Sierra Rendezvous 2005

“Group 2 shouldn't have any problem in the shuttle area.
Anyone dropping off cars at Whitney Portal and going to Onion Valley will pass right by the Shepard Pass cut off.
It might be a long walk from the highway to the trailhead. But hey, what more could you ask for?”

“We Group 2 folks knew we could count on you navi. What a swell guy! How far is it from the road to the trailhead......about 10 miles as I remember?”

“Last year I was all worried about shuttles and no one else was. It was worked out the last minute and seemed to go OK.

I think once we get the permits and know who is driving, we can figure it out.

Worst thing that can happen is that Sol and jvz hike an extra 10 miles to the trail head. (JUST KIDDING)”

“Sol, I wouldn't make you walk 10 miles to the trailhead. I think it's more like 8 1/2.”

“Snow Nymph parked at the Horse Packer's parking lot at Shepherd's Pass her first time. A mile and a half later she discovered the backpacker's parking lot!”

“Is it really the same distance from Sacto as it is from SoCal? Is it me that's wrong or Yahoo maps? Probably both. I think it just seems longer to me because first I have to drive to Sacto.

At any rate, Jerry and I are planning to go in on Sat (group 1) and spend Friday driving to the TH, Friday night at the TH. (I'm assuming that is possible........) We can pick up at the Sacto airport, if necessary. We have a Honda Pilot, should be able to take 2 more besides us comfortably, 3 more somewhat comfortably.

I agree with Phil. Car pools will sort themselves out, as will shuttles.

Does this trip include a motel night at the end? Another Phil's birthday and appreciation party.”

“I have sent you an email to the address listed on your profile. I am flying into Sact. on Thursday night and would love a ride to the trailhead on Friday.”

“Yes. I think a hotel night on Saturday is in order. My birthday, however, occurs at the beginning of the trip this time...July 16. Still, need to celebrate appropriately.”

“Celebration?!
Phil?
Mt. Whitney?
7 Days on the trail?

Cool!”

“Not sure yet what the PNW Pool looks like yet Pepper. I am going as far south as Eugene, Or to collect LadyHiker, before heading east, which might mean going through Sac anyways. I haven't looked to see if there's a route or advantage to heading east any sooner. Also not sure if the Cherokee will already be full, since I haven't heard yet whether Strider is coming aboard in Washington.

I wouldn't be getting to Sac until late afternoon on Friday, and it sound like the rest of the Sac Pack might have left already by then. We're planning for the Sunday start in group 1a”

“OK. I just checked on Expedia.com and there are lots of rooms currently available at the Comfort Inn in Lone Pine (which is at the base of Mt. Whitney) for Saturday, July 23. Prices start at $107 for single beds on Expedia right now (which is expected at this time of year). They will just go up as time goes on.

I am assuming that we will be able to drive back to LA on Sunday morning for people to make plane connections. If flights are leaving early Sunday, then we will have to drive back on Saturday night...no hotel "afterglow" party in that case.

Comfort Inn Lone Pine
1920 S Main St
Lone Pine, CA 93545
USA

Tel: 1 (760) 876-8700
Fax: 1 (760) 876-8704”

“wannabp - I checked MapQuest. I guess it is closer to Lone Pine from LA. I was thinking of Bishop, which is about the same. Anyway, I don't think the difference is a major enough difference to be a big deal in choosing flights.

(Now I am concerned about people choosing flights that leave early on Sunday. We would have to SKIP THE SATURDAY HOTEL PARTY to get them back on time.) Nothing wrong with red-eye flights or flying out on Monday...I'm available for Airport shuttle duty!”

“nav - I think we will be ready for Whitney Portal on Saturday!!”

“Gosh, you guys write alot! I just discovered this trip and am still reading the October posts. Need to go to bed....I would love to make this one. Just started a new job but I just might have vacation at that time. I'll check and like the optimist that I am, I'll sign up for this one for now.

Oh, I hope I can make this...have always wanted to do a Whitney trip.

And wow! Lot's of new "Phil" relatives I see on the list.”

“creekjumper - I can pick you up at Sacto airport on Thursday night and give you a place unroll your sleepingbag. I am just about 20 minutes from the airport. wannabp is much further away. I am going to drive down on Friday. I don't know how many people I can take, maybe 4 if I get a rooftop carrier. I think Solitary Hiker may be riding with me too (can I handle all that Carolina-ness?) which would be about the end of my hospitality unless wanna & landscaper came through and picked some people up.”

“Hi, all. Creekjumper, I got your e-mail, sent you one suggesting you e-mail Pepper, got on TT, and here's Pepper's post. Synergy happens. MOST IMPORTANT, when is your flight back? The post-hike party is part of the tradition and cannot be missed.

It looks like Jerry and I will come thru Sacto and pick up Creekjumper and Songbyrd and probably have some extra gear room. We'll be needing reservations for the TH campsite. Anyone familiar with getting those?”

“hikerchic - There you are!! This hike should work well for you if you can get the time off! Be sure to read the trip page for this hike...Lots of stuff has been summarized there.”

“Right now my flight home leaves at 12:27 pm. I can look into changing it if my "ride" would like to hang around a bit longer. That would be just fine with me, love Phil and would love to celebrate his walking this earth another year!

Pepper-Dog....we'll try not to rub our "Carolina-ness" off on you too much! Here's a crazy factoid: Solitary Hiker and I live about 45 minutes apart here in SC, but we've only hiked together in California! Too funny!”

“creekjumper,
What flight are you on? Delta to ATL or Comair to CINN? Leaving Thursday?
>
pepperDog,
Worried about all that Carolina-ness huh? .... I'm bringing you some grits and shrimp gravy to make you an honorary Unreconstructed Confederate. Maybe we could even stream a small Rebel flag off your vehicle radio antenna on the trip down to the TH? Sure would make for a smooth ride down. BTW while on this drive I'll deal with any federales that have questions?”

“They now have an exit quota to go out the Main Whitney Trail:

WHAT IS TRAIL CREST? If you are entering from a trail other than the Main Mt. Whitney Trail and intend to exit at Whitney Portal using the Main Mt. Whitney Trail, Trail Crest applies as an exit quota. This is the only trail on the Inyo National Forest with a quota set for exit. Currently, that quota is 25 people per day with 60% reservable and 40% held over for walk-ins. You may reserve this exit space at the time of reservation for your entry trail (up to six months in advance).”

“American out of GSP thru Dallas. Departs GSP 4:35 arrives Sacr. 9:59

return sac. 12:27 thru Dallas arrive GSP 9:59pm”

“OMG!!!! We cannot all exit on the same day. Only 15 reservable exit spots...............

Uh, thanks, Wingding. At least, we know in advance. This isn't a joke, right?

Any ideas? Summit Whitney, go west then south and out through Cottonwood lakes?”

“wingding - That is good to know. Can you give me the link to that?

We may have to figure out some new trip variations to deal with it. If the Forest Service knew about our big "afterglow" party in Lone Pine, they would probably waive the exit requirements for us.


NOT!!”

“wannabp - I have some ideas, but would like to find out from those who have not reported what their first and second choices of groups are.”

“That's the link - the quota information on exiting over trailcrest is there on in the Whitney Lottery Page.

I've only seen them checking permits in the morning when people are headed up - I never knew there was a quota for coming out. I wonder if it's enforced.”

“that is up from the east side - i've never done Whitney from the west side. Hopefully, I'll head up the Mountaineer's Route this summer.”

“wingding - IMHO the real enforcement is the quota itself by limiting the number of permits into the Whitney Zone in the first place. They really don't have to enforce it to the exact day to accomplish it's purpose.

However, I think the Trail Crest quota "could" be enforced from both sides. My impression is that the NPS Ranger at Crabtree doesn't check too many permits. I think most of the permit checking goes on near the passes and on the Whitney Portal Trail by the Forest Service Rangers. Anyone else have a take on that?

What could happen to us is that many other people could be applying for a Whitney exit the same time we are from places like Cottonwood, etc. That complicates our permit process.”

“Is that a Sunday, July 21st departure from SAC?
>
I'm going to try a Delta flight first because I can get enough skymiles so that my daughter can come home this summer. If possible I'll try to match your SAC arrival and departure times.”

“I went to hotwire.com and found your schedule
Greenville (GSP) to Sacramento (SMF) on Thu, Jul 14 4:35PM arrives 9:59PM
duration: 8hr 24min
1 Stop in Dallas-Fort Worth

American Airlines
Flight 3768 / 1951

Sacramento (SMF) to Greenville (GSP) on Sun, Jul 24 6:30AM arrives 3:54PM
duration: 6hr 24min
1 Stop in Dallas-Fort Worth

Here’s the one I think I'll get. It has a long layover in ATL going out but gets back to GSP earlier on Sunday.
14 Jul 2005 Delta 1609 departs GSP 2:52pm arrives ATL 3:55pm
14 Jul 2005 Delta 823 departs ATL 7:25pm arrives SMF 9:31pm
24Jul 2005 Delta 656 departs SMF 7:00am arrives ATL 2:15pm
24 Jul 2005 Delta 539 departs ATL 4:17pm arrives GSP 5:15pm

Assuming the airlines are on schedule we'll arrive and leave SAC within 30 minutes of each other.”

“Hey guys & gals!

Just checking in. I'm still thinking that I'll go in a day or so earlier than the first group but I may be going in with JVZ. JVZ rocks! Anywho, don't forget the Dow Villa hotel/motel. It's a pretty cool place to stay and is smack center of town with the Pizza factory directly across the street plus it has pretty good rates.

Dow Villa Website

Hope everyone is doing well and has a Merry Christmas!”

“I like the Dow Villa rates a lot better. And Jerry and I always try to stay in historic hotels. There is a hot tub and a pool, if that's what counts to people.
last edited: 12/23/04 6:40:35 PM”

“I called the permit office. The exit quota is a firm thing -- 15 people a day can exit via the main Whitney Trail if their entry point is anywhere in Inyo Forest, which all our entry points are...... It's on the permit when you apply and you don't get your permit unless you meet entry and exit quotas.
She suggested exiting via another trail where there are no quotas. The only other alternative is to start the hike in a national park like Yosemite or Kings Canyon.”

“creekjumper,
Dang! I was wrong, you would get back to GSP before me. Delta Airlines and Atlanta. What a combo!

wannabp
Or some people could decide not to go out over Whitney. For example, go in over Kearsarge or Shepherds, do the rendezvous at Wrights, come out via Shepherds.”

“Actually, What Sol just suggested could be a very good option for some people.

I hiked to the trailhead from Wright Lakes basin in one day...15 miles. It would be an easy two day trip with a night at Anvil Camp.”

“I'm still waiting for these people to indicate their group choices. Not sure I had their correct email addresses:

BigPoppa
Freedom
obi wan canoli
Shawn (will respond after Christmas)
tekdude
The Baron
WindWalker”

“You were right the first time! I dont' get into GSP until 9:59 PM. I depart SMF at 12:27.”

“The group could split into 2 groups and go over trailcrest over 2 days. The first group could camp on the east side of trailcrest and let the 2nd group catch up. Kearsarge to Shepherd is a nice option too. There are options for some nice side trips along that route and you could climb Tyndall instead of Whitney.”

“Could get permits to exit Friday and have some "problems" that required one more day on the trail.”

“Sol, exiting by a different trail was what the permit person suggested. Coming in via a national park is not really feasible unless the whole group shifts to the High Sierra trip or the JMT trip.

Would it be possible to all summit Whitney the same day and have the Kearsarge entry folks exit at Shepherd and the Shepherd entry folks could exit at Kearsarge? It would certainly make the shuttle easy if we traded car keys.

Wingding, it's the trail they're putting the quota on. I asked if it would change anything if people left Guitar Lake and exited on the same day, skipping Trail Crest for camping. They are still subject to the quota. The catching up would have to be in Whitney Portal.”

“I can only do a weekend trip, so I'll try to get a permit for the Sat/Sun part of this trip.
last edited: 12/24/04 12:53:09 AM”

“Trail Crest is just a junction on the trail at 13,500 ft. and it is where the side trail goes off to the summit. Trail Camp is on the other side and is a large camping area at 12,000 ft.

The quota is strategically placed to meter people who exit over Trail Crest and/or visit the summit.

I don't know how they can really enforce it since people add and lose days on long trips all the time. I think it is mostly to control the permits. Once someone gets to Trail Camp how would anyone know when they actually were at Trail Crest?”

“I just checked the website and see there is a Dow Villa Motel and a Hotel. The Hotel is the cheaper Historical one. A room with 2 double beds is only $56.00. The single rooms even cheaper. That's a still.
Creekjumper-- Sence we are both riding with Wannabp and Landscaper, would you be interested in sharing a room at the Hotel? Let me know and I will book it.
last edited: 12/24/04 9:26:01 AM”

“Is it just me, or is this getting increasingly complicated?”

“This is like trying to get any family together for a social. Pick the place,date and time and stand back and watch. I have faith in Phil. Heck, look back at his Thanksgiving plans this year and you'll see he can pull these things off.”

“Hodgeman - It is getting increasingly complicated because people are making plane, shuttle, and hotel reservations before we know for sure what permits we have.

This is an unusual trip in that we are planning a hike that is far from airports, includes a shuttle, and has very restrictive permit quotas. Most TT hikes do not have these complicating conditions. (The Trail Crest Quota caught me by surprise, but "we shall overcome")

It is December 24th. We will apply for permits in mid-January. We should know what permits we have within a few weeks of that. That still leaves almost 6 months to work out everything else.

My main concern over the next few weeks is to hear from the other participants, find out who is willing to apply for permits, and make sure that we have a coordinated permit application effort with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd trip choices that maximize our options.

All that being said, my goal is to make this as good an experience for everyone as possible. I really am thrilled that we will have some Sierra newbies on the trip (can't wait for the initiation ceremony!!).

This trip is going to rock!”

“You da Man, Phil :-))”

“Complications? I don't see no stinkn' complications.

8^)”

“To clarify -- the quota is not for Trail Crest (carry as much toothpaste as you like) or Trail Camp. The quota is for the entire main Whitney Trail.
Does that mean that if a ranger stops you on the main Whitney trail and you aren't supposed to be there, you just have to walk out?”

“initiation ceremonies yea heh heh,heh,heh heh heh.”