my son and i are going up friday and starting up trail saturday. any suggestions on time to start, if we plan on camping at outpost camp the first night? will we be able to make it up to trail camp? is the permit office open on saturday? i will look it up as well.
I would suggest starting from the Portal NLT than mid-morning. As to whether you could make trail camp - that would depend upon how fast hikers you are/size of your packs/experience with snowshoes/crampons/level of experience, etc. My hunch is it would be a bit ambitious for you and your son, especially if the snow is as soft as shown in Walter's pictures. Keep in mind also the sun will drop behind the Crest by mid afternoon, and once that happens the temps will drop rapidly. Better if you have a good start on setting up camp by late afternoon - takes much longer/uses different techniques when on snow.
As for when the VC opens - it used to open at 8AM (and not a minute before!) 7 days a week. However, with the budget cutbacks - I'd give them a call to make sure.
