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Re: Onion Valley to Whitney Portal via JMT
publius #43170 06/17/15 01:00 AM
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 8
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Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 8
Publius, not sure if you will get this before you depart the trailhead, but here is my report...

Day 1 - Left OV and hiked over Kearsarge, through the lakes, down through Vidette, up past Center Basin, and found some OUTSTANDING camp areas in some more sparsely vegetated areas closer to Forester. This was one of the most scenic days of backpacking I have ever experienced, I could have sworn the entire area was professionally landscaped, but given the immense scale of the vistas, it was obviously just a very special and gorgeous area of the world. It was a long day of hiking, but it was WELL WORTH the extra miles at the end. Skip the camp areas in the lower elevations right along Bubbs Creek and keep climbing... once you get past Center Peak, there are some great sites with gorgeous views and pristine water sources. Not sure if we were exactly at the 11.2K meadow or not, but there are several camp sites at higher altitudes that are WELL worth toughing out the extra few miles of ascent... plus, it made Forester easier to get to earlier in the day. Hat tip to Saltydog and Hobbes.

Day 2 - Climbed Forester... there was still a lot of snow on the upper switchbacks, in fact, they were mostly completely inundated with snow. Have no fear, the pass was easily ascended with just hiking boots... the switchbacks are heavily fortified with high rocks at the bends, so we did a combination of duck stepping straight up and rock scrambling over the exposed switchback rocks and made Forester with very little difficulty. A lot of people were doing this, no need to create your own duck step path, there was an established ladder of footholds for you to follow. No fear of falling, moreso a fear of an occasional posthole... but, that's no big deal! Continued over and camped at the Tyndall area... looking to pitch shelter quickly as a thunderstorm was looming, and doused us with rain for a few hours.

Day 3 - Tyndall to Guitar Lake... ups and downs over varied terrain and ridgelines as the trail wound around Whitney. Guitar Lake is a popular camp site, but don't let the company you will have there dissuade you... it's freaking gorgeous, and there was plenty of space for everyone to do their own thing without any disruption. As opposed to the front side of Whitney, the crowd here are mostly all experienced trekkers who have a modicum of respect for fellow campers.

Day 4 - Guitar Lake to Whitney... the switchbacks up from Guitar Lake to Muir Crest were all clear of snow. From Muir Crest up to Whitney Summit, there is still quite a bit of snow left, and unfortunately a lot of the drifts are in spots of the trail where the downhill runout exposure is off the scale. Still, we had NO problem getting through this in hiking boots with no alpine gear, just bring trek poles and make sure to test your footing. I didn't have any qualms getting by, some others were struggling a bit more with it but none that I observed were turning back. Slow and steady was the mode of the day, and nobody that I observed even had any freak slippage episodes. Everyone was cooperative and helpful. Unless someone in your party has an inherent fear of heights/exposure, this was easily navigable in boots. There were PCT through hikers very easly stepping through this in trail shoes.

From here, guilty as charged, Hobbes... screw Trail Camp, we hiked all the way down to WP and were in warm hotel beds that night. Mind you, this is a lengthy addition to the mileage that day, we arrived in WP at dusk and the ascent/descent of Whitney in one day took a toll on the feet... but IMHO was worth it.

In short... unless conditions change, no need for foot gear at all. Just use patience, common sense, and trust your boots. Over the sketchy areas, just take it easy and go one stable step at a time, testing your footing, and trying not to blow out any previously established solid steps that previous hikers have created.

Re: Onion Valley to Whitney Portal via JMT
Krishna #43345 06/29/15 12:52 PM
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 5
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Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 5
Hi Krishna - I'm really sorry. We just recently gave up our permits and going to move the trip to next year. We are going to be doing an up and back on Whitney instead. Best of luck and safe travels.

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