5 Days on the JMT

“Start on August 3rd, hike in to the JMT from Onion Valley CG.
Then down the JMT to Whitney Portal.
Hopefully hook up with Gemini and Jackstraw on their thru-hike.

I'll be flying in to Vegas on Aug 1, camping out in onion valley for a couple nites.
From whitney portal I'll be driving back to vegas, stopping in Death Valley along the way.
Hang out in vegas a couple days, then fly home on the 10th.”

“MAn I would love to do that but it is right in the middle of my family vacation.”

“Woohooo!!!”

“Hey sacco - long time no hear! I tried to send you an e-mail a couple of months ago and got an unable to deliver message.

I've had lotsa things going on - only did a few weekend hikes this season - and this summer instead of choosing my annual week+ backpacking trip I went to Hawaii - snorkeling, day hiking, kayaking, shark cage, skydiving - the complete adventure vacation.

Thanks for sending me an invite for this trip. Tell ya what - I really might be in on this. Would need to confirm no conflicts on those dates.

I don't know much about the trail - just quickly glanced at a couple of descriptions. Is the plan to spot a car at Whitney Portal? Also, any chance you'd want to squeeze in Mt. Whitney as a finale? I know it's usually so over-crowded, but I think looking up at the highest mountain in the lower 48 will be too hard for me to resist. (I did the 2nd highest, Mt. Elbert in Co 14,433)”

“ja, what jackstraw said. :-P”

“Lt, i'll just have you sign on while you're drunk at FYAO.

hey MS,
long time no see indeed!
don't know why the email got kicked back.
scott at aldebaranbulldogs dot com should work ok.

i sent ya an invite cause i wasn't sure if you checked in around here too often anymore, and know you like to get a big trip in each year.

climbing whitney is absolutely part of the plan.
and then i wanna hit badwater basin in death valley NP (lowest spot in the country) in the same day if possible.”

“Back on the air...

Yeah sacco, I only browse here occasionally now - mostly just to look for trips...and to see what you, LT, Pennsy, Earthnsky and a few others are up to.

Well, I'm sure Death Valley is just lovely in August - we gotta do it!!!”

“hey, with any luck we'll have some good snow on top of whitney, then some nice cozy 120+ temps in badwater water basin all on the same day. last time we went through DV it was windy so i didn't get to do any sand dune hiking (dust storms)”

“That area of the Sierra is among the best alpine places I have ever seen. I did that section as the last week of a 28 day hike of the JMT, probably before you punks were born. We did a cross country route at a higher elevation than the JMT which avoids mosquito country, and has way better fishing and peak climbing opportunities.

In those days we didn't use stoves or tents, and cooked on wood fires, and carried plastic tube tents for the occaisional rain shower. We had ponchos for rain protection, and we were dumb enough to be wearing levis and T shirts. I would do the hike way different if I did it again. The narrative below, which is way too long to read, is of our hike in that area of the Sierra in 1971, starting at Onion Valley and ending at Whitney, by spending the night on top of Mt. Whitney.

Sometime in the afternoon we were finally ready, and ambled the two or three miles to Flow lake. There we discussed plans for the week, the fisher folk fished, and we just lazed in the sun. Very quiet from John’s direction. At supper we had spaghetti and Steve Jepson spilled 100% of ours on the ground. We dined on bread pudding and drinks. Steve felt very bad, we felt very hungry.

Sunday: The plan was to get over Kearsarge Pass and as for up Bubbs Creek as the highest wooded campsite. Ken, Kevin, Mike and I left early and hiked fast to the Bubbs Creek area. Ken and Mike had much trouble keeping up with Kevin and I, because we were in awesome shape and used to the heavy packs. At the Bubbs Creek we dropped packs and climbed University Peak, a big scree pile. The run down was fast and furious, with lots of rocks in your socks. Back at the packs we found an unintelligible note from Conrad, something about right turns and river crossings. We found them at a camp half a mile upstream from us, and we set about a filling supper with dessert. We hoped to get an early start on Forester Pass, so we went to bed early.

Monday: “If we’re going to get an early start, we’d better get up,” said Madelyn to me.

“What time is it? Its still dark!” I said sleepily.

“5:00” said Madelyn.

“Christ!” I exclaimed, and rolled in my bag to catch at least another hour of sleep.

Madelyn wasn’t making any friends on this Monday morning. After trying to get me up she went to the members of her cook group. She told Conrad that she was going to the stream for water and if he wasn’t up she’d pour water on him. He wasn’t up so she did pour water on him, a full quart of ice cold water, and from his own water bottle at that! Later that day Madelyn requested to be in another cook group, so we put her in with me and food spilling Steve Jepson, oh joy!

After the excitement of Conrad’s baptism we did get a good start and churned up Forester Pass. We met a large pack train coming down this side of the pass with the brand of a triangle inside a circle, which we learned was three corner round. They had spent two or three days cutting the path in the snow fields for their mules to get down. It sure is easier to be on two legs once in a while. On the pass we had lunch and Ken found a pure white Polomonium, the purest white I’ve ever see this high altitude plant, which is usually blue.

From the top of Forester we straggled out and headed for the night’s destination: the first water and wood on the other side, the Wright lakes. As a group we hiked very slowly this afternoon, although Ken and Mike and I did some bombing as we left 30 minutes behind everyone from the pass and passed everyone before Wright lakes. We were all fairly tired at these lakes, and lazed around a few hours before supper. The fishermen scouted the area and saw a few fish in holes to be tried the next day, which was a layover.

Tuesday: Today’s layover was to be a good chance for everyone to get away from everyone else. Mike left early. His duties as caretaker of Nancy and John were really getting him down. He is really getting pissed that the pair don’t do anything to help with the cook groups chores. I guess he feels like a babysitter. My cook group is somewhat better, although Madelyn is getting to me already. If she pours water on me I’ve told her that I’ll throw her in the stream, bozo cap and all, and I will, too!

Mike and I planned to meet at one of the high Wright Lakes, but when Ken and I got there he wasn’t to be seen. I sunned while Ken fished, and after an hour or so we heard a shout, very far away. It was Mike, but he was very high up on a wall to the south of the lake.

Ken stayed and I went up to meet Mike. He had found a section of rocks which was pulling away from the main wall in a 20 foot slice, just like a piece of cheese being cut off a block. Where it was coming off a trough was formed, ten feet deep vertical walls that looked like Mayan masonry. We were joined at the stoneworks by Kevin, who had been hiking by himself in the area. This young fellow is very mature for his age, and will be a fine mountaineer if he keeps it up.

We all speculated about the mysterious stone walled trench, then headed together toward Bernard Pk. This was a class 1 walkup, but the view was fantastic. In the registers, which dated back to the 1920s, we found lots of Norman Clyde signatures, 3 or 4. There was no wind, and the view of Whitney was very good. To the north east stood the mighty Mt. Williamson, a very imposing peak from any angle. To the west the Kaweahs shimmered in the distance across the Kern Trench. We had lunch and ran out of our short supply of water, then headed down through much scree and a field of nice polomoniums.

Back at camp we found that the fishing had been fantastic, and Kevin hurried to go get some fish at a higher lake. Ken had caught lots of fish, thrown most of them back and apparently all the cook groups had enough to add to their meals. We had a campfire around a huge fire built by John. Its very stupid to have such a large fire. White man build large fire, stand far back, Indian build small fire, stand close.

The topic of the evening was what our plans for the next few days would be. The itinerary decided by the group at Flower lake would have us move the next day to the Wallace lakes for a layover there, then to the top of Whitney friday night, and down to the cars on Sat. Now some people, notably and vocally John, thought that the trip from Wallace to Whitney was too hard. This faction wanted another layover here at Wright lakes, Thursday to Hitchcock lake, Fri over trail crest to the portal.

The old timers didn’t care for this plan because it would mean a layover in the same place for two days, missing the beautiful scenery, climbing, and fishing of the Wallace lakes, where we had been before a few years earlier on a 9 day trip. We also remembered the horrible mosquitoes on the lower elevation JMT. Its advantage was that is evened out the mileage. The final split was strictly old time hikers opposed to newer hikers, and the perfect solution was the splitting into two groups. To go to the higher cross country route to Wallace lakes were Ken, Mike, me, Chris Hughes, and Conrad. We were to meet the others at the top of Whitney and spend the night there, then hike down to the Whitney Portal together.

Wednesday: After a fast breakfast came the parting of the ways. Mike instructed Steve on the care and feeding of John and Nancy, we got one cookset together, and the five of us took off for Wallace Lakes. Conrad and Chris were very pissed that John had talked the other two fishermen, Steve and Kevin, out of enjoying the incredible fishing we hoped to find. We cross countried most of the way, and found the camp that we had used several years earlier when with Wally Henry and Jim Lawrence. There we dropped packs and took lunch to the upper Wallace lakes. There we fished, sat, and sunned. The fish were spawning and the outlet was a black mass of fish that churned the water white when they were startled. I caught one by hand by swimming in the stream and grabbing a trout slowly by the gills in a rocky pocket. That evening we had very large trout, as many as the five of us could eat. Mike headed over toward Wales lake, where he took pictures and hiked till evening. The area was much drier than when we had been here last, but the view of the Kaweahs was fantastic.

Thursday: The plan was for Mike and I to climb by priorities: Russell, Constitution, Carillon, and Possibly Tunnabora. Ken and Chris wanted to climb Bernard, and bake cakes in the afternoon, and Conrad wanted to fish and bake. Mike and I left and hiked up the granite trough below Wales lake where two years earlier we had left Wendy and Byron when we climbed Constitution.

Wales lake looked the same as always, spectacular. At Tulainyo Lake the clounds were dark above us and a cold wind whipped us. To climb Russell we went up a 3rd class rock wall south of the lake, then hung a sharp right and started on some exposed 2nd and 3rd class to the first summit. This we signed in at the register, and continued to the true summit as the clouds swirled in on us, then were swept away by wind. The main mass of clouds was over Mt. Whitney, and I was watching for lightning there. Usually all the clouds that reach the summit of Russell were wisps and fragments of the big clouds massed over Mt. Whitney. We took the register to an overhang and read it over lunch, interrupted by runs out to look at rainbows and rain on the Kaweahs and Owens Valley and stuff like that. We got a small amount of rain and small hail.

The register was a good one, rich in old time climbers and mountain history. In 1943, the register said, a man signed in, followed by the signature of a ranger looking for the same man, who went missing. The ranger assumed he had headed down the north face and would look there for him. The next entry was a further explanation. The Ranger had found the man’s body at the bottom of the north face, which he had tried to descend and had apparently fallen to his death. We had passed the place where he fell, and would pass it again on the way out. That was kind of creepy.

When the clouds cleared for a minute we packed up and left, moving as fast as possible while remaining safely on the rock and the route. Before going to Tulainyo Lake we climbed nearby Carillon, signed in fast, and continued to Constitution Pk.

There we found that one Raul DeSoto had climbed the peak since our first ascent in 1969, and he had left a piece of paper. We left a notebook and pencil in a bandaid can we had carried for this purpose, and entered our ascent of 1969 as the first recorded ascent, entering DeSoto after us, then adding an explanation of the placing of the register. We covered the register with a few rocks on the highest point, which is where other climbers would look first for it.

We descended down Constitution, crossed to Tunnabora, and drew in the awesome view of the entire Owens Valley below us. Near exhaustion we started back to camp, which we reached before dark. There we were surprised by the fantastic breads Ken had baked, one with chocolate topping that he had made out of the chocolate bars from our lunches. We had one bread for supper as the sun turned the Kaweah Peaks orange, and after supper made another bread, the best of all, that we planned to carry with two others to the top of Mt. Whitney the next day. After the bread baking we went to bed, planning to get up early for the long day to the top of Mount Whitney. This week has really been a pleasure, as soon as we got rid of John, Nancy, and Madelyn.

Friday: It had rained a little bit during the night and when we got up shortly after first light the clouds were resting on the peaks of the crest and the Kaweah ridge. During breakfast a rainbow formed that arced across the entire valley we were camped in, and the day promised a cool hike as we started the two miles of cross country down to the John Muir Trail. There we talked with passing Sierra Clubbers and continued in intermittent sunshine toward Crabtree. We had rain before we reached Crabtree meadows, and at the last wood below the pass we sat down and cooked dinner, planning to eat trail lunches and our breads on the top of Mt. Whitney.

After dinner we gathered wood and filled our packs to overflowing with all the wood we could carry, planning to use it to cook with on top of Whitney. With packs heavier than anything we started up the pass, stopping at a stream to fill every container we had with water. We trudged in a cold breeze for a long time, and after seemingly endless switchbacks reached Trail Crest, the top of the pass. From there it was a mile or so of more of less level walking to the peak. As we reached trail crest we met Steve, John and Nancy going down the other side of the portals. They and the rest of the group had decided not to spend a night on the peak in bad weather, probably a sane decision, but not the most rewarding. We were well enough equipped to survive any weather, although rain or snow would certainly be uncomfortable. The five of us had been looking forward to sleeping on the top too much to give up the plan.

As we regrouped at Trail Crest the cloud cover showed signs of breaking up, and the sun finally fought its way through to us. The warmth was really a blessing as we hauled on packs and continued carrying these water and wood filled packs at 14,000+ feet, toward the top of Mt. Whitney about a mile away and 200 feet higher than us. Below Muir Peak Chris, Ken and Mike dropped packs and went to climb the “little “ 14,000 bump.

Conrad was becoming sick from the exertion and elevation, almost to the point of throwing up, so I stayed with him, thinking I’d have time to climb Muir on the way out in the morning. Conrad and I continued slowly on the sky trail toward Whitney, battered between the pinnacles and notches with very strong winds. AT one notch we found thousands of small squares of colored paper with an inscription in Tibetan (?) and mysterious figures dancing across the page. As we puzzled over them the turtle back of Whitney was bathed in a gold light, and we stumbled on, halfway expecting a holy revelation at the summit. As Conrad and I did the last switchback onto the summit the three tigers came steaming up behind us. Conrad stopped to rest and I went on with Ken to the register at the cabin. We signed in and went off to look for a campsite as clouds raged around the peak whipped by super winds.

On the top of Whitney it was a flat area with a stone hut. The surrounding area was flat, with large rocks raised only a few feet above a bed of smaller rocks, so we just got away from a larger group that was camping near the cabin, and hoped that

1. it wouldn’t rain or snow

2. the wind would quit

3. the sun would come out

We were all too cold to make a fire and not hungry enough for it to be worth the effort, so we just curled around a rock and ate trail lunches in our sleeping bags.

Ken lost a contact lens just before the sun went down, so we all froze our butts trying to find it. When we did (it was in his cuff) the sun had turned the west a beautiful orange, with clouds lined in gold that made a cold night seem like a small price to pay for such a sight.

I found a far out place to sleep. It was a rock slab that had a space under it just big enough for all of me but one leg. I put my tube tent around me and my bag, and wormed my way in, leaving my head out till it started raining later that night. When I was fully inside it was like a casket, but water ran down from the top of the rock and slowly, over a period of hours, soaked my bag. I couldn’t see the world outside and slept in spurts till dawn. I dreamed that Beth had come to see me, and was too cold to sleep. She came over to my bag to get in with me and be warm. She shook my shoulder to wake me….

“Bob, Bob” said Chris Hughes, shaking my shoulder.

“What?” I said, unzipping my bag to let Beth in.

“Bob, there’s snow all over and its falling fast,” said Chris.

“Damn! Lets get out of here before the trail is covered!” What a disappointment! It was Chris instead of Beth.

As I worked my way out of the rock crack I saw a world of gray and white, with the sky engulfed in clouds and the ground muffled in snow. The wind was strong and cold. Everyone was getting up, and we hurriedly dumped the 400 pounds of wood out of our packs, poured out 65 gallons of water, and either stuffed our sleeping bags in stuff sacs, or just jammed then into our now empty packs. I saw Ken fooling with his fishing pole, trying to get it in his pack, then he just snapped it in half and jammed it in his pack. Within ten minutes we were off down the trail, ponchos flapping in the wind and everyone soaked. We had 18 miles to hike to reach the car.

The snowline was very high, above trail crest, and from there we were splattered by rain. On the switchbacks the water was inches deep and after a time we gave up trying to keep out feet dry, and just went splashing through puddles.

The water on the trail finally did my boots in, and the sole of one boot came loose from the arch to the toe. I had to throw it out and drag if back to walk in it, and even so I often turned in under. We bombed down to Trail Camp, and stopped there for a rest and to eat one of our breads. I took my boots off and put on running shoes. The place was alive with a group of scouts, with tube tents all over the place and kids running around everyplace. We must have looked like something strange, ponchos over huge packs, bearded and brandishing ice axes. We continued down and finally the clouds cleared and the rain stopped in Bighorn meadows.

We were not in the mood to stop and take off our ponchos, and we just barreled down the trail looking very out of place, but feeling like it was the people coming up carrying Coleman lanterns and thermos jugs who were out of place. The day trippers were amazing in the assortment of trivia that they hauled up the trail, from lawn chairs to coleman stoves and picnic baskets.

Gravity pulled us down and down, and we finally reached Whitney Portals and rejoined the rest of our group. They had spend the night, been rained on, and had missed the spectacle of the Whitney sunset. They found it hard to believe that if we were to do it again, we would chose to spend the night on Whitney and hike out in the rain. The last day and night was the best of the trip, especially since I was with people who had shared many experiences and good times in the mountains before. We all felt very good about a difficult job well done.

I was also very glad that the endless hassle was over and swore never to do it again. The only way is with a small group of good friends. We piled in cars and headed to the store at Olancha, tanked up on food, and went out to Dirty Sox hot springs for a splash.

We had hiked 227 miles, climbed 17 peaks, and backpacked for 28 days. Some clean clothes and a shower would be nice.”

“wow, that's a great read IB, thanks!”

“Pics of the storm as we on Mt. Russel, Tulainyo Lake looking from south to north, Wales Lake on the back side of Mt. Whitney, and then Tulainyo Lake from north to south.






last edited: 12/29/06 3:03:30 PM”

“those are nice pics!”

“Not bad for being from 35 year old slides, eh? We did the trip in 1971.”

“sacco: looks like I'm in on this trip!

I was checking out the many logistics of the whole thing, and it looks like shuttle trasportation and trailhead access is pretty simple. Permits are required - I think for the Whitney portion applications are accepted in February, and for the other sections in May, but during the week it looks like day-of walk-in permits are available.

We probably should leave the car at our ending point Whitney Portal (or in Lone Pine) and shuttle up to our start at the Onion Valley trailhead near Independence.

I like the idea of stopping in Death Valley on the same day that we come down from Whitney, but if we fly into Vegas to begin our trip doesn't that mean we're driving thru Death Valley twice (a 4+ hour desert drive each time)?
Here's something to consider - Whitney Portal is actually 20 miles closer to LA than Vegas. We could do a 1 way car rental - flying into LA, enjoy the mountain views along the drive, then after the hike drive thru Death Valley to Vegas.”

“outstanding alan!

i definitely want to finish in vegas, but i hadn't thought about starting in LA. i'll look into that option.

shuttling before the hike so the car's waiting at WP sounds good.
last edited: 1/01/07 4:18:59 PM”

“This website has some good info on shuttles and permits

http://www.backpack45.com/johnmuirtrail.html”

“FYI - I also did a quick check - airfare to LA and departing from Vegas versus a round trip to Vegas is virtually the same cost (~300 total RT from NYC area)

A one way car rental might incurr an additional fee (if so, usually ~$150), but not always. We can shop around. I do this often on trips - never let a car rental determine my trip plans.”

“i'm not sold on the LA idea, MS.
we'd be flyin out of syracuse, ny. it looks like with the standard rates i'd be looking at about 150 dollars difference.
$275 round trip to vegas
$350 in to LA, out of vegas
X 2 (wife and i) = $150
and that's with standard rates.

last year, by watching for deals, we locked in flights at 200 bucks a person, b/c vegas has good deals pretty often.

also, i don't think you're saving any time. LA might be a little closer drive to whitney portal, but you have to fly over vegas, past WP, to LA, and then drive through LA traffic (i hate driving in heavy city traffic) back to WP.
i'd bet any time saved in the driving distance would be spent with a longer flight and just trying to get the out of the city.

i haven't looked into the rental car one way fees or rental price difference (if any) between LA and vegas.

last winter i drove from san diego up to san bernardino, up 395 and then thru death valley to vegas. mostly the same drive as from LA to WP.
i can't say that the first part was any nicer than the driving through death valley.
the last 1-2 hours was pretty crappy though (from vegas to death valley), that i'll give you, but i'd still much rather drive it again than through LA.”

“Hey sacco: been stuck w/ work.

If the $$ is the factor, I don't blame ya one bit - you're right about the possibility of getting a good RT deal to Vegas versus the LA & Vegas thing.

The LA idea isn't for saving time either (it's about 25 minutes more in the air past Vegas, which you get back w/ ~25 minutes less driving time.) I was just looking to have some different sights along the way. No big deal.

Since you & the wife (memory check - is it Chrissy?)are coming from Syracuse, I may choose to do the LA/Vegas thing myself (and maybe with a friend who said he was interested), and we'd just meet up w/ you folks for the hike. Hell - ya sure don't need me hangin' w/ ya throughout - have some time to yourselves!”

“MS, seriously, don't worry about the "time to ourselves" thing one tiny bit. we've been together nearly 10 years, the honeymoons over! we're not looking at this trip as some romantic getaway.

whatever works for you is what counts.

there would be one small advantage in having 2 cars available though- to make our group "self sufficient" for shuttling.
but anyways, it's still pretty early, it'd be great if 1 or 2 more people signed up and then we'd have even more options with the car shuttling thing.”

“You’re right - 2 cars would be helpful, even though this place looks like it has more shuttle options than most.

The only obstacle I may have, especially if my buddy wants to go, is the dates. You’ve got this thing mapped out as a Wed.-Fri. trip, hiking Fri-Tues. Due to work, he and I may have to do this from Sat.-Sun, hiking Mon.-Fri.

Looks like you’re trying to avoid using up more than 1 weekend, whereas we may have to try to avoid using up more than 1 work week. Nothing is set in stone yet – I’ll see what we can do. It sure would suck if I ended up being 2 days behind you the whole way!”

“or sacco, you could hike the whole JMT with us :D”

“ha! i'd be looking for a new job when i got home gem.

MS, yeah i hear ya, i think stovestomper also mentioned something before about weekend to weekend being best. unfortunately, with my job it's very different.

i hope you guys can get off that thursday and friday.”

“Our tenative schedule (departing on 7/17) would put us at Charlotte lake camping area the night of 8/4. I think thats just about right for a hike in from Onion valley on 8/3. No?”

“I'm doing the JMT with my B.S.Troop this summer. Any tips on how to prepare for the altitude? I didn't have any problems keeping up with the boys at Dinkey Lakes even though I am a smoker, but that was only 3 days and 2 nights. This will be higher/longer.”

“pam, check geminis trip planning thread for lots of discussion on altitude.

JS, hoping to meet you guys that day, but no way i'm backtracking to charlotte lake- which would make for a 15+ miles next day over forester pass. from the jmt/kearsarge pass trail junction, i want to head further south down the jmt to maybe vidette meadows or as far as i can get, which will shorten the next day as much as possible.”

“i knew i mentioned this before. had to double check:



looking at the itinerary from the g-force trip of a couple years ago...

dunno how closely you guys plan to follow that, but day 20 looks like a real beyotch.
15.6 miles up and over forester pass?!
well, maybe not for you two cause you guys should have iron lungs and buns of steel after 19 days - but i'll be spongy and weak.

so anyhoo, FWIW, assuming things work out and we meet at the kearsarge intersection, from that point i think i'll want to hang a left and continue down the trail towards vidette, shortening the next day. there's no way i'm gonna want to back track down to charlotte lake making day 20 even harder on my soft, flabby self.”
sacco
9:04:02 PM
1/02/07
ignore this user”

“I'm sure we'll be flexable. I am using the same trip as a guide. I'll check it and get back to you.”

“Does meeting at Vidette the evening of the 4th of August work for you?

I double checked the Milage. Its about 12.5 for day 20 from Vidette meadows. I put our day 20 as the 5th of August. Beginning day twenty from Vidette Meadows and finishing the Hike at Whitney Portal on the 8th.”

“To makes things fit better, i'm going to talk to my wife about pushing everything back a day.

MS, that would help us out a lot right?

also, should sync us up better, JS.
so you're planning on skipping the backtrack to charlotte lake?

maybe we could meet at bullfrog lake/kearsarge pass trail intersection?
or maybe the first group there could leave a note if they get bored waiting?

i'm really hoping to get as far as i can that first day. vidette? i wonder if making the center basin area is doable/nice camping?”

“sacco - There is a very large campground adjacent to the JMT not too far from the Center Basin trail intersection. May be a long way to go in one day, but once you get over Kearsarge pass, it is not bad.”

“If it makes it easier we can skip Charlotte lake. By pushing it back to where you get there on the Fourth would be great. Also you could consider taking 2 days to get to the JMT and 4 to hike it. JMT (7/5-7/)

If you guys Go with FLY in/out of California we could Help with the Shuttle, Rental Car, Driving etc. from WP. Honestly though I was considering Fresno or LA as an option.

The Crest bus only runs M-W-F. our current plan puts us finishing on Wednesday.
So the CREST bus would be a no go until friday.”

“sacco - Spending your first night at the Kearsarge Lakes and making it 6 days would be wonderful. When you get to the top of Kearsarge Pass and look down on those lakes, you will be glad you didn't breeze by them. One of the best views in the Sierras.


ttphil
last edited: 1/15/07 1:38:29 PM”

“I definitely have a better chance of taking off only that Friday, plus the whole next week, rather than taking off both Thursday and Friday. So if that works for all, that'd be great.

I haven't yet checked out anything related to the mileage on the trail - I've just been going by the specs you posted, sacco.

12-13 miles on any number of days works well with me. I don't wanna do 20 miles - first, I probably couldn't, and second I don't wanna blow past the scenery.

If I arrived at Onion Valley late Friday afternoon, to aclimate I was going to suggest it might be a good idea to camp right at the Onion Vally campground, with access to the car (a cooler - lots of beverages & regular food), then Saturday hike only 2 miles up to Gilbert Lake to fish, relax and camp. Then get the real hiking underway Sunday morning.”

“how about this compromise?

MS, friday night at onion campground as before, we hike in to kearsarge lakes as phil suggests on saturday, day 1 (a little mroe than gilbert lake, but still not too bad)
then to center basin camping area on sunday, day 2
that should put us in a good shape acclimation and mileage-wise for handling forester pass on day 3, monday.
it'd mean adding an extra day for a total of 6 like phil said. (thanks for the info phil)

that would put us 1/2 day behind jack and gem though. JS, if you're willing to deviate from the g-force plan a little then it'd be roughly breaking that 16 mile forester pass day 20 into halves. you guys could meet us at kearsarge lakes or still do charlotte lake and meet us the next day at center basin.
we'd finish at WP on thrus. the 9th then.
i don't think shuttling's gonna be too much of problem, especially if MS and i each have a rental car.
last edited: 1/15/07 10:43:34 PM”

“MS, those mileage specs i posted are +/- 1 and i only included the major high and low points each day.”

“Campsite reserved @ Whitney portal for arrival Aug. 9th. (Max 6 ppl).”

“I’m too swamped today & tomorrow to research anything and give a valid opinion – sorry ‘bout that…
But if it helps the discussion, I did find this completed trip (in 2000) posted on a website for two groups who met up with each other.

Main Party* - What we did
August 5 (Saturday) - Meet at Onion Valley. Shuttle cars to Whitney Portal. Trailhead barbecue.
August 6 (Sunday) - Over Kearsearge Pass to Kearsearge Lakes. 6 miles.
August 7 (Monday) - Down to Bubbs Creek and up to junction with the Center Basin trail. 5.8 miles.
August 8 (Tuesday) - Over Forrester Pass (13,200) to Tyndall Creek. 9.5 miles.
August 9 (Wednesday) - South on Muir Trail to Wallace Creek. 4.6 miles.
August 10 (Thursday) - On Muir Trail to Guitar Lake. 7.2 miles
August 11 (Friday) - Check out the weather and then to top of Whitney. 5.5 miles.
August 12 (Saturday) - Down to Whitney Portal. 11.0 miles. Retrieve cars, drive to Mammoth, huge dinner at Roberto's, hotel
August 13 (Sunday) - drive home
Late Arrivals (and crazed hiking maniacs ;-)**
August 8 (Tuesday) - Drive to Lone Pine.
August 9 (Wednesday) - Drive to Symmes Creek trailhead. Hike to Shepherd Pass. 11.0 miles and 6000'!
August 10 (Thursday) - To Crabtree Ranger Station (13.0 miles) or Guitar Lake (16.0 miles) to join main party. (Look for note from main party at Crabtree R.S.)
August 11 (Friday) - Check out the weather and then to the top of Whitney from either Guitar Lake or Crabtree Ranger Station. 5.5 or 8.5 miles.
August 12 (Saturday) - Down to Whitney Portal. 11.0 miles. Retrieve cars, eat a lot of food, take showers, drive home.”

“I suggest earplugs, the portal campsite is a nightmare to sleep at unless you're a good sleeper. People are coming and going all night long, mainly the dayhikers will be rustling getting ready for their hike to the top. I will never stay there again. There are alot of other options in the area though if you don't have to stay there for other reasons then convenience.”

“There are alot of other options in the area though if you don't have to stay there for other reasons then convenience.”
paige



As of now it (Being a SIerra Newby) is just a precaution. $25.00 to ensure a place to stay coming off trail. Anyway, I'm all ears? : )”

“We did this stretch in 05' while hiking for 3 weeks along the JMT. Here's a bit of a trip report for some more thinkin' We did it in six days, but one of them was a down day due to a snowstorm, yes a snowstorm in August.

Day 15
Onion Valley up and over Kearsage Pass to Kearsage lakes, 6.5 miles. Dave and Bob are on the trail with us now! Daves pack is over 55 #'s so he lags a bit (must be that six pack, guitar and fishing rig) :) The altitude is affecting them also, while Tay, John and I are acclimated to the max. Pretty spot with a lot of people, it's a popular trailhead because it starts at a high elevation and gets you into the Sierra fairly easily. We meet a group of people doing a challenge, they all have hiked the Kearsage Pinnacles. There is a fire somewhere, causing a lot of smoke to billow up through the canyon, hope it's not where we are going.
Day 16
Kearsage Lakes to below Forester Pass, 8.5 miles. We struggle to figure out where to camp this day, seems there aren't many options. Ask a couple hikers and they tell of a good place to camp at around the 11,200 foot level. We hike on, stop for lunch, Dave and Tay take a swim, brrrr. We bump into a Parks Service Employee who is out to check on a bluff charging bear and to test the new Ursacs (a device that's supposed to keep your food safe from bears) He had missed the turn off to Center Basin (seems the signs down as we missed it also) We ended up finding a nice spot, luckily for us as we were stuck there for two days, a snow storm rolled in and dumped 4 inches of snow on Forester Pass. After a few arguments with the guys we finally decided to stay put and tackle the pass when the weather clears. Few people pushed on, those that did we heard were cold, wet and miserable, but made it safely(later heard of one hiker who slipped and fell, splitting his face so badly that he required an airlift out from the next ranger station).
Day 17, down day
Stuck below Forester Pass, snow, rain, hail keep us here another day. The guys go a bit stir crazy, I enjoy the down day. Told the Park Service Employee about some torn open bear bags we found hanging in a tree nearby, found a ton of wrappers and bear scat with wrappers in it right below the bags, seems whoever's lame attempt at hanging their food didn't work, then they just left the mess. The Parks guy took some video footage and cleaned up the mess, I think he was greatful for some bear activity to go back with, he had struck out so far especially since he had missed his original destination.
Day 18
Finally up and over Forester we hike to Wright Creek, 11 miles. Today was one of the most scenic, Forester is beautiful especailly made so by the added snow, and the area between Forester and Tyndell begs for more exploration. We talk to a ranger out of Tyndell, she teels us of a bear that is breaking into Bearvaults. Darn, I just bought one and borrowed another from a friend, hope we don't get hit. She also tells us of a great campsite where we can have a fire toniight, first fire since Bob and Dave joined us, Wright Creek here we come.
Day 19
Wrights Creek to Guitar Lake, 8.5 miles. We leave our large/comfy camp and step into familiar country. From Wallace Creek on we are joined by the High Sierra Trail which we hiked last year. It's all new to Tay and John though and they continue to take it all in. Bob, Dave and Tay take a quick dip in Guitar Lake, it makes Taylor breathless yet she jumps in again! Wow, she sure didn't get my water genes, I didn't swim once this whole trip, she went in at least 6 times.
Day 20
Our last day on the trail. Guitar Lake to Whitney Portal 17 miles for most, 12 for me, I decide not to summit and pound my knee into submission. Besides I've summitted three times before, the glamour kind of wears off and I always feel like crud on top, pounding headache and nasty mood, can't wait to get off the top. I skipped down to the Portal and had a real meal while the rest went for it. No one had a headache or felt the altitude on the summit and they made it down two hours behind me.

If you want to see the photos, they're over
at Smugmug
http://paigefalk.smugmug.com/gallery/756144/1/34225109/Medium”

“Great Pics Paige!”

“love that slideshow paige!

isn't your tent a SD sirius? do you like it? how well do those batwing vestibules really work? i'm thinking about getting one.”

“FYI-Shepherds Pass is a very long and pretty hike, but not recommended compared to Kearsarge Pass. The maintained trail over Shepherds Pass is probably gone since the winter of 2005. Other sections were ruined by avalanche. Would be interested in any current reports.”

“Jackstraw,
Horseshoe meadows is a good place to camp, although about 1/2 hour from the portal, more room to spread out and higher up to acclimate, I've also stayed at Onion Valley and found it pleasant. Although everytime I've exited out of the Portal I've stayed in town at a hotel, needed the food and shower so bad I would have crawled. ;)

Sacco,
Yes, the Sierra Designs Sirius, we like it, use it for the three of us. The vestibules are pretty small, but they keep the rain out of the hybrid/mesh area. I would recomend it, it does have it's limitations but for the weight/cost/room it does it's job well.”

“Thanks for the heads up. We may end up doing the Hotel shower as well last evening out.”

“thanks paige”

“okay...

i have a permit for 4 people going in on the kearsarge trail on Aug 4.
the exit is on the kearsarge trail on aug 9.

all reservable exits for whitney portal are taken for all of august.

i have to show up to the lone pine office at 11:00 am on august 3 when i pick up my permit and request a whitney stamp to change my exit to whitney portal.

i was told by the lady on the phone that it should not be a problem to change it in person.

she'd better be right!

...but if not, i wonder how much they fine you for leaving at the wrong trail head? anybody know?”

“oh cool, I was worried!!”

“The really don't like you being in the Whitney Zone without a permit. You actually get a colored tag to hang off of your backpack.

You can take your chances, but the Whitney Portal trail is heavily patroled.

All that being said, you will probably get what you want if you show up at the ranger station somewhat early.”