Tag Archives: Mount Whitney

Activities, Adventures, Hiking - General

Accessing Whitney Portal: How To Make it Work in 2016

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Press Release (USDA) – If you do plan to visit Whitney in the summer of 2016, please pack your patience and carefully plan your trip to avoid the construction delays and the parking problems.

    • Check the construction schedule before you head up to Whitney Portal (Twitter (@mtwhitneyinfo), at the Interagency Visitor Center (760-876-6222), on the web HERE. There may be times when delays and parking are little impacted. There may be periods with 30 minute delays, and two 3-hour delays per day in the peak of construction.
    • Please be prepared that there may not be a parking space available for you.
    • Consider carpooling, being dropped off by friends, or explore local shuttle services.

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Activities, Hiking - General

Whitney Portal Road Reconstruction Planned for 2016

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Significant Impacts to Access, Parking

Press Release (USDA) – The Whitney Portal Road Reconstruction is planned for the 2016 season under a funding request from Inyo County. The road will be re-paved and needs significant repairs for safety. The project begins just west of Lone Pine and ends just east of Whitney Portal.

Whitney Portal is the most popular trailhead on the forest; with hikers applying, by lottery, to ascend the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States. Mt Whitney is also the southern terminus of the John Muir Trail (JMT).

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National Forests

Mount Whitney on this day in history – July 3rd

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

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.

Activities

Ultra runners frustrated by Badwater race’s move away from Death Valley

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

James Rainey has written over at the L.A. Times about the Badwater Ultramarathon move.  From the article:

Athletes lament the relocation of ‘the toughest foot race in the world’ pending a safety review by the National Park Service.

For 27 straight summers, all that stood between runners and completion of the Badwater Ultramarathon was 135 miles of asphalt, a 13,000-foot elevation gain and late July temperatures that soared to 120 degrees and above.
They called it “the toughest foot race in the world.” And not too many people argued.

But this summer, the race from the depths of Death Valley to the shoulders of Mt. Whitney has been moved, while the National Park Service conducts a “safety assessment” of the run and other athletic events. Race organizers have reconfigured one of the marquee competitions in ultra-distance running and moved it to an alternate course that will criss-cross the Owens Valley, dozens of miles to the west. Continue reading →

Goals, National Forests, National Parks

No Mount Whitney This Year…

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Color me disappointed.  Just got the email today:

Lottery Results – Mt Whitney Lottery 2013

Dear Customer,

We are sorry to inform you that your application to Mt Whitney Lottery 2013 was not successful.

Results for Lottery Application # 6-xxxxxxx – Unsuccessful.

All remaining dates for the 2013 season will be available for web reservations beginning on April 1, 2013 through the www.recreation.gov website on a “First Come First Serve” basis. Any canceled space will return to the web calendar at random times. There is no waitlist for canceled space.

Thank you for using www.recreation.gov

Well, there’s always next year; it’s not like the mountain is going anywhere.  John Muir is famously quoted as saying “The mountains are calling and I must go.”  Apparently, for me, the mountains could not be reached for comment.