My in-laws from NH are visiting May 31- June 7. We are planning on spending part of their trip in the Sierras.
A general outline of what I'd like to do:
June 1 & 2nd
Stay at Rock Creek Resort or Mammoth Mtn Inn. Hang out/do some easy acclimation hikes (Little Lakes Valley?)
June 3rd
Drive to Lone Pine. Start our hike late that day or early the next.
June 4th
Drive home
I would really like to watch sunrise from the summit of Mt. Whitney on June 4. At the same time, I prefer 'day' hikes over overnight trips. Based on my past trips, I would say that it should take us 8-9 hours to hike from Whitney Portal to the summit. According to
Old Farmer's Almanac, sunrise should be at 5:34 AM. That means we should probably start hiking around 8:30 PM on June 3rd. So, I have a couple of questions:
1. I am planning on getting overnight permits for June 3rd. If we were stopped by a ranger at the portal or on an early section of the trail without overnight gear, but with an overnight permit, could there be an issue?
2. Is the Mount Whitney Summit Shelter open to the public? If we finished the ascent faster than expected, it would be nice to have a place to sit, out of the wind, while waiting for the sun to come up.
3. My father-in-law and I will be hiking, while my wife, our 2 year old and her mom stay in Lone Pine. One scenario I've thought of involves the girls dropping us off at the portal. We would sleep for a few hours, then start our hike. My wife would pick us up after our hike. If we end up setting up a tent at Whitney Portal to nap for a few hours, what time does the campsite need to be packed up? Can my wife go to the campsite the next morning to tear down or do we need to pack up before we leave on our hike?
