Mt Whitney Zone Forums Trip Reports 7/30/14 Failed Attempt

1st timer on Whitney, storm had us a bit uneasy when we showed up Monday 7/28 but things just went downhill from there. So we camped out Monday and Tuesday at the family campground. Had a great time despite wet conditions. Fast forward to Wednesday morning. We had all our bags packed and were ready to climb whitney. The trailhead was a mile from our campsite so we were going to drive over. I was loading all the bags in the car while my friend used the bathroom. My car is keyless ignition so it only requires that the key be anywhere in the car to drive. I was trying to be smart and put my key in my bag so I wouldn't drop it on the trail. As I'm loading the car, the trunk lid hits my bag right where the key is and locks the doors. This is really hard to do cause my car won't allow you to lock the keys in. So we're locked out in pretty much the middle of nowhere. And it's raining. We're cold and have no cell service. I feel terrible. I got someone to help with a hanger to try and get the door opened. No luck after 2 hrs. Then we remembered my friend has AAA. We call them and 40 min later they show up. AAA can't get in either. This car is just too smart! I call my dealer since I have roadside assistance. Dealer says "OK, I'll call AAA for you, free of charge". I say, "well I'm sitting in a AAA truck and he can't get in". Dealer says, well the only other option is to be towed to the nearest dealership 240 miles away! Ummm...so for whatever reason the AAA guy thinks to call his friend who shows up in a beat up truck wearing a stained white tee and basketball shorts. "Don't worry, this guy gets into Lexus' all the time. " Ya rite I'm thinking. Anyway, he finally gets in. So 4+ hrs later our spirits are broken. It's cold and snowing at the top of the mountain. We decide it happened for a reason and was probably for the best. Otherwise we likely would've been miserable on the mountain. Not to mention we were not really prepared for the wet conditions. Try again next year.

Lesson to all, be smart and keep a spare key somewhere on the vehicle, especially when camping.

It's the mountain, markK. It can beat you up before you even hit the trail head.

Sorry to hear about your troubles, but the mountain will be there next year. Plenty of time to think about how to avoid key problems between now and then!

Oh.My.Goodness, MarkK!!! At first I was thinking maybe a bear snuck up and ran away with your pack. But locking it in the trunk is maybe worse. What a heck of a story.

Makes my broken lighter with no backup matches story pretty lightweight.

So I wonder who the Lexus break-in expert in Lone Pine is.

Incredible story. Thanks for sharing it. The mountain will be there next year!

My number one old dude hiking buddy always lectures us before each trip to be sure to carry a spare key! (he has plenty of self induced break-in stories to last a trip)

Thanks all for the encouraging words. It's tough to prepare for something like whitney and have a locked car prevent you from doing it. But if there's one thing I learned from reading this board, it's that patience is key.

What, you think you are the first bozo to lock your key in your trunk at the Portal? I did that over 20 years ago. Didn't lock the car door, but it was a rental and it took an hour (mostly spent at the portal store commiserating with someone else who was locked out) to figure out the trunk release was in the glove box.

I'm pretty sure the bears do it while you are tending to your food.