Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Options and Questions About Getting an Early Start

I have a group of 4 with overnight permits for entry on Monday, 7/28. Because of a change in family vacation plans that require I be in San Francisco on 7/30, we are considering all our options for getting as early a start as possible. With that in mind, I would like to confirm/ask the following:

1. Is it true the permit will allow us to actually enter the zone as early as midnight Sunday night?

2. Assuming so, are we allowed to cover the 2.8 miles up to Lone Pine Lake before midnight?

3. Again, assuming we are hiking in the wee hours after midnight, at what point are we allowed to pick a site and pitch our tents for camping? The thinking is to make the summit Monday and then back down to camp at either TC or OC. In that scenario, it could be nice to go ahead and setup the tent and drop some gear during a break on the way up.

4. Even better would be the ability to legitimately start our hike on Sunday. It appears from other threads that the only chance for this is to visit Lone Pine on Saturday (or Sunday) and get unclaimed permits. Any other creative ideas?

I appreciate any guidance. I made the summit last year and look forward to making an attempt with my oldest son. Joining us will be my buddy from last years hike who only made it to the cables before turning back. The more time we have, the better our chances!

You are allowed to cross the Whitney Zone Boundary located a short distance past Lone Pine Lake at Midnight the day of your permit. If your permit is for Monday, leave the portal at 9:00 or 10:00 pm on Sunday. Depending on your pace, you should arrive at the boundary at about midnight. You can set your tent up at anytime, there is no time restriction on setting up camp.
If you feel like hauling your gear nearly 17 miles(round trip) I suggest you camp at Trail Camp. It puts you 4 miles from the summit with roughly 3,000 feet of accumulated gain to go. You also get the benefit higher acclimation. The down side to this approach is that you have to haul your gear over 8 miles back down. Otherwise camp at Outpost. it's at 10,500 ft and you only have to haul your gear 8 miles round trip. Happy Hiking

Adding to what DNH wrote:

You have a good chance of getting earlier permits if you want on Saturday or Sunday. Just ask if there are any available. If you pick up on Saturday, they may have some for entry that day, and they may also have some for entry on Sunday. Same goes for picking up on Sunday.

If you can start on Sunday, even in the afternoon, you could hike to and camp at Outpost camp, get up early, summit, and come back (and possibly break camp and hike out) on Monday. Or even hike out and drive to SF on Tuesday.

It is really ambitious to expect to haul backpacks with overnight gear up, set up a camp, and then continue to the summit. It has been done, but it takes strong hikers.

I worry about your acclimatization plans. Will you be spending ANY time at altitude before the hike? Horseshoe Meadows is at 10k, and you can drive there and camp one night -- highly recommended! (Drive back down to pick up permits.) I would be extremely wary of hauling backpacks all the way to Trail Camp with a night-hike. The energy required to carry packs up 4k, along with the sleep deprivation, plus the 12k altitude can set people up for some Altitude Sickness. Do you know about Diamox?

I also got an over night permit 2 years ago and l like you things changed. We just did a day. You could acclimatize(camp) on Saturday/Sunday. Then like you said just start as early as want 1000pm on Sunday and day hike and be back down Monday evening. This way you do not have to haul you backpack/setup and break down. Then drive back on Tuesday to SF

Thanks for the great responses. A bit of follow up:

1. We are arriving on the West Coast (coming from NC)early Saturday morning and going straight to Mammoth Mountain. We plan to take the gondola up to 11,000 and spend most of the afternoon there and then sleep at altitude in the lodge Saturday night. I did the same thing last year and had no AMS symptoms the entire time. I also do have Diamox from last year, though I ultimately didn't use it then. We did have one extra night sleeping at altitude in Mammoth last year, so I am at least considering use of the Diamox this year.

2. I didn't realize we were allowed to camp near Lone Pine Lake outside the zone and I wasn't sure about even setting up a late camp at say Outpost Camp (say, right after midnight). Knowing both of those options are OK, gives us some flexibility.

3. Glad to hear there is some real hope at getting an earlier entry permit. The two other members of our party will be arriving in the area on Friday and can seek the permit for Sunday entry. If we get it, then great and we free up Monday permits. If not, we can use the option of camping at LPL or late setup at Outpost Camp.

4. Never seriously considered just turning it into a day hike, but that could possibly work, too, in a pinch. Having done this last year, the idea of the lighter pack the entire 22 miles definitely has it's appeal.

Thanks again for the tips. I feel much better about our options now. Any other thoughts welcome.

I prefer camping at LPL rather than Outpost Camp. At Outpost Camp, you have the day hikers passing through making noise with their headlights blazing while you are trying to sleep. You do not get that at LPL.

Are there any specific restrictions around where one can setup camp at LPL. I assume the normal guidelines around distance from the water. Any other issues?

In all honesty, no ranger will be up checking permits for people trying to enter the Whitney Zone prior to sunrise.

If you need the extra hours, I don't think your in much danger entering one-two hours before your permit is active (pending an active effort to acquire a permit for the early day)... After all, the ageless wisdom of "YOLO" can be applied.

I'm kidding about the YOLO thing. That's quintessentially absurd...

We are finalizing some logistics based on the great responses here and I have one follow up question.

During our attempt to get the permit to enter on Sunday instead of Monday, will all four members of our party need to be present or can available permits be claimed on behalf absent party members, as long as we know all four will make the hike.

The situation is that two members of our party can be at the permit center before 11am on Saturday. The others will still be traveling to the area. I can't recall reading any specific rules on whether a lead person can pick up multiple unclaimed permits or if it is a 1:1 person to permit deal.

Any guidance appreciated.

Jammer, only the trip leader needs to be at the Visitor Center.

Your comments about camping outside the Whitney Zone: You must still have an overnight wilderness permit to camp even at Lone Pine Lake. Camping at Whitney Portal is the only place a wilderness permit is not required, since that is more a car-camping mode.

Best of luck getting everything worked out! I hope it goes smoothly.

Jammer,

The standard 200' from this and that rules apply at LPL. There are plenty of hard surfaced campsites there.