Most scenic/interesting approach to mount whitney?

[Mike M.]

Miked:

The cross-country route up Rock Creek and over Crabtree Pass is easy in terms of route finding. There is a good use trail up the Rock Creek drainage to just below Sky Blue Lake, then it's true cross country travel up to the pass. The going is moderate class 2 to the pass. There are tricky cliffs and benches on the NE end of Sky Blue Lake which you can tackle, or you can are easily bypass them by following the drainage to the left of the cliffs and then winding around to the lake directly above the cliffs (Lake 12,125 on my old 15 minute map). Crabtree Pass is on the ridge N of this high lake. The north side of the pass is steep, but looks worse than it is. In fact, there is a trail of sorts that zig zags down from the pass almost to the shore of the highest of the Crabtree Lakes; this "trail" is loose scree and sand, steep but easily navigated with a full pack (I did it four years ago with 12 days food on my back). Route finding through the Crabtree Lakes basin to Crabtree Meadow is easy. The area is spectacular. I like to camp on the bench above the lowest lake, not far from the inlet. Gorgeous sunset views from there.

If you do choose to go up Wallace Creek to complete your almost loop, you will find equally spectacular scenery. Travel is easy up to Tulainyo Lake. Russell-Carillon Pass is steep but not difficult from the north (moderate class 2 boulders), and easy from the south. My recollection is of a long sandy decent to the stream between Upper Boy Scout lake and Clyde Meadow. Route finding should be obvious; care should be taken to avoid the cliffs directly south of the pass and instead follow the long sandy shoulder directly SE of the col. Secor rates this pass 2-3; I don't see that. However, further down Lone Pine Creek, on your way to Whitney Portal, you will need to negotiate a ledge system known as the Ebersbacher Ledges (route finding can be a bit tricky) to avoid nasty underbrush along the creek or you can elect to bushwhack your way through the cottonwood. This is a fun cross country route and avoids almost all of the usual Whitney crowds.

Mike

[miked]

Thanks for your input. I've decided I'd like to do at least one long distance trek next summer, so I'm thinking I will either do the JMT one way, or do the HST (I'd probably hike back to mineral king or back to the starting point at crescent meadows so transportation isn't so diffiicult)

[BSquared]

While it's a bit late to comment further, I'd submit my vote for the JMT (the whole thing). One consideration is altitude adjustment. I did the JMT 7 years ago and by the time we got to Whitney we just loped up, passing the multitudes and barely breathing hard (I admit that we didn't pay too much attention to the altitude partly because we were really cold ). In contrast, I went with a different group a year and a half ago from Road's End via Paradise Valley to the JMT, and thence to Whitney, and I had to bail at Trail Crest; I just couldn't handle the altitude at all (and everybody else in the group was in a hurry, so it made more sense for me to just hop over the crest and go down). So if you are a slow adjuster to high altitude, as I evidently am, there's just no substitute for the altitude training the JMT provides. And frankly, I didn't find any of it "dull," exactly. Some parts were more interesting than others for sure, but "dull?" No.

[diesel]

Appreciate your input Bsquared- it's Good to see some votes for the JMT.

I'm also planning way ahead for the summer of 2011 as well, though I"m just trying to come up with a way to spend 2 weeks or so (flexible) in the Sierra. JMT seems like the best option to me so far. Certainly seems like a great way to approach Whitney for the first time.

[markskor]

Having done the MuIr a few times myself, 2 weeks is not adequate time (at least in my opinion) to do justice to the entire trail. Why rush? Perhaps just an extended fishing trip from Horseshoe Meadows to Onion Valley...would make a truly great 2 week adventure and no rush/ no hiking every day.

You could easily spend a week - HM - Cottonwoods - Soldier - Sky Blue - Crabtree (both) and Guitar. Fish a different lake each night.
Summit and then retrace...over a few passes - head South...BTW, Rae Lakes area is great...a few zero days here and there. Then you can come back here and tell us first hand what "approach" was best.

[Wandering Daisy]

I probably am in the minority, but I do not like the JMT. On Roper's High Route this summer, every time I hit the trail, it was crowded and beat to death. Honestly, I could not wait to get off it. The most scenic and interesting approach would be a mostly off-trail approach. There are many possibilities. So I guess the first question is "are you willing to go off trail and at what level of difficulty".

[quentinc]

Well, as the one who had the audacity to call parts of the JMT boring, I join in that minority! That said, there are parts of the JMT that simply must be seen, like Evolution Basin, Rae Lakes and both sides of Forester.

[diesel]

Appreciate the input. I tend to pack fairly light and average 12-15 miles per day. If I did the JMT, I'd probably allocate 16-17 days. Always open to alternatives in the Sierra around 150-200 miles. Since this would be a solo trip, I wouldn't want to do much off trail - I'm not confident enough in my navigation skills for that at this point.

[Wandering Daisy]

There are also permit issues. If you go in Whitney Portal, you have to do the drawing. A permit for the JMT can be hard to get also. The climb of Mt Whitney is just the last little "bang" of the JMT, sort of a footnote. Now if you really want to do the JMT, you kill two birds with one stone. I guess I never considered the JMT as an "approach" to Mt. Whitney. By the way, I have never hiked the trail route - only have done the East Face, East Buttress and Mountaineers Route. I have taken the trail from Whitney Portal only to go over the pass and continue on a longer trip. Although crowded, Whitney Portal to Trail Crest is quite spectacular.

I am not saying this is the most scenic or interesting - but going in from the west side is pretty and has the advantge of allowing you to acclimate. Two nice routes:

1) High Sierra Trail - Crescent Meadow-Hamilton Lake-Keweah Gap-Kern RIver (with hotsprings!)-Crabtree RS-WHitney-out portal.

2) Cedar Grove-Sphinx trail over Avalanche Pass-Cloud Canyon, Colby trail over Colby Pass - Kern River-base at Gituar Lake, climb Whitney, - over Forester Pass, out via Bubbs Creek or Woods Creek.

A side trip to Wales and Wallace Lakes is highly recommended. There is a use-trail up to Wallace Lake.

A side trip to Arctic Lake is also recommended. It involves easy x-country travel and you cannot get lost - you just go up an obvious canyon.

[BSquared]

I probably am in the minority, but I do not like the JMT. On Roper's High Route this summer, every time I hit the trail, it was crowded and beat to death. Honestly, I could not wait to get off it.

I think it's a matter of perspective. Though I can't speak for Wandering Daisy of course, I think one does Roper's High Route for solitude and challenge, and so of course the JMT, when approached from that perspective, is at best a relief and at worst a bustling echo of the metropolis one wants to leave behind, a highway that separates the good parts of the Route from each other. But from the perspective of one to whom a 200-mile trail in the high mountains is plenty of challenge, and meeting four or five other parties each day is unusual solitude, it can be a pure wilderness experience. But I think to all, the beauty is undeniable. Even from the most crowded parts of the trail—say Happy Isles to Vernal Fall, or the Whitney MT to Whitney Portal—the views, both at your feet and toward the horizon, are simply incredible, and absolutely the equal of anything to be found off-trail, as long as one hasn't seen them a hundred times. And maybe even then...