In July of 1864, a California State Geological Survey led by William H. Brewer, indcluding Charles F. Hoffmann, James T. Gardiner, and Clarence King, named the culminating peak of the Sierras “Mount Whitney.” Named forJosiah Whitney, who was the State Geologist of California and benefactor of the survey.
With an elevation of 14,505 feet Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States, and is the boundary between Inyo and Tulare counties.
On this day, July 3rd, 1926, Sequoia National Park was expanded to include Kern Canyon and the West slope of Mount Whitney. The summit is the southern terminus of the John Muir Trail, while the eastern slope is in the Inyo National Forest in Inyo County.
In 1996 Congress authorized national forests through the Federal Lands Recreation Act (REA) to enact recreation fees that would generate revenue which would be funneled directly into forest maintenance plans. As the federal budget has continued to hack and slash at service for America (yet, oddly continues to provide billions in aid to people who don’t like us) the U.S. Forest Service has been sorely pressed to come up with funding to make investments to infrastructure and do necessary repairs – especially to those forests that butt up against urban areas and which see heavy traffic.
