I'm planning a summer trip along the High Sierra Trail, which starts in SEKI and finishes at Mt. Whitney. I've been sifting through the Whitney permit rules, and in some parts it seems to say that I need a permit for exiting to the Whitney Portal, and in some places it says starting my trip in another park makes that permit valid for finishing on Mt. Whitney.

Does anyone know whether starting a trip in Sequoia/Kings Canyon will require a permit to summit Mt. Whitney?

Thanks!

Your SEKI permit covers a Whitney Portal exit. From the Inyo Nat'l Forest permit page:

If your trip begins in another forest, Yosemite, Sequoia or Kings Canyon National Parks, then Inyo National Forest will accept the permit issued by the agency where your trip begins.

ozarkmac wrote:Your SEKI permit covers a Whitney Portal exit. From the Inyo Nat'l Forest permit page:

If your trip begins in another forest, Yosemite, Sequoia or Kings Canyon National Parks, then Inyo National Forest will accept the permit issued by the agency where your trip begins.

I concur. BTW, exiting via Whitney is superior to entering via Whitney (Mountaineers Route would be an exception). Safe travels!

I made a trip to Mt. Whitney from the west last September, encountering rangers twice: once near the Rock Creek RS and again near the Crabtree Meadows RS. Although I had a permit to 'visit' the summit of Whitney (which cost extra, as I recollect) neither ranger asked me any specific questions about my itinerary. In fact, the ranger at Crabtree didn't even bother to read my permit, he was satisfied to see I could produce a white piece of paper out of my pocket. If you have a permit of some sort you should be good.