Mt Whitney Zone
Posted By: trident777 How to leave stuff at Trail camp - 07/03/15 01:48 AM
I am guessing MOST people are leaving their gear at Trail camp when attempting the summit so are there particular tips to pack/leave gear so that:

1) It will not be stolen (unlikely I think but who knows!)
2) It will not be swept away by wind

What I plan to leave at Trail camp:
My daypack with - bear canister, any remaining food, my backpack, tent, sleeping bag and a few other odds and ends...

For 2) I am planning to pack down everything, i.e. pack my tent and just leave my big backpack adjacent to a stone and weigh it down with something. Then I will just carry my 22L daypack to the summit.

Posted By: wbtravis Re: How to leave stuff at Trail camp - 07/03/15 01:47 PM
Cretins are cretins but there are very few reports of stolen gear from Trail Camp. If that a concern camp back by Consultation Lake or find a secluded camp site in the Trail Camp area.

A concern should be wind. You can have extremely high winds in the Sierra. If they are in the forecast or you experienced them the previous night, batten down the hatches. Guy out your tent and put rocks inside.

I have seen tents uprooted and blown to hell at Outpost Camp...it ain't a pretty sight.
Posted By: GandC Re: How to leave stuff at Trail camp - 07/04/15 07:56 PM
I've only left the bulk of my gear at TC a few times, and I've never packed it up before I left. I've always left my tent pitched and open (for marmot purposes), and my bear bin a little ways away. And each time I've done it, I've gotten back to TC wishing I'd done what you did and packed it all up before I left so I wasn't stuck doing it once I was already tired from the days hike.

If your gear is all packed up, I wouldn't be too worried about wind carrying it away. And if you're worried about someone taking it, there's plenty of places you could stash it so it isn't easily seen by the masses. I usually mark my stashes along trails with a GPS, so I know exactly where I left it when I get back.
Posted By: Andrewzuber Re: How to leave stuff at Trail camp - 07/07/15 01:13 AM
We left our stuff at TC, leaving the tents open (as mentioned above) in case any curious critters came by. I did see a few running off with an entire bag of freeze dried food from a nearby campsite so we made sure everything was buttoned up tight in the bear canisters. Unless you're looking to make a quick exit after summiting I wouldn't think breaking your camp down is necessary.

Not much wind to speak of during our stay so we really lucked out there, but we left our packs in the tents to add some weight.

I kept any valuables with me in my day pack so I wasn't too worried about any theft.
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