Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Whitney Campsites

I received a PM (private message) from a member asking where to find the map of places to camp on the MMWT (Main Mount Whitney Trail). Bob R has made one available, so I went searching.

I found it in Bob R's photo collections, and then a link to it on wpsmb.

Here is the map (click on it to see the full-size image)



Here's what Bob R wrote about the map:

Next trip up the mountain, I'm determined to look hard for the site high on the switchbacks and the one at the JMT junction. I had this map with me last month, but completely forgot about those higher sites while we were in the two areas.

That's not a particularly good one. Small, maybe squeeze two, and not room for a tent. No water, of course.

Better if you want to camp on the switchbacks is a flat area to the left of the trail, a few switchbacks above the spring. There's a trickle of water nearby, in summer.



If you want to see more pictures from that climb, go to 2009-05-23. The occasion was the 57th anniversary of my first Mt. Whitney ascent. And my xxxth summit.

Thanks Bob - that's very cool. Probably not somewhere you'd probably want to camp in the summer with all the traffic on the trail, but always good to know.

I remember your posts from that 1st summit anniversary back in May, and reading the narrative of that experience. There are a zillion first-summit stories for Whitney, but yours has got to be the most unique I've ever heard. What a day-glo memory!

And Bob, someday you need to clarify that "xxxth" summit, if for no other reason than posterity. I know you don't hang your hat on the numbers - and bravo for you in that regard - but from what I've learned on these boards the past couple of years, I would suspect you've probably seen the summit of Whitney more than anyone since Gustave Marsh. Your first summit more than 57 years ago and still bagging it regularly - that is an amazing feat Bob! Between yourself and Doug (and possibly any really long-term INFS or SEKI rangers working Whitney regularly), I can't imagine how many summits that must come to. I was privileged to meet and spend time with a number of people at the Portal last month that I regard as Whitney legends, but unfortunately not yourself. I hope some day to be able to shake your hand.

Good news bad news Gary. Good news: you will meet Bob R and shake his hand probably next summer. Bad news: Barb and your daughter Bri have a much better chance of being in a picture with Ranger Bob than you do, ie check out on the WPSMB under the Member photo album links and click on Bob R. You will see his Gal Pal Pictures in the 3rd row, middle.

'dog34, I don't climb for the numbers. I climb because I love to climb. And I keep a log for when I can no longer do it, to be able to relive memories from the rocking chair. So I know how many times I have ascended each mountain, and how many different mountains I have climbed. But as the numbers go up, I am less and less inclined to talk about them. If people remember me, I prefer that it be for the diversity of my climbs and for my love of the mountains.

However, I will often write in a summit register 3x or 10x, say, as the number of times I have summited a peak. Some people find it interesting and, besides, those numbers usually aren't all that significant. But as far as Mt. Whitney is concerned, xxx is close enough for government work.

Mt. Whitney is my most frequent, but it's primarily because it's close and it's a good workout. But Whitney has always constituted fewer than 10% of my climbs.

I wish that FlickR had been around a long time ago; I would have enjoyed looking at pictures of some of the other mountains that I have read in your list of climbs. The route finding and photo archive has been an invaluable go-to guide for trips I have taken (and those that I am planning). I appreciate that they have been made available to the public.

The X on the map near the JMT/summit spur junction might be the campsite seen in this picture on the lower (JMT) of the two trails just below where they intersect near Trail Crest. No water. You would not see it coming up from the west, but can see it as shown here when returning from the summit looking down. See it? I did not stay there 2 weeks ago. Harvey



Or, you could stay in one of the first "windows" just above the summit spur trail and get dried out and blown off.

Before Flickr came on the scene, many of us used Club Photo. It went belly-up suddenly one night, and we thought our pictures were lost forever. Then a company called Winkflash managed to get hold of all of Club Photo's stored albums, and made them available. To see mine, go to http://rockwellb.winkflash.com/ (I don't think you have to become a member.) Some are also on Flickr.

That should keep you occupied for a while.

Excellent -- Mana for the winter doldrums!

(Looks like I can shelf the Secor's for a bit)