It sounds long but is very doable with the proper training. Your chances for getting a permit on the day hike are also generally the best. There’s also a great sense of accomplishment in hiking Mt Whitney in a day. It’ll take you somewhere between 12-16 hours, and you’ll probably leave before dawn.
The difficulty is due to the high demand for reservations. (and even if you have no intention of going to the top, you will still need a permit for day hiking or overnighting on Mt Whitney).
Whitney and the Whitney Portal area, like most of the Sierras are home to many Black Bears and a lot of Black Bear activity.
Whitney Permit: You must pick up your Mount Whitney permit in person at the Eastern Sierra Interagency Visitor Center which is open daily from 8:30am-4:30pm. Only the group leader or alternate group leader can pick up the permit, and other group members don’t need to be present.
You should expect to need crampons and an ice axe. Based on the record current snowpack in that area right now the section of the trail known as the “switchbacks” will just be an approximately 45+ degree snow and ice slog. The switchbacks themselves will be covered and useless.
You do need a permit to hike up Whitney and any nearby mountain in the summer. If you don’t have a permit, rangers will cite you and turn you back.
Most people will drink between 5-7 liters of water while hiking Mt. Whitney. DO NOT carry all of that at one time! Only hike with about 2-3 liters of water, then filter.
Mount Whitney Trail | |
---|---|
Length | 11 mi (18 km) |
Location | Inyo National Forest, Inyo County, California, USA |
Trailheads | Whitney Portal |
Use | Hiking |
Urine: Urinate on bare ground or rocks (not plants), and stay at least 100 feet from water or campsites. It is okay to urinate inside the pack-out kits.
Verizon is great but not in the portal area. You will have to drive out to the hairpin turn in the Portal Road before service is acquired. At the summit we were able to connect with family and friends.
Snow is one of the most spectacular features in the Sierra Nevada (the second snowiest mountain range on the continent) but due to the fact that Mt Whitney resides in the southern portion of the Sierra Nevada, it does not get nearly the amount of snow pack that the Palisade or Mammoth Lakes region do.
People who have reserved permits can call up to 14 days in advance to have their permit emailed or printed and left in a drop box at the selected visitor center. The remaining “walk up” permits will be reserved through www.recreation.gov starting up to 14 days in advance of the date of a wilderness trip.
How far can you drive up Mt Whitney? This route is paved but narrow, steep and winding with dramatic switchbacks. The road ends at 2.557m (8,389ft) above the sea level at Whitney Portal. … The road to the summit was built in 1936 by Civilian Conservation Corps.
4,421 m
Supplementary Oxygen is usually used at very high altitude, like above 8,000 meters (26,247 feet) in the Himalayas. It will do nothing for you on Mt. Whitney except waste your money. The fastest cure for altitude sickness is to quickly go to a much lower altitude.
I’d say Whitney is the more difficult of the two. It’s just higher and longer. If you consider Whitney 10/10 and you did half dome all the way I’d put Half Dome at 6/10 with Whitney. The altitude makes a huge difference.
Whitney, you are going to likely need a place to stay before your hike. There are two chain hotels in Lone Pine (The town closest to Mt. Whitney), a Best Western and a Comfort Inn. We stayed at the Best Western our first night before heading to our campsite at the Whitney Portal.
It’s very possible to climb Mount Whitney solo, and many hikers prefer it.
Mount Whitney is not a volcano like most of its neighbors in California. Most of the mountain is made up of mostly granite, a type of igneous rock…
A 7-mile hike can become a long hike for both beginner and experienced hikers, depending on the terrain and the elevation gain. Knowing the amount of time you take on hikes is vital to handle the shifting weather and trail conditions. Make sure to pack only the essentials to avoid weighing yourself down.
Rating | Distance OR | Elevation Gain and Loss (cumulative is double) |
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Hard | 8 to 12 miles | More than 3,000 feet |
Hiking is a powerful cardio workout that can: Lower your risk of heart disease. Improve your blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Boost bone density, since walking is a weight-bearing exercise.
Running can be a good way to prepare you for hiking. It can be a good addition into your training program. … And so, if you can go out and run for 15, 20, 30, 40 minutes or multiple hours or whatever it may be, this can be a really good way of developing aerobic fitness.
Hiker legs (also known as “trail legs”) are earned from repeated days of backpacking over an extended period of time (say, three to four months).
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