Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion 2 night options for exit - lottery

Hello all

I won the lottery for July last week. I wanted to seek out ideas for exit points which are about 2-3 nights including summiting Mt Whitney ..

In other words, where can I exit from which can give me 2 nights on the trails. I looked up cottonwood lakes but that seems more of a 4 night. So I am looking for options where I can camp for 2-3 nights

Any advice or guidance or ideas appreciated…

Might depend how far you’re comfortable traveling daily. We’ve done Cottonwood Pass to Chicken Springs Lake (overnight 1); to Rock Creek (overnight 2); Guitar Lake (overnight 3). Heading out over Cottonwood Pass to the PCT makes this 4 days, 3 nights from Whitney with some great hiking. Car shuttling took some planning. Overnighted in Lone Pine before setting out. Also several options along the way to shorten or lengthen individual days as you might need. We didn’t find a 2 night trip…I’d also be interested if ideas come up!

I assume you won a slot to enter the Mt Whitney main trail and spend a night (or any number of nights) in July.

There just aren't many options for two nights, unless you simply take your time, and enter and exit at Whitney Portal. Other options, as in backpacking over Trail Crest and spending more nights pretty much involve at least 3 nights, and 4 if you don't want to go for long days.

If you felt strong, you could do the Mt. Whitney hike, and spend an extra night, and climb Wotan's Throne, the peak just north of Trail Camp. From its summit, you get a grand view of Mt Whitney and the surrounding peaks.