I called the County Sheriff department and asked whether I could drive all the way up Whitney Portal road for a reservation at the Portal campground. I was told that the all campgrounds were open, so the road should be open, and to check with Inyo Parks & Rec (?!) to confirm.
So I called Parks & Rec and asked whether the road was open all the way to the Portal since the campground was open. The person said "I don't see why not", but said that I should check with the Forest Service.
Calling Inyo Forest Service went as expected (no one picked up), so I tried my luck and called the Inyo Sheriff again. A different person picked up this time and told me to contact the Inyo Roads department since they were the ones in charge of opening that gate. The Roads Department told me that "the gate won't be opening any time soon" and to contact the Forest Service. I was given two numbers, 760-876-6222 and 760-876-6200.
I think this is what most people are so frustrated about. None of the authorities seem to know who is in charge of what or who is making the decisions. The only information they give is to contact someone else, who then tells you to contact someone else, and on and on. Good on you for actually attempting to navigate the labyrinth, but obviously still no real answers. I will concede that complaining on a message board doesn't really help solve the problem, but it's cathartic!
