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Jun 19, 2015 · Brendan Leonard | June 19, 2015. It seems every hiker knows California’s Mount Whitney by name. At 14,505 feet, its summit is the highest place you can stand on in the continental United States, 65 feet higher than Colorado’s Mount Elbert. In the high season, May 1 to November 1, the Forest Service limits traffic on the summit trail to ...
Summiting Mount Whitney was a dream that seemed almost impossible when I first set my sights on hiking the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States! Between obtaining a permit from the permit lottery, training for the hike, and figuring out the logistics of backpacking Mount Whitney, it seemed very overwhelming at first! If you're feeling the same way, this guide will walk you through ...
- Choosing The Right Route Up Mt Whitney
- How to Get A Mt Whitney Permit
- Planning Your Stay
- Training For The Mt Whitney Hike
- Gear For The Hike
- Dealing with Altitude
- Weather and Timing
- Other Notes Before You Hike
- Reader Q&A
- How to Get to The Mt Whitney Trailhead
Before you apply for your Mt Whitney permit, you need to decide on your route to the summit. This hiking guide focuses on the popular Mount Whitney Trail from Whitney Portal (by Lone Pine), which allows you to do the hike in a day or overnight camping trip. I highly recommend taking this route as it's the best option for first-timers. But there are...
The hike to Mt Whitney is popular. I mean really popular. Generally 70,000 to 100,000 hikers apply to hike or backpack to the summit from Whitney Portal between May and November. So the parks service enforces a quota system. Only 100 day-hikers and 60 backpackers are allowed on the Mt Whitney Trail from Whitney Portal per day, from May 1st to Novem...
Unless you live close to Mt Whitney, you'll probably end up staying in Lone Pine, CA. If you stay in Lone Pine, it's a 13 mile drive (with 4000 feet of uphill roads) to the trailhead at Whitney Portal. There are a few options: off-brand hotels, chain hotels, AirBnB, campgrounds, and the Whitney Portal campground. My goto hotel has been the Best Wes...
To start, the Mt Whitney hike is very doable. It can also kick your butt. Many of the hikers who try the hike do not make the summit. Training and preparing properly can mean the difference between misery and fun. You have a few challenges to prepare for. First, you need to be used to the distance and effort. If you're lucky enough to live in an ar...
This is a long hike and you need to think carefully about your gear, and also practice with it. Here are my gear tips. 1. You need a good headlamp.If you are going to leave before dawn (see the weather section below), you should do a few hikes with your headlamp before the Mt Whitney hike. Hiking with a headlamp is very different than hiking in day...
I'd say altitude is what stops most people who attempt to hike Mt Whitney and fail. There are two main challenges with altitude, getting enough oxygen to continue and avoiding altitude sickness (also known as acute mountain sickness, or AMS), which can occur in hikers when they go above 8000 feet. If you already live or train at altitude, AMS shoul...
Hopefully, the weather will cooperate with you on your hike to the summit. If the weather is bad, you need to play it safe and do the hike another day. Winter storms can still hit on the fringes of the summer season. If the weather is okay, you still run the risk of a pop-up thunderstorm and lightning on the summit. These storms generally bubble up...
Check out recent trip reportsfor the latest conditions and possible changes.Ask the ranger about the trail condition when you get your permit.Even if you're in great shape and you've done all your prep correctly, this is still a hard hike. It's important that you pace yourself and give yourself some rest breaks. Rest breaks will help you...This may sound obvious, but if you have an acute fear of heights, this hike will be challenging. There are some sections past Trail Crest with sheer drops on either side. The trail is at least 4 fe...Can I use an altitude mask to train for Whitney if I can't train at altitude? The general consensus is that altitude masks don't work, but I can't prove or disprove that myself. If you need to trav...Will a StairMaster help me train for the hike?It can't hurt. If you can do 11 miles on a stair master, I'd say it's going to be decent training, but probably pretty boring.If I climbed a 10,000 foot mountain without problems, should I be fine on Mt Whitney?10,000 feet and 14,500 can be very different. I wouldn't assume that you should be fine. Go through the steps in...Is it safe to hike in the dark with a headlamp?Yes, and many people do.Here's the trailhead GPS address: Mt. Whitney Trailhead, Whitney Portal, CA, 93545, USA. If you're arriving at Whitney Portal for the first time, early in the morning, finding the right place to park and trailhead can be your first challenge. Don't forget to leave your parking permit in the window. Rangers DO give tickets if your permit doesn't mat...
The trail, although steep, was constructed as a stock trail and is reasonably wide and gradual. The summit is three or four acres in size and almost flat. Glaciers cut and sculpted the sheer east face of the mountain that is viewed from Lone Pine. Mount Whitney, was first climbed in 1873, by local fishermen from the Owens Valley towns of Lone ...
Getting There. WHITNEY PORTAL: This is the trailhead for both the Mount Whitney Trail and the Mountaineer's Route as well as many other mountaineering and climbing routes on Mount Whitney, Mount Russell, and Mount Carillon. Take US-395 to Lone Pine and then turn west on Whitney Portal Road. In 13 miles, you will reach Whitney Portal at an ...
- 14505 ft / 4421 m
- Mountain/Rock
- 36.57860°N / 118.293°W
Jan 20, 2017 · Getting out at Cottonwood Pass and hitching a ride beyond Forester Pass would mean skipping Mount Whitney–the highest point in the lower 48 and the biggest side attraction of the entire Pacific Crest Trail, which I was attempting to thru-hike. (It would also mean skipping a chunk of trail miles, something I was trying to avoid doing at all ...
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Jan 10, 2024 · Best Time to Hike Mount Whitney: June – September. Estimated Start Time for Climbing Mount Whitney in One Day: between 1 – 3 AM (aim to be descending by noon) Recommended Route: the Mount Whitney Trail from Whitney Portal in Lone Pine. Quota Season (permit required for day and overnight hikes): May 1st – November 1st.
