Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion SQF Fire worries?

My Dad, sister and I are planning on starting a 3 day adventure at Whitney Portal on Aug 30th. We'll be driving down from Oregon and I was checking out fires in the area and noticed that the SQF Complex (or Castle Fire) is relatively close. I couldn't find info about any closures but thought I'd check here if anyone has other information, do Whitney regulars see any issues with that? Thanks for any tips or advice!

I'm hiking Whitney next weekend and am keeping an eye on it bc of the smoke. It would have to travel a good amount to close the Portal area, I think.

The fire is still about 20 miles away, so there isn't much threat from the fire itself in the Whitney area yet. However, the normal pattern of afternoon winds brings a lot of smoke to the area. I haven't experienced the Whitney area smoke firsthand, but it looks really awful on various webcams.

it looks terrible on the webcam. so orange. no visibility.

For what it is worth, we just bailed on our 12 day trip out of Cottonwood Lakes TH after 4 days ( we planned to acclimate for a couple of days at the lakes). The afternoon smoke was pretty bad at both Cottonwood and Southfork Lakes, so instead of going over New Army Pass we went back to the TH. We were getting ash fall on our tent in the afternoons. Mornings were beautiful, but the smoke would start to build around 11:00 am. The hike out was extremely smoky. Smoke in Lone Pine also varied but was thick on August 26 afternoon. We left Lone Pine yesterday morning, 8/27 and drove home.

We made a decision to leave the JMT in 2015 at Kearsarge Pass because of the Rough Fire and I never want to breathe in that kind of smoke again or take the risk of long term lung damage because of the small particulates. I had a horrible smokers cough for two months after that and I don't smoke cigarettes.

Obviously, the smoke varies depending upon wind direction, but the proximity of the SQF/Castle Fire is causing variable smoke conditions in the area. You may want to check out the link below from one of the admins of the JMT Facebook group that has links to websites with current smoke modeling and readings and make your decision. The Mt. Whitney Facebook group also has posts regarding current conditions and photos.

https://ingasadventures.com/backpackers-guide-to-tracking-california-wildfires/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/30962451768

I don't know the age of your Dad, but this kind of air is very dangerous for anyone with underlying heart disease. At our ages we think about those issues ( 68 and 73) :>)

Best of luck.

Thanks Mary, I really appreciate your insight. Ash on your tent!? jeeze. Sounds like you made the right call. My dad is 65, so definitely want to be more cautious with the smoke. I think we're going to scrap our Whitney summit goals for 2020 at this point and do some hiking in the Wallowas in Oregon. I've been watching the webcams the past few days and it looks rough. That air quality is definitely not something to mess around with.

I forgot to add this link too- Fire AirNow, fire and smoke map. Also a good resource.

https://fire.airnow.gov

We are also considering the Wallowas, maybe in a week or two.

The mountain will be there next year for you, but I really understand the disappointment after all the planning. If you want to do more than a one or two day Whitney trip and have the time, you can go in via Cottonwood Lakes ( or Cottonwood Pass but it has more traffic, including horses), go over New Army Pass down Rock Creek to Soldier Lakes, then on to Crabtree Meadow, up to Guitar Lake and approach from the west side. Camp at the tarns or at the water source at 12,000 ft for summit day. Less traffic and you don't need a special Whitney entry permit, just the overnight Inyo entry permit for Cottonwood unless you decide to exit to Whitney Portal, then a Trail Crest exit (so juggling two permits) and a car shuttle. If you go back to Cottonwood ( Lakes or Pass) TH to exit then you don't need a car shuttle or Trail Crest exit.

Onion Valley to Whitney Portal is also a very nice trip.

We have never approached Mt Whitney from the east side, always the west so we can acclimate to the altitude for several days. And we enjoy backpacking. In the past I have obtained one of the daily walk up permits for both the entry TH and Trail Crest Exit. Entry is on the following day, but the exit is what day you specify that you will go over Trail Crest. Of course this year is very different with the online "walk up" process and permits for a whole week released one week ahead. Hopefully it will change back to the old process post COVID.

This website has a lot of resources for trip planning. It was because of information here that our first summit of Mt Whitney in 2011 was successful, even with the overnight snow/hail storm at 12 K in mid September. I paid particular attention to acclimating to the altitude in the Orientation notes for first timers. You never know how you will respond. It is different for everyone and fitness is not a predictor of who will and will not get AMS or worse. I now know I can ascend to 10 K or 11 K without issues, but need time there before proceeding, hence the multi day backpacking approach. I really admire the folks who can blast up the main trail and do a one day ascent/descent, but I know it is not for me.