Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Trail Help Above Mirror Lake

Last year in a night hike lost the trail just above Mirror Lake. I got AS right at that time, and so headed down. I'm going to try again next week and would appreciate any advice on staying on trail at this point.

Thanks

The trail is pretty tricky to follow near Mirror Lake. I have a time or two gotten "lost" during that section of the MWT during a moonless or moonlit night. You can lose it easily if you are not concentrated on the trail at your feet.

If you are at the shores of Mirror, you have taken the "wrong" turn at Albuquerque. Disclaimer: that is my opinion.

My best advice is if you are at Mirror Lake, stop and do a 180 and get back on trail.

The the trail is in the rock face formation to the south. Look around for any semblance of a footpath. Chances are your headlamp will pick up the trail.

Or better yet, stop and wait for other hikers.

Hope this helps.

Anybody else?

Just an aside...

Isn't the 4-Mile marker right there at "the rock face formation to the south."?

Mileage markers

that guy hikealongpete posts videos of the trail over on the WPS site...(maybe here too, I dunno). I found them helpful for knowing what to expect. I can only watch the 3X speed versions though. The realtime versions are just too dang slow to keep my attention.

The relevent segments for Mirror Lake would be:

4MW3X
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsOA2zT_0VA
5MW3X
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxhXFaDmQBk

In dry conditions, the entire MMWT seems pretty straightforward and intuitive to me. I can only recall a couple of spots between Mirror Lake and Consultation Lake where I've had to stop and survey the land for a second to pick the trail back up. Usually that involves looking past the next 20 feet and determining where the trail should go. In the dark, that can be a problem, but most hikers hit these troublesome areas well after sunrise and before sunset.

rebroker, was it in rocky transitional conditions that you lost it, or on the switchbacks above Mirror Lake? Maybe in the slabby area above the switchbacks? I can recall a section above Trailside Meadow that I would imagine could be a bear in the dark, but I'm having trouble picturing a difficult section directly above Mirror Lake unless you're talking about the granite slabs.

I don't have problems there in the dark or during the day...but after sunset while it is still too light to use the headlamp there was a few times where I had to stop and do a quick sweep to make sure I was on the trail.

Thanks for all the help! Going to have a look at the videos. Three years ago when I went during the day I did go along Mirror Lake and I was sure that was right because others were also on this 'trail'. Never gave this part of the trail a second thought... but, going up at night, it was way different.

So, I guess I may be talking about the slabs above the lake. At night with a headlight it was very hard to determine the right way.

Thanks again for all the assistance.

That trail is easy to lose at night. My buddy and I came down from our summit of MW through the area above mirror lake with only one headlamp for both of us at 9:00 PM on a moonless night.By 9:15 all ambient light was gone. Not being familar with the trail having gone up it only once during the daylight we really struggled several times to stay on the trail. A couple of places could be downright fatal with a wrong turn and not seeing the steep granite drop offs.Most of the trail is unmistakable but when you are dogged tired and its dark your mind can play games with you and trusting your trail instincts is hard.

I lose it on a regular basis coming down...not going up. Basically, once you pass TSM going down you have to take it out of cruise control and concentrate.

Glad i am not the only one who loses it coming down.Both times i went up it it was daylight. Both times coming down it was dark.Really have to watch and concentrate. There are several side trails off the main trail that are easy to find yourself mistakenly taking in that section.

Rod, I've never come down it in the dark. Most times its before noon...of course, I've been up since 1 AM.

The least problems I've had in this area is in the winter...I wonder why.

wbtravis someday they will have solar powered trail lights on the cairns all the way up the MWMT. It will be easy to find the tram and Starbucks then.

I was waiting for the AT&T Mt. Whitney Tram, which whisk you up to the Ford Smithsonian Hut where you can grab a cup of Starbucks coffee or a Cheeseburger at the Whitney Portal Store II. Who need no stinking cairns.