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Outpost or Trail Camp Wiff 03/27/24 07:31 PM
Hi all. I have always done the overnight trip the same, but wondering if there's a better idea.

I always:
Day 1: Hike from Portal to Trail Camp.
Sleep at Trail Camp.

Day 2: Leave gear at Trail Camp and summit, return to Trail Camp to get stuff, and hike back to Portal.
That day 2 is a doozy. A friend thinks it might be easier to sleep and leave gear at Outpost, so there's less to carry for a mile and a half or so.
I think that that will just make the second day that much longer.
What say y'all?
Thanks.
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Re: 2 night options for exit - lottery 60North 03/26/24 03:46 PM
Might depend how far you’re comfortable traveling daily. We’ve done Cottonwood Pass to Chicken Springs Lake (overnight 1); to Rock Creek (overnight 2); Guitar Lake (overnight 3). Heading out over Cottonwood Pass to the PCT makes this 4 days, 3 nights from Whitney with some great hiking. Car shuttling took some planning. Overnighted in Lone Pine before setting out. Also several options along the way to shorten or lengthen individual days as you might need. We didn’t find a 2 night trip…I’d also be interested if ideas come up!
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2 night options for exit - lottery HikerGirl111 03/26/24 01:12 PM
Hello all

I won the lottery for July last week. I wanted to seek out ideas for exit points which are about 2-3 nights including summiting Mt Whitney ..

In other words, where can I exit from which can give me 2 nights on the trails. I looked up cottonwood lakes but that seems more of a 4 night. So I am looking for options where I can camp for 2-3 nights

Any advice or guidance or ideas appreciated…
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Re: Lottery Results Steve C 03/26/24 04:29 AM
I don't think adding an alternate would be possible after being awarded a slot (even unpaid-for). But it won't hurt to try, I suppose.
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Re: Lottery Results Charlie 03/25/24 11:02 PM
Or you mean that won't work Steve?
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Re: Lottery Results Charlie 03/25/24 08:39 PM
I haven't accepted it yet since i have time until 4/21. If someone else wants to be part of it i can put their name/s as alternate leader. They could do the same with my name on their won lottery day
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Everest joins Mt Whitney in the 5.5 mile high poo bag club! WanderingJim 03/25/24 02:32 PM
(or 2.75 mile high poo bag club in Whitney's case)

https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/25/travel/everest-climbers-poop-bags-intl-scli/index.html

Of course, most Everest climbers will have Sherpa guides/porters to carry the bags down. So, hopefully less bags left along the trail like on Whitney.
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Re: Lottery Results Steve C 03/25/24 04:40 AM
Originally Posted by Charlie
Got 5/5 overnight for a 10 head group. Rather swap it for late June or Early July, if anyone is interested
Reservations can't be swapped. You can only cancel a reservation. And then the slots you returned show up randomly sometime in the next 24 hours.

The group leader, or alternate leader must carry the permit on the hike. If you swap a reservation to someone else, their name won't be on the permit.
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Re: First timer seeking advice 60North 03/25/24 12:33 AM
Not big campers, ended doing the night at Trail Camp. Didn’t sleep much, altitude didn’t help, but getting up early and hiking out before sunrise was also a treat.
Couple 60+, even as 2 hour half-marathoners, and several longer hikes, treks, we figured we would be 16-20 hours on feet, and that was too long for us in a day. That’d be our slog. Many do it way faster. By memory Elbert is in the 10 miles, 4,000 feet range, Whitney is 20+ miles, 6,000 feet so offered us a little different challenge. We decided to drive through Yosemite, into Mammoth Lakes, motel overnight there @ 8,000 feet rather than camp at the Portal, save the tent night for Trail Camp. Drove into Portal early, started hiking 6:00 am-ish. Figured Portal to Trail Camp was decent enough acclimatization hiking. Summited next day with light daypacks, picked up the tent on the way down, hotel and hot shower by 8:00 pm or so. Trail Camp - well, not my total favorite, got some poor high country bathroom etiquette happening, but there’s space, wise choices can be made…. For us an overnight felt right afterwards, we wouldn’t have enjoyed a day hike so much. Many do it though, lot of trail runners.
Whichever you choose, stay safe, enjoy your trip, it was a highlight of my hiking/trekking experiences. I’ll be back this summer to try Langley, we really enjoyed the Inyo, Lone Pine, Portal vibe, great people in great surroundings.
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Re: Whitney in EARLY OCTOBER malman 03/25/24 12:31 AM
Hi Penny! We just got awarded permits for October 12th, 2024 and are pondering the same question you had. Did you end up doing the hike on October 6th? If so, how was it, any and all detail would be much appreciated!
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Re: HIGH ALTITUDE LODGING JIMMY22 03/24/24 04:13 PM
Thank you!
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Re: Lottery Results Charlie 03/23/24 11:16 PM
Got 5/5 overnight for a 10 head group. Rather swap it for late June or Early July, if anyone is interested
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Re: Lottery Results Louie 03/22/24 08:49 PM
Seems they have expanded the number of dates you can choose in recent years. I think this would result in more permits being won by people who ultimately don't want them. The website wins because they get to collect multiple lottery / reservation fees for the same spot.

I am starting to wonder if the Lottery is even worth entering, or I should just wait until the unclaimed reservations open up. Last year was the first time I tried the unclaimed reservations, and I had better luck with that than the lottery, they went quick, but not instantly gone if I remember. I think there was like 5-10 minutes to grab permits before most were taken.
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Re: Lottery Results Steve C 03/22/24 07:21 PM
Eric J, you can always try for cancellations even with a paid reservation. If you get one, be sure to cancel the one in October.

Also, if the Inyo NF website is correct (it still shows 2023), the best time to grab un-paid-for reservations is at 7:00 a.m. Pacific Time. You have to be quick with your fingers to grab one, because they go fast.
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Re: First timer seeking advice Steve C 03/22/24 07:19 PM
Looks like you're leaning toward a day hike. That is what many hikers do--you just need to be in good condition. Running those half-marathons helps.

The other is acclimatization. If you live at SLC, then you're already at 4k,so that gives you an advantage. Most hikers in CA live near sea level, so they are way more affected. I was going to recommend spending a night (maybe in your car) at Horseshoe meadows, but then I looked up the SLC elevation. That is likely why altitude has never been a problem.

For a day hike, start early, but not so early that you don't get enough sleep before the hike.
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Re: Lottery Results bobpickering 03/22/24 05:01 PM
Originally Posted by Louie
Originally Posted by bobpickering
I got mine Friday morning. I applied for 75 different days. I got my 74th choice.

They let you put that many options in now? I don't remember that.

I put in for mostly July and August weekends knowing I probably would not win. And I did not. smile

You can apply for up to 10 different “choices”. Each choice can be a single date or a range of dates. A range of dates can be as many consecutive days as you like. If you specify a range of dates, they give you the first available date in that range. I requested 10 ranges of 6-13 dates each. There were no openings in my first 9 ranges. I got June 19, the second date of my 10th range.
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Re: Lottery Results Erik J 03/21/24 11:31 PM
I got a reservation for the beginning of October - happy about that. However, my son can’t go that week. I just paid for the permits - once you have paid, can you try to pick up a cancellation when those are available, also? Or will that invalidate your reservation? I’m happy to go in early October, but would rather go on a date when my son can go also.
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Re: First timer seeking advice Louie 03/21/24 06:18 PM
Well if you don't like backpacking, I suggest you do it as a day hike. smile

I have done both, I don't really find one easier than the other, they are just different kinds of challenges.
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Re: Lottery Results Louie 03/21/24 06:13 PM
Originally Posted by bobpickering
I got mine Friday morning. I applied for 75 different days. I got my 74th choice.

They let you put that many options in now? I don't remember that.

I put in for mostly July and August weekends knowing I probably would not win. And I did not. smile
12 569 Read More
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First timer seeking advice wyndal 03/21/24 04:14 PM
Hello! My husband and I are trying to decide if we want to go for the overnight or single-day hike. We've scoured all the message boards and are still conflicted. Here's the rundown: we're both in pretty good physical shape, we are about to run our third half-marathon in a couple weeks. Pretty experienced hikers, we've done a couple big hikes here in Utah and climbed both Elbert and Massive fairly easily. Neither of us have ever experienced trouble with altitude.

However, neither of us particularly love backpacking. We both struggle to sleep well (if at all) and find that the second day is always a slog for us. We see a lot of conversations that make it sound like overnight is the better option, but are wondering if those people are more experienced backpackers than we are. We don't have time to do multiple nights on the mountain, so stretching our trip out isn't really an option.

Basically our choices are day hike (spending one night in lone pine, doing acclimatization hike, sleeping at portal, doing day hike) or quick overnight (spending one night in lone pine, doing acclimatization hike, sleeping at portal, and one night at trail camp before going back down to lone pine).

Any advice would be much appreciated!
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