Mt. Whitney Trail Length

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RJansen77
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Re: Mt. Whitney Trail Length

Post by RJansen77 »

peter303 wrote:
Tory Wells wrote:The extra 2+ miles comes in the form of 8 billion switchbacks....and no, I'm not exaggerating. :mrgreen:.
This map shows 97:
http://lwp.smugmug.com/Other/Mount-Whit ... BXWf-O.jpg
I've done them six times, but didnt count.
This map is only of the section from Trail Camp to Trail Crest, which is famous for the "97 switchbacks" or 99, or however many, it feels like a lot.

climbing_rob is correct, the number of switchbacks on the whole route is closer to 8 billion...
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mts4602
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Lottery confirmation email??

Post by mts4602 »

Thanks for clearing that up!!

I submitted for the lottery yesterday but I never received a confirmation email from recreation.gov saying that I have submitted and that my card would charged for the 6 dollar fee. Should I have gotten any email? I am worried I didn't go through.
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nyker
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Re: Mt. Whitney Trail Length

Post by nyker »

Ahh, the switchbacks! Yes, plenty of more not shown on that map, in the first 20 feet of the hike from the parking lot you are already switchbacking!

Here is my report from this past September:
http://14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.ph ... size=large" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
pw
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Re: Mt. Whitney Trail Length

Post by pw »

mts4602 wrote:I know the Mt Whitney Trail is 11 miles one way and I don't doubt that, but I can't figure out how it adds up to 11. I am looking at a national geographic map of the area and at least according to what I see from whitney portal to the summit is 8.8 miles. I could see if you hiked from Lone pine that adds. At least another 2.3, but I don't think that's it. What am I missing???

Matt
I can give you a little help on the trail length - it is endless. Well, it feels that way on the way down, I remember being able to see the cars in the parking lot when I was pretty beat, and then taking two more hours to get to the parking lot. I remember the trail distance as being 10.5 miles, 6,300 vertical feet. The missing distance, as others have said, is those 8 billion switch backs, although I'd have to say I think 8 billion is an exaggeration.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pwahl/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Tory Wells
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Re: Mt. Whitney Trail Length

Post by Tory Wells »

pw wrote:...although I'd have to say I think 8 billion is an exaggeration.
No way, I was being super cereal.
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spiderman
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Re: Mt. Whitney Trail Length

Post by spiderman »

The trail is indeed approximately 11 miles. You can save about a little bit if you take the old trail from the campground. Much more enjoyable route than the ridiculous switchback that they added. The hike goes by fast and you can be at the peak in 6 hours if you are in reasonable condition and acclimization. Coming down though always seems like it takes as long as going up since the trail is not very steep and you get a wee bit tired by the end of the day. IMHO, bring microspikes and an ice ax just in-case unless you have fresh beta that says otherwise. If you have an ice ax, the conditions are good, and are comfortable with self arrest there is a slide that bypasses most of the 99 switchbacks on the decent. Keep in mind though that people who did not follow those three rules have died on the glissade.

I did a day hike of Whitney a couple years ago with my 8-year old son. He enjoyed going up the Mountaineer's trail but got bored coming down the regular trail. We left the TH at dawn and returned back to catch the last photons of daylight.

http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthread ... _Trailhead
Steve C
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Re: Mt. Whitney Trail Length

Post by Steve C »

Here is a thread with pictures of the old, hard to find, and no longer maintained Whitney Mileage Markers:
Photos: Whitney mileage markers

And here's a treat: Click on the image to see the thread, Photo of the 97 switchbacks at night

Image
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14erFred
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Re: Lottery confirmation email??

Post by 14erFred »

mts4602 wrote:I submitted for the lottery yesterday but I never received a confirmation email from recreation.gov saying that I have submitted and that my card would charged for the 6 dollar fee. Should I have gotten any email? I am worried I didn't go through.
My recollection is that I heard nothing at all until receiving official notification that my permit request was granted.
"Live as on a mountain." -- Marcus Aurelius
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jf32
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Re: Lottery confirmation email??

Post by jf32 »

mts4602 wrote:Thanks for clearing that up!!

I submitted for the lottery yesterday but I never received a confirmation email from recreation.gov saying that I have submitted and that my card would charged for the 6 dollar fee. Should I have gotten any email? I am worried I didn't go through.

Having submitted a few permit applications myself I became quite familiar with the rules. The lottery application period ends March 15th. Between March 15th and April 1st they decide the winners and announce them via email. After April 1st you can apply for any and all unfilled times (not likely to be any).
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