Many have hiked the Whitney Trail and know the width of the trail, the number of peole at certain points along the trail and the bottle necks.

How do you do that 6' thing ?

Slow hikers on the upper elevation, do you pass or stay the distance?

Leaving or returning in the dark crowding as the groups pack up on the trail.

Down wind current is 6' enough

Everyone gets water at the same locations , so contact source?

Trailhead bathroom close and use the much sought after WAG's?

Trailhead photo opts herd around the sign/sign in at the top and wander around with the new 14,505 signs, shared and left.? The group photo at the summit ?


185 up and many more down at some point 100 day, 60,overnight 25 exit permits, and (10 NF that should not be a factor with the low number and the climbers are spread thin , most ofen if camping also avoid the others in the area.)

Trail camp history shows many camp either on the trail or 1 'off can that pratice be changed?

Masks when you pass up or down how long to keep on before/ after passing,all the time, when you camp ?

Sharing phones to take pictures , water , snacks the normal things we all do?

Spread the group out... how ? , and with the number of false rescues because Chuck or Wanda isn't back yet. And will S&R with the 14 day hold on members that do make contact are out for the lockdown so juggle the numbers from last year say 75 rescues in the Inyo NF (I know more but ) at what point no more support from S&R.
The wild card throw into the mix can Helicopters be used and not taken out of service for cleaning after contact.

We should start seeing guidelines soon , but please add your thoughts.


Assume all are not coming from rural areas with low positive samples, some will come from areas with high levels and may come from International travel near the end of the season.

How do we protect each other that visit the area and the local community ?

I usually climb solo, and I know the way. I could easily avoid the group photos and route-finding delays. But I’m not sure I could avoid being within 6’ of somebody else, even if I dayhiked the Mountaineers’ Route alone on a weekday. Social distancing would be just about impossible at or near the parking lot, so I assume we would all need to wear masks, at least there.

I’ve been up Whitney 37 times, but I haven’t been up the Main Trail during quota season since 1991. (Did we even have quotas in 1991?) The Main Trail is often crowded, and Trail Camp is a zoo. Trail Crest and the summit often have large crowds. Anyone going up or down the Main Trail had better wear a mask.

I wasn’t planning on Whitney this year, but with COVID-19, I’m definitely staying away. There are other fish to fry this summer.

I don’t think there is anything the USFS can do to make this work well. I could elaborate on that, but Doug already covered the most important points. We need better testing and contact tracing to get somewhere near normal again. Sorry to be so negative, but those are my thoughts.

I imagine that even if the USFS reduced the number of permits issued, the ways in which one person interacts with another will be a similar condition to what we see in places like a super market where some wear a mask and others don't. Some make an effort to maintain space between each other and others don't. There is no realistic way to maintain any sort of protocol out on that trail. The best bet, for those wishing to maintain space, may be to voice your position when encountering others whether it is while passing or congregating on the summit. Lots of good questions posed by Doug. No easy answers.

I think the hike can be done safely with some modifications.

Masks should be required within a quarter mile of the Portal, Outpost Camp, Trail Camp, and the Summit, unless you're in your tent.

Passing around a water bottle or bag of chips to share with other hiking groups shouldn't be allowed. But giving away water bottles and snacks to distressed hikers should be OK. Don't share phones to take pictures if you're not from the same household, but feel free to ask someone to take a picture of you on their phone and having that person text or email you that picture instead.

There's no need to reduce the number of permits issued, but it would be a good idea to limit group size to 4 people (the same number that would carpool together or stay in the same hotel room) instead of 15. The bulk of the serious rescues seem to occur early in the season when there's still plenty of snow on the ground, so don't issue any more permits until mid-June when most of it melts.

Bring an extra pair of gloves to sign the summit register and hold the 14,505' sign at the top. Put the gloves in a separate bag and don't touch them again until you dispose of or thoroughly disinfect them. It might also be a good idea to leave disinfectant wipes at the summit shelter if we can trust that people will pack them out.

Passing by other hikers is pretty low risk. It's not indoors, there's no prolonged contact, and people who are infected are unlikely to be climbing Whitney in the first place. You can also hold your breath for a few seconds while passing if you're really worried (though that might be difficult at 14,000'!). If you don't fill up water at the same source at the same time as someone else, you should be OK if you filter and treat that water.

I wouldn't be concerned about international tourists - America currently has more positive cases than any other country, and that is unlikely to change this year.

Rules shmules.

If you've been following your Mary Worth for even the last five years, you'd have a pretty decent idea of how all this goes down. Any casual glance at how government entities currently operate (that have been starved of funding, gutted of personnel and resources, and mandate zero-liability risk) can see that there are only two options:

1) The Big "No" - Everything is shut down, closed, no entry, no access, no exceptions, no input, no nothing, nada. It's cheap, simple, black and white, and uses almost no personnel or resources other than enforcement, which is a buck passed to another agency.

2) The Big "At Your Own Risk" - You do you, bro'---but you're on your own and can't turn around and say we're to blame for whatever the F you do out there. The minute there's a "rule" or "procedure" or "you have to do this" outside of what was established prior to the mayhem, then it opens up the agency to increased expenditures, front- and back-end administration, increased accountability, and most importantly: liability.

That said, the main thing that's holding things up in re-opening the "wilderness" is the legal review of all the previous permit and regulation jargon. Once every piece of paperwork, permit system info, signage, concessionaire contracts, personnel scripts, etc. gets the C19 update and passes legal muster, then they'll pull the switch and go back to #2---which is "At Your Own Risk---But Now with New and Improved Riskierness!" And but not a minute sooner.

It's all about the CYA---but until then, it's c ya'!

(I would insert a cleverly Photoshopped view of the Portal with all the C19 signage everywhere, the 6-foot painted standing zones around the bathroom, Doug and Co. in their hazmat suits, and a ranger at the trailhead with a velvet rope only letting individuals enter the fabled trailhead pergola, but I don't have the time---and you get the idea...)

The thought that keeps popping into my head (over the past couple of days) is that in spite of the fact that we are (essentially) under shelter in place orders, there are probably at least 20 Paths to Nowhere upthin he Main Trail area...

Keep everything closed until I've had the opportunity to sneak up there for the next 24 climbs I need to get to 200...

Attempting to micromanage all behavior relating to hiking Mt Whitney would be very burdensome and not worth the effort. In the current situation, if folks want to enjoy a hiking experience at this National Treasure, they need to step up to the plate and exhibit REAL PATRIOTISM: on the trail and in camp be respectful and assist others, social distance, wash up, use any appropriate protection,... If ill, stay home and the Big Mountain will wish you a speedy recovery. Those with bad attitude, stay away.

As for the Whitney Portal infrastructure, those responsible for the operation of parking, bathrooms, water supply, campsites, the Portal Store... can determine what they can reasonably offer based on how the situation is evolving and how people are behaving. Here again, visitors need to exhibit REAL PATRIOTISM and go out of their way the make the operations go smoothly.

I suspect that the worst case scenario would be if our country declines into a sustained deep depression. Then the Virus would no longer make the front page. A new wave of visitors to the Portal would follow in the steps of the CCC who built the Portal Road in the 1930s. Rather than carrying a hiking or fishing pole, they will have a shovel in hand!

On a related topic, it is noted that a century ago the Owens Valley community lost a robust way of life so as to subsidize the watering of golf courses in Los Angeles. The California state leadership needs to reciprocate and to subsidize the creation and maintenance of a first rate medical facility in Lone Pine. No better time than now to get to work on this project.

Remaining an optimist.

Jim

Thanks for the comments will keep watching as all this moves forward we have worked on a store plan that addresses the known risk , that is the easy part as always it is the unknown elements that will be discovered by all a long time forward .
I always look back on the service days when we were told if attack by a TND washing the ship down would remove the fallout and happy days again .