Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion What are good winter hiking trails near Mt Whitney?

I'm making a trip up to the Mt Whitney area next weekend and was hoping to find a decent trail, moderate difficulty day hike (10mi or so), that provides good views of Whitney, or even anything in the surrounding area. Any suggestions? Also I don't have my winter gear with me!

cmanz, sorry I didn't respond sooner.

If you can get up to Whitney Portal, hiking up the Main Mt Whitney Trail would be good. There just aren't any trails where you can get good views of Mt Whitney, except on that trail. Just go as far as you feel comfortable.

But of course, that depends on the weather. Check the Weather page (link to the left), and watch. Right now, there is a storm predicted to bring some snow Thursday. If it brings snow down to the Portal and below, there will be snow on the road, so you may need to walk up the road several miles, too.

If you are coming all the way from Maine and have not been here before, you might just want to drive through the Owens Valley to Bishop, enjoying the great views of the Sierra. A side trip over to Death Valley in December is a great trip, too.

Let me add, ignore the road closure sign and go as far on the road as you feel safe. Usually, we get as far as the Meysan Lake Trailhead Parking area. This is where the snow starts in earnest most years. This will level you a mile walk to the trailhead.

Hi Cmanz,
Another option would be White Mountain Peak. It is up by Bishop, and east of Hwy 395, so "should" be less snow. This is an easy class 1 hike. ~ 14 miles round-trip from parking to peak. Peak is over 14K, and is known as "easiest" of the 14K peaks in CA. Only difficulty is related to altitude. No views of Mt. Whitney.

John, White Mountain is a great place to go in summer. But now, I am sure the gate is closed on the road just past the 10,000' Sierra Overlook, which is about 15 miles from the White Mountain parking lot. And with any snowfall from tomorrow's storm, the road between Westgard Pass on Hwy 168 and the Sierra Overlook gate might have snow, since it is not cleared in winter.

If he is really itching for a hike, Telescope Peak in Death Valley might be good this time of year.

Once you come around the corner below Carrilon Creek and head to the North Fork junction, that's the last view of Whitney you get until you are on the switchers above Trail Camp.

Weather is also questionable this coming weekend, so Whitney may be in and out of the clouds, or socked in (hoping the latter since it was pretty disappointing to drive north from Ridgecrest yesterday afternoon and see absolutely no snow in the entire southern Sierra).

I might suggest investigating some of the dirt roads east of Lone Pine that head towards the Inyo Mountains. That way, you've got at least a big road to walk on and reference if the weather does get icky, and you are looking back at the crest the entire time (no obstructions), in case the mountains do indeed come out of the clouds.

Maybe start here: http://www.trails.com/activity.aspx?area=15477

Have fun!

-L

Echoing Laura's suggestion for the mountains east of Lone Pine:

http://www.californiadesert.gov/additional.php?more=inymou&act=hi

You won't see many people on those trails, but perhaps good views to the west toward Mt. Whitney. Most of those trail are pretty steep; so a good workout. Take plenty of water.