Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Langley permits?

My planned "big hike" this summer is Mt. Langley-in-one-day in a couple months. From everything I have looked at, I have determined that there is no advance permit to get, nor reservation for the Horseshoe Campground. Having done Whitney/Muir a couple times, the thought of getting to Lone Pine without permit/reservations is a little unsettling. I guess I am looking for some peer assurance or feedback!

I'm planning the same hike the 28th of this month, and agree with your understanding. No one day permit required (Overnight trips do require a permit, as I understand it). Not sure about Horseshoe Meadow Campground, but I believe you are correct.

No permits are required for day hikes to Langley or for the hikers' overnight campsites. There is a fee for the campsites payable right there. (I think it was $5 for me but I'm a geezer. I don't know what the fee is for regular folks.) There aren't a lot of overnight sites so it's good to get there fairly early and you have to clear out before you begin your hike in the morning.

Are you planning on using New Army Pass or (old) Army Pass?

Thanks for the info. Current plan is to go New Army Pass, mainly because I understand it is better maintained than old Army Pass. Pros or cons of either? I have a group of 4 going, and we expect a 22-mile hike - I won't say we're old, just a few grey hairs for each of us! We are using Baden-Powell and Baldy(San Antonio)/Ski Hut trail up/backbone down as warm-up hikes.

I'm "planning" on "Old" Army Pass. It will depend mainly on snow. If the trail is clear I will go via OAP. Otherwise, NAP.
Pros for OAP are: shorter, and avoids the climb back up to NAP through sand/loose dirt.
Cons are: Some exposure/scrambling

Any updated trail conditions would be appreciated.
Thanks

Scott, for training in S. California for Whitney or Langley (or Grand Canyon rim-to-rim) I like these hikes (in addition to the Ski Hut trail, which is my favorite): Baldy via the Bear Flats trail, which is longer and much harder than the Ski Hut trail; Baldy via Bear Flats and then continue out the Backbone to the Notch, over the 3Ts, and down Icehouse Canyon (I've never had a problem hitching a ride back to the Village) - that's a total of about 19.5 miles and 4 mountains. I feel if I can do that I can handle any day hike as far as distance and difficulty go.

I see you're in Victorville. Have you done the North Backbone trail to Baldy? I don't have the distance or total altitude gain but it's a real workout because you go over Pine and Dawson before you even start up Baldy.

What I can't do in S. Cal. is train to 14K. Last Monday I did the San Gorgonio loop out of S. Fork as a dayhike. This at least gets me up to 11,500. It's a little longer (at 24.7 miles)than Whitney or Langley but with less altitude gain (4,620' vs. 6,100').

Those are my ideas for training for Whitney (or Langley, which I hope to do this summer, too).

Have many good hikes, and maybe I'll see you on a trail somewhere. I'm an old guy with more than a few gray hairs - the few hairs I have left are gray.

What I posted above about no permits needed for campsites is ambiguous. I meant the hikers' campsites at the Horseshoe Meadows trailhead, not in the backcountry.

Here is a shot of Old Army Pass on 6/8/13



I decided to go over New Army (clear) and took this shot of the last snow crossing on Old Army from above.



Met a party that rock scrambled straight up to avoid this crossing. They also downclimbed on the way down. Seems like a better alternative than the gain and distance associated with a New Army return. I chose the New Army return and ended up with a hike length/gain similar to the Whitney main trail (~21 miles /6100'). The hike via Old Army is ~17 miles with 5000' gain.

SPC
Thanks for the update. It looks as though the snow should be mostly gone by the 28th. Unless I get further info to the contrary I will most likely hike via Old Army.

Great tips for the prep-hikes. I'll see if the rest of our group are game. I will be interested to get updates on Old Army Pass conditions. I'm not adverse to doing some rock scrambling, especially if it saves us 3-4 miles on the trip.

Drove through Lone Pine a couple weeks ago and confirmed the no-permit process w/ the Visitors Center Ranger, so that is great. Next question is access to Horseshoe Meadows campsite. From 395 south of Diaz Lake, I saw the switchbacks up the east-facing slope, more impressive than the Portal Road! Coming up 395 from the south, is there a shorter connection than going all the way to the Portal Road? I see Lubken Cyn Road from a map but don't know if that dead-ends.

Lubken Canyon Rd does dead-end - right at Horseshoe Meadows Rd. Hang a left and head up, up, up. Our car, an old Honda Accord, made some odd clicking sounds for a while after being turned off at the hikers' campground parking lot, but started up fine and we didn't have any further issues with it - maybe it was experiencing high altitude hypoxia too? It didn't complain at the Portal a couple of days later...

We were at the Horseshoe Meadows Hikers' Campground on the Tuesday/Wed of 4th of July week, and there was only one other group. However, the parking lot specifically for campers was full of cars - hikers need to pay attention to the designated parking. Each site was $6 for non-geezers like my husband & myself, and bear lockers were plentiful. It's a gorgeous place. I'd like to bring my kids next time and spend a few days there.

We did Langley in one day on Sunday over (Old) Army pass. Small 10 foot section of level snow to cross, using poles provided extra safety. Will most likely be very minimal in 2 weeks. Beautiful day. Third time I still think this is tougher than Whitney for a day hike. Am exploring a shortcut with a top out even closer to Langley...will post separately.

More good news for this year's trek, thanks! It is almost scary how well the advance planning has turned out to be.

This is a picture from Sunday of the short snow traverse on Army Pass:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1qaxzd2xgkr57xg/ArmyPath.jpg

Looks like we are committed to taking (old) Army Pass for our hike. Does anyone have an accurate mileage for the route to the summit using Old, from Horseshoe Meadows Campground and/or landmarks along the way?

Did some digging and found an index from Stanford University of all places: http:/highwire.stanford.edu/~galic/hiking/hwlangley/
Looks like 18.4+/- RT using (old) Army Pass, and 3.2M to the trail split/decision time for old Army vs. New Army Pass routes Will find out next week.....

I coulda/woulda throw some numbers up here, but I wander all over the place when I head to Horseshoe... they wouldn't mean much...

If you're not heading up at Oh-Dark-Thirty, take a look at the other thread where I posted info for the old trailhead that leads directly to Golden Trout Camp. (It's not somewhere you want to be for the first time without sunlight to help with the faint trail, in spots.)

It is a really pleasant alternative to the regular Cottonwood Lakes/New Army Pass Trail, which can be a real (hot/dusty) mess in the afternoon, especially if there are Equestrians on the route.

Good guess, did Langley via Old Army in the rain. No snow, trail's in great shape. Someone left a buried "deposit" on one of the ledges (right off the trail) there. It's buried as best as can be expected. I accidentally kicked it when we were catching our breath. I re-buried it, just watch your step

Found your pics in th "Langley Short Cut?" topic - beautiful sights to see up there, can't wait. I especially liked the small two-post gate across the trail. Don't know what that is expected to keep out (or in?!).