The onion valley trailhead is perferable to Whitney in many ways. The most important is in terms of crowds. Though the trail over Kearsarge Pass is certainly well used, it seems empty compared to Whitney. Hell, the 405 is empty compared to Whitney. In any case, the trail climbs a beautiful drainage and culminates at Kearsarge Pass where one of the best views in the Sierra is to be found. On the west side of the pass are the Kearsarge Lakes which rest, full of fish, beneath the dramatic Kearsarge Pinnacles. This is high sierra landscape in spades. All that is missing is the vaporous allure of the Whitney summit. Of course, there is something to be said about that allure. It is a remarkable spot and it does act as a magnet, thus keeping the rest of range free of crowds. But between you and me (and whoever else reads this), Onion Valley or Big Pine drainages or the Bishop Creek trails....all of them provide a much more tranquil and rewarding trip into the sierra than the Whitney highway.
