Hi!

I will be in the Lone Pine area in 2 weeks from now (November 20th-21st) and although I know it might be too early to know what the weather conditions will be like, I'd love to have your thoughts on this.
Me and a friend wanted to stop by the Alabama Hills on our way to Death valley and being so close to Mount Whitney, I thought it would be nice to just get a taste of it.
Now, I see that the hike to Lone Pine Lake is only 5-6 miles return.
Do you know if it would be possible to hike it (would there be snow on the way at this altitude and time of the year?)
How long does the return hike take for a fit person used to hiking?

Would appreciate any feedback!
Thanks!

Helene.

Lone Pine Lake is about 1,800' above the parking lot at Whitney Portal, and you have the milage. How long that will take you and your friend depends upon many factors, but for myself, I generally hike at a moderate rate of 1,000' per hour. The trail to LPL is broad with a moderate grade.

As to weather conditions - that's tough to predict. Right now we're having a week of unusually warm weather, but that's going to end tomorrow, and there's a small storm which may reach as far south as Whitney. There's a forecast for 3-6" of snow in the town of Mammoth, which is north of Lone Pine but approx. the same elevation as the Portal. It would be prudent to expect at least some snow on the trail. Also keep in mind there may be some snow on the road, which may or may not be plowed.

Watch this bulletin board and this one http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/forum between now and your trip - between the two it will probably give you a good idea what to expect when you arrive.

Have a great trip.

helene, do you have hiking plans in Death Valley, or just visiting? There are some very nice hikes in the park, and that time of year the temps are pretty moderate.

Thanks a lot for these answers.
Yes I guess the best for me is to stay updated on the weather conditions. Hopefully, we will make our way to the lake without any problems.

As for Death Valley, yes I would like to do some hiking there as well. We will be there for 2 full days (no camping planned). Any recommendations?

Helene.

Hi Helene,
My son and I did the LPL hike in mid November two years ago....ostensibly to go fishing. There were a few patches of snow on the trail. When we got to the lake, it had about 6 inches of ice already. So it was great for slip sliding around.

I loved the hike. It had a great late fall feel atmosphere. Nice and cool, but not cold. Of course, one storm can change all of that.

Helene, if the higher elevations of Death Valley are clear of snow, you'd probably enjoy hikes to Wildrose Peak (9000 ft) or Telescope Peak (11,000 ft). Other nice hikes in the park include the Keane Wonder Mine/Chloride City trail, Golden Canyon, Desolation Canyon, Fall Canyon, Ubehebe Crater and Corkscrew Peak. I've done all but Corkscrew - its highly recommended by several people I know who have done it, and is on my to-do list when I'm out there in February.

If the temps are below 90 at Badwater Basin (likely in late Nov), it's a real treat to hike across the salt flats and back - there's something special about doing that, just knowing such an attempt is an almost automatic death sentence April-September when the temps are in the 120s, or even 130s. The other months of the year it's an easy 4-hour stroll in some utterly fantastic landscape (especially with Telescope Peak towering 11,000 feet above you).

The best thing you can do is to go to the NWS and enter Lone Pine, CA then move the little block in the map to about 10,000'. This will give the temperature and forecast for LPL.   Or click here:  10 Miles W of Lone Pine, CA

As someone who has hiked this trail a lot in November, the chance of reaching the lake are good but there is a chance you will run into a bunch of snow. The good news is it will compacted snow since this trail is used a lot all year, unless it just snowed.

It would be best to have a some sort of traction device with you just in case. You will need something to cross the log crossing, if there is ice...I've only crossed these things with snowshoes when there has been snow about or just boots when there was nada.

A warning re the first major winter storm was posted by dmatt.