The summit is more than 11 miles and 6,500-feet of elevation gain one way from the Whitney Portal. It makes its way up the classic 99 switchbacks to Trail Crest then follows the spine of the Sierra, the southside of the Mt. The trail climbs steep and quick from the Portal then meanders past turquoise, glacier-fed lake,s and lush meadows that pop with wildflowers before breaching above the tree line. A small pond at the Portal is over-flowing with fish, and there are picnic tables as well as small trails to fit every size. The Whitney Portal store is home of the plate-size pancake, burgers, and is a good place to get beta about trail conditions. There is camping and parking, but the spots go quick in the summer. The trailhead starts at the Whitney Portal. It’s so popular the Forest Service holds an annual lottery for coveted camping and hiking permits. The Mount Whitney Trail is one of the most popular trails on the planet. Local Paiute Indians call the peak, Tumanguya, or “the very old man.” Locally the peak was known as Fisherman Peak but the California Geological Society named the peak after Josiah Whitney, the State Geologist. Local fishermen, Charley Begole, Johnny Lucas, and Al Johnson were the first white guys to reach the summit on August 18, 1873. The Whitney Portal Road was built in the 1930s. “So I went to bed and covered up my head, like a kid, till the storm passed over. A storm hit the summit and Marsh quickly warned his crew to take cover under the rocks, but instead they hightailed it down the trail as fast as they could run. One of the most epic tales of that summer in 1905 was born from a thunderstorm. The corrugated roof acted as a lighting rod. The hut was permanently locked in the 1990s after one person was electrocuted and several others suffered burns when the party ducked into the hut to get out of a rainstorm and was struck by lightning. The iconic hut still stands on the summit. Army.įive years later, Marsh spent 47 days on the summit with a dwindling crew to build the stone summit hut for the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory to look for water on Mars and nocturnal radiation. Charles Young, one of only three black officers in the U.S.
The 9th Cavalry was under the direction of Capt. Buffalo Soldiers, the 9th Cavalry, Troops I and M, started the trail coming from the west side where they were also building a trail to the summit. Marsh finished the final few, incredibly rugged miles to summit - construction which the US Cavalry had abandoned during the harsh winter of 1903. The town and Marsh, an immigrant from England, knew the 12-mile trail would bring the tourists and the Sierra Clubbers to climb and gaze at the gothic peak. The tiny town had scraped together $1,750, with bake sales and fundraisers, for the construction of the pathway. The trail has seen millions of boots since July 1904, when engineer Gustave Marsh lit a signal light from the summit, letting the people of Lone Pine know the trail was finished. Weighed down by over-stuffed packs and 5-pound boots they trudge up thousands of feet of rock and sand to reach the coveted 14,505-foot summit, the highest point in the contiguous United States. Every year, thousands of hikers and climbers beat down the Mount Whitney Trail.
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