is nothing in view a bear would think was food....like candy wrappers, ice chests etc.
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Super super super thank you very much!
At one camp place the rangers instructed us campers to bang pots and pans or other scary type noises when we saw bears to help teach them that this was not a fun place to visit. Same thing for the Whitney Portal area? Thanks again!
Last edited by aerainamb; 07/29/08 05:32 AM.
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I have only seen bears at the portal during the night. It is possible during the day but there are always people walking around.
Obviously banging pots and pans drives the bears away. They do not like the noise.
I probably wouldn't do that, because I would be be too busy trying to get my camera out to take a picture.
If you are at the portal for a few days, the hike up to Lone Pine lake is also a nice one. It is about 2 hours/ 3 1/2 miles and all trail up to the lake.
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I am with you on this one, I would be grabbing my camera too! Its just that I have quite a few newbie campers (mostly moms) who are in some need of reassurements that the bears really are more afraid of us than 'we' are of them. I wanted to arm them with some info to make them feel braver.
Thank you for the info!
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Let me get this straight you are taking a group of scouts camping and hiking and you haven't looked at a map to KNOW how far the hike is or what the elevation change might be? What happened to the motto "Always be prepared"? This site is a great source of information but you need to do your own investigation and planning for the responsibility you have as a scout leader IMHO.
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Let me get this straight you are taking a group of scouts camping and hiking and you haven't looked at a map to KNOW how far the hike is or what the elevation change might be? What happened to the motto "Always be prepared"? This site is a great source of information but you need to do your own investigation and planning for the responsibility you have as a scout leader IMHO. My thoughts, too. We ALL had to do that back in my Boy Scout years. With web access its real easy to find this type of info. Also, click on "Weather Links" at the top of the right-hand column for some good current info sites.
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Don't let the guys on this site pull you down -- go and have fun!! I just camped at the Portal a couple of weeks ago. The temps weren't bad, and sometimes were overly warm. Just take layers. As for the bears, just keep your vehicles clean and put all scented stuff in the bear box. According to the host who LIVES at the Portal Campground, the bears tend to come down the creek looking for fish most evenings. The then come back up the side of the campground closest to the road. If they come into your camp, just make noise. Some people take marine air horns to ward them off. They really aren't interested in you as long as you keep scented stuff in the bear boxes. Don't let anyone convince you to keep your vehicle windows open (some people really do this) so that the bears won't break into you car. If you leave your windows open, they will get into your car and ransack it. Have a great time!!
Last edited by docdiamond; 07/31/08 01:53 AM.
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If you two DocRodneyDog and Phydeux would like to reread the above, I never said 'I' am taking them. I am going with a group and was hoping for a bit of info so I could be more prepared. No where did I say I was a leader of any sort. Geez. Just a few of the moms who have never camped before knew that I had and asked me some questions. As to checking out the info on my own, I spent as much time as I could searching this site, but my computer has a problem and wastes tons of time trying to go from page to page. I dont see any problem with asking for some tidbits of info from all the lovely people on here who didnt mind sharing. Isnt that what this message board is all about?
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Thanks for the info Ken and DocDiamond and KashCraft and GoingBackSoon, and for being nice!
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