Hi, after doing Mt Fuji last summer, I decided to tackle Mt Whitney this year. But I have a few questions and this seemed a good place to ask them.
1) Where can you camp along the Mt. Whitney trail?
2) Is it okay to sleep in the hut at the summit? And is there usually any room in it?
(basically, I'd kind of like to see the sunset/sunrise from the summit if possible, so staying near the summit would be ideal, but it does look pretty exposed up there all the way back to the John Muir trail junction)
3) Is the trail out to the peak safe to hike out during darkness with a headlamp to catch the sunrise? This is how I did Fuji, but that trail was pretty well laid out and had lots of company on the trail to light the way.
4) Are the human waste pack out bags they provide at Lone Pine free and single use? (i.e. do I need to guess how many times I'll have to go during the hike
).
5) Are the entry and exit dates for the permit strict? i.e. could I get a permit with an Aug 1st entry date and an Aug 4th exit date and enter the Mt Whitney zone any day along that range of dates? Or do they have to be exact?
I think the rest of the lottery info is pretty straight forward, so hopefully I'll get a permit.
Thanks in advance.
