Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Schedule for Sep 1 dayhike

I have a solo dayhike permit for Labor Day. One previous Whitney dayhike - very snowy 16 hour round trip to summit Memorial Day weekend way back in 2000 so looking forward to experiencing the switchbacks for the first time as well as a completely dry trail. Looking for comments/suggestions on my tentative schedule, especially acclimatization hike/sleeping on 8/30. Unfortunately I don't think I can leave San Jose on Friday night and get an extra night sleeping at higher elevation.

Sat 8/30 - early morning drive from San Jose to Tioga Pass area. Hike either Mt. Dana (harder option) or Tioga Peak (easier option). I haven't done either before and open to other suggestions. Need somewhere to sleep that night - preferably in the car if there are legal and bear-free options in the 9K-10K range around Tioga Pass area (otherwise will have to rent or buy a tent and try to get a site at Saddlebag Lake or similar - suggestions welcomed).

Sun 8/31 - drive to Lone Pine, collect permit, hike up to Lone Pine Lake to re-orient myself with the trail ready for hiking in the dark on Monday, visit WPS. Hoping to get a motel room in Lone Pine for the night (Dow Villa will be first choice) but if I have to bring a tent for 8/30 then I'd probably camp at the Portal Sunday night.

Mon 9/1 - day hike to summit and back, planning for 3am start. Hopefully stay at a motel in Lone Pine overnight.

Tues 9/2 - drive back to San Jose via Hwy 120.

Hmmm...Labor Day weekend. I hiked up Piute Pass one Labor Day weekend in a snow storm.

8/30...I'd hike Tioga Peak then head to June Lake Campground.

8/31...I'd stay in the Portal...ambiance and all that.

9/1...Sounds about right.

There is camping at Tioga Lake. Taken from: http://www.campsitephotos.com/campground/Tioga-Lake
"Tioga Lake campground (9,700 feet) has 13 single-family campsites on Tioga Lake near the Tuolumne Meadows entrance to Yosemite National Park. All campsites have lake views, with about half on the lakefront. All campsites have paved pads, a picnic table, fire pit and bear locker." See the web site for more information. Sorry, I have no idea as to "car camping", but cannot see why not.

John

Check out the lodging situation at Lee Vining while in transit

Check out the Whitney Portal Hostel first...

Save your energy just acclimatize at Tioga and the Portal. Don't hike to the top of Dana or Tioga Peak.

Driving back on the 120 is perfect...be sure to stop at Whoa Nellie's Deli. You can't miss it.

I think all the campgrounds will be packed on Labor Day weekend. However, if you sleep in your car, and don't draw attention to it (arrive late, etc), trail heads parking lots can be used. There is short section of old road just east of the Tioga Pass gate that people use sometimes -- you could drive there Friday night and sleep in the car.

I would sleep as high as possible Saturday night. End of the road at Rock Creek, just S of Mammoth is at 10k.

Sunday night, you could use walk-in sites at Whitney Portal, (but you might want a tent for that). ....but there is nothing wrong with throwing out a pad and sleeping bag without a tent. Makes packing up before you start hiking easier. That would be quicker (and better for acclimatization) than driving up from Lone Pine. (Sleeping in the car is an option, but I'd try to get a spot in the backpacker parking lot. Wouldn't want to be in the car along the road, with other cars driving by making noise every 15 minutes.)

When you are getting ready to start from Whitney Portal (when it is dark), beware that bears may be watching, and if you put your day pack down anywhere but inside the car or a locker (with doors closed!) a bear can dash in, grab the pack and run. It happens all the time.

The campgrounds near Tioga Pass are not reservable and fill up quickly. If you relentlessly check the Tuolumne Meadows (Yosemite) campground availability on recreation.gov, chances are you'll see a cancellation eventually and can snap it up. But I mean relentlessly, particularly in the last 2 weeks before your trip, several times a day. I've never lost out this way. TM is 9,000', so good acclimatization for you on the way to Tioga Pass.

I had pretty much the same schedule last August. Drove up Saturday morning to Rock Creek to acclimatize/hike. Back down to Lone Pine for motel Saturday night (planned). Sunday day hike up at Horseshoe Meadows towards Trail Peak, planned to camp up there Sunday night; massive T-storms came in while back down in Lone Pine for dinner, road ended up closing, had to get a motel last minute. Monday night slept in the car at the portal no problem for 3am start too. Was pretty quiet after 9pm with the occasional hiker still coming down until about 11pm. Regarding sleeping around Yosemite, I've arrived late at the park and slept in the car very quietly with 4-5am wake up time, and wasn't bothered.

I also live in San Jose. This is what we did. We woke up early the day before the hike, we drove to Lone Pine, went to get our permit and then drove to the portal.

***We didn't do this but next time we will***
Do a small hike up to Lone Pine lake. Go back down, maybe rent a bed at the Lone Pine Hostel (only $25 for a bed and $5 for a shower). Wake up super early on the day of the hike, summit, head back down, sleep and go back to San Jo.

Instead of taking 120, we went the other way. 101, 152, 5, 58, 178, 14 and 395. We saved an hour of driving and the $20 dollar fee at Yosemite.

Robbo is correct, you can save the $ for entrance to Yosemite, but I find hwy 120 faster, and much more pleasant than going south from Lone Pine to hook up with Interstate 5. Your return is on a Tuesday, so traffic should be no problem through Yosemite Park (providing Labor day does not cause some unexpected traffic issues).

As a FYI, there is a major construction project on 120 starting this summer and going through 2015. There will be delays on weekdays and non-holidays. This may or may not make a difference in travel plans from the West side.

Ouch! Thanks for posting.

Following is from NPS web site:

Delays Sunday night through Friday afternoon
11 pm to 6 am - 1 hour
6 am to 7:30 am - 15 minutes
7:30 am to 3:30 am - 30 minutes
3:30 pm to 4:30 pm - 15 minutes
4:30 pm to 11 pm - 30 minutes

Not sure if I will change my plans. 30 minutes is not toooooo bad:-(

> 30 minutes is not toooooo bad

It's only bad if you're trying to make it to the east side to pick up a reserved permit before the ranger station closes. That was my situation once in Yosemite. We were planning to hike a few hours the first night. Barely made it.

thanks for all the suggestions. I saw that Rock Creek also has construction, but should be suspended for Labor Day weekend so I'll consider that option for overnight on 8/30 and the Portal campground for 8/31.

Thanks for the bear tip Steve - I'd seen a few mentions of that on this and the WPS board. I had an 'up close and personal' moment with a bear in my garage last July (in Tahoe, not San Jose!) so not in a rush to repeat the experience. Labor Day can't come soon enough.