Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board WHITNEY Permit System and permit enforcement.

4X, none of the pictures I link to are my own. It is sad to say, but since adulthood, I have never been outside of the Minnesota-Wisconsin area. I also hope to make it to Cancun in the coming years.

I will assume you are still pretty young, or a recluse of sorts! Whitney is a big first step for seeing the mountains and the country!

It may then be a big shock to see all these strong, ambitious CA hikers in front of you in the permit line. Most people just don't realize what they're getting into, and I'm wondering if this describes you. Do you regularly walk, run, or ski?

I run into complete beginners even here in Northern CA, and am shocked at the stay-at-home mentality that rules so many people! I fear many attempt to break out of their shells, to run into big time trouble. Inexperience is the main cause of mountaineering accidents. Your questions suggest you are not very knowledgable, wondering what hiking boots to get, and even whether to get them.

You'll probably spend thousands to try this peak, and not realizing this is a big serious adventure, even for locals, may see your trip and money all go to waste. I recall running into people trying a hike for the first time, and quickly deciding this is not for them! I felt that way when I started some 37 years ago. However, I was only a tad wet behind the ears, and got serious, started an intense exercise routine, and did Lassen then Half Dome before succeeding on Whitney.

We do have the peaks right here, and you are right to check out opinions from this board. Don't refrain from quoting your stamina and strength, as these are very important in helping people see what level you are at.

If Cancun is on the travel agenda, that seems to be the diametric opposite from something like Whitney. Extreme hiking, then sun and fun on the beach?

HAHAHA,LOL

He *does* have a Roadrunner e-mail address from Minnesota (mn.rr.com). That much is certain.

I think we have all done a very good job of not sounding like elitists when answering the many questions that were posted.There were many opportunities to flex our collective knowledge in a condesending manner.

What's a RR address mean?

Throw away email like a Hotmail account?

Roadrunner is a cable modem broadband account from Time Warner. I get so much spam sent into my own main account, I almost exclusively use subaccounts.

Receiving spam from Roadrunner accounts is not the same as those accounts being free throw-away accounts. Spammers frequently anonymously use the accounts of others (including non-throw-away paid accounts) to do their dirty work. All Roadrunner main or subaccounts still have the "xxxx.rr.com" domain name -- the "xxxx" denoting either your state, region or cable company. In the case of "mn.rr.com", it would be a Roadrunner account somewhere in Minnesota that is not specifically named after a cable company, a city, or a region. Examples of more specific Roadrunner domain names would be "socal.rr.com" (southern CA), "columbus.rr.com" (city of Columbus, OH), or "insight.rr.com" (for Insight Communications, a cable company that provides Roadrunner service), to name but a few that come to mind. Our e-mail has a domain name with xxxx.rr.com through our cable company, and I can guarantee you it's *not* a throw-away account by any stretch of the imagination. Roadrunner is not free. But I digress.

Tsunami,

They are not a problem except for the days I listed. I had a brain cramp and forgot to write NOT.

Bill