Mt Whitney Zone
Posted By: Anonymous JUNE TRIP EXPERIENCE??? - 05/18/20 02:27 PM
Trail open but no portal camping, no portal bathrooms, no portal store?
Will the gate be open?
Posted By: 123Zero Re: JUNE TRIP EXPERIENCE??? - 05/18/20 04:35 PM
I just called the Inyo County roads department. They said the gate will likely be closed indefinitely, until the forest service decides to re-open and starts giving out permits again.

I just heard back from a manager at Inyo County. They said that the campground is supposed to be closed until June 30 at earliest.
Posted By: Anonymous Re: JUNE TRIP EXPERIENCE??? - 05/21/20 12:03 AM
So the gate is closed but if you can teleport to the trailhead you can hike and not pee in the bathroom?
Posted By: 123Zero Re: JUNE TRIP EXPERIENCE??? - 05/21/20 03:16 AM
Exactly. For now. And you can summit as long as you don't camp about LBS.

I've been in contact with the NF folks, and they told me yesterday (05/19/20) that today (05/20/20) they were going to have an important meeting where the main topic would be wilderness passes; namely, when and how they would begin issuing them. These are the passes that allow you to camp off trail. The issuance (and non-issuance) of these passes is key, because Inyo County justifies keeping the lower gates to most of the trails locked because no wilderness passes are being issued. I don't know what happened at the meeting today, but if they came to a decision on issuing permits there will probably be a press release soon. The permits will probably not be issued in person; you'll most likely have apply online, and print one out and bring it with you.

[Personal thoughts on quarantine deleted to keep post civil]
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