Dingus Milktoast wrote:

Day Hiker wrote:The plan is to fly in to Vegas Day 1, hit Boundary in NV on Day 2, Half Dome Day 3, Whitney Day 4, then fly back out on Day 5.

Days 2,3 and 4 all include ALL DAY hikes/climbs. All day. The driving time from Boundary Pk to Half Dome is at least 3 hours. Don't kid yourselves, the speed limit in Yosemite is 45 mph and you have to do 60 miles on that road, TWICE. You won't average 45 mph either. More like 30.

From Half Dome to Whitney Portal is about what, 4 hours driving time if the highway gods favor you. This is AFTER doing Half Dome mind you. Now your COULD drive on up to Mosquito Flats, but you know car camping there is illegal I think, though plenty of us have bagged some sleep there over the years.

I actually see no harm in it if you want to do it. But after doing HD and Boundary I am guessing you are going to be really hammered and questioning the whole Whitney bit anyway.

I still say sleep low. You have so much driving time on top of long says in the mountains! This is a big agenda you have... question: if you had to give up one of your objectives which one would it be?

I'm guessing the high points are of interest to you?

DMT

gwave47 wrote that, not me.

Good catches by DMT and 1000peaks. Yes, the driving schedule is insane.

MoapaPk wrote:Good catches by DMT and 1000peaks. Yes, the driving schedule is insane.

That was my first thought.

I'd blow off Yosemite and stay on the eastside with those time constraints.

But if that's your plan, you might consider staying in the Tioga Pass/Saddlebag Lake area while traveling from Yosemite to Whitney. It's over 9,000', would make for a shorter drive after Half Dome, no long side trips to get up high and most of the curvy roads would be behind you. The downside would be the longer drive to Whitney Portal in the morning.

Catamount wrote:Also remember (if you plan on an overnight start) that you still have to figure in actually securing your permit from the Eastern Sierra InterAgency Visitor Center, which closes at 5:00 PM I believe (and IIRC, for day permits, you had to pick it up much earlier than 5 to keep them from giving it to walk-ins). Kinda silly, I know, but if you get a spot in the lottery, they don't actually send you the permit, but instead paperwork saying that they will have a permit waiting for you ...

Good point. The website says the deadline is even more stupid -- 12:00 on the day prior for Mount Whitney Zone dayhikes: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/inyo/recreation/wild/howto.shtml#deadline

Maybe they still let people pick up permits with the overnight drop-box, but the website isn't clear about that.

Clydascope wrote:I'd blow off Yosemite and stay on the eastside with those time constraints.

It would save a lot of driving. Yosemite is slow. And you might need to pick up the (dumbass) permit in Lone Pine the day before anyway. It's actually not too bad of a drive to go directly from Boundary to Whitney.

Here are some mileages:

I forgot if you mentioned which trailhead you are using, but it is about 280 miles from LAS to the Queen Canyon Road. I could tell you how long it takes me to drive that, but just plan on over 4 hours if you want to go the speed limit instead. In 2005, in a passenger car, it was less than 20 minutes to drive the 6.0 miles up the Queen Canyon Road to the parking area at around 9030 feet. A 4WD road takes you another mile to the saddle 750 feet higher, but I don't know if you will be renting that kind of vehicle. So figure 5 hours from LAS to the Boundary trailhead, including a stop for gas in Beatty.

Heading to Lone Pine, it's 20 minutes for the 6 miles down the Queen Canyon Road again, then it's 101 miles from that road to the Whitney Portal Road in Lone Pine, which should take no more than 2 hours, including 25-mph slow-downs through the cities. You will need to add additional time and a couple of miles to pick up the permit in Lone Pine. Then it's easily under 20 minutes to do the 12 miles from Lone Pine to Whitney Portal. So that's about 3 hours from the Boundary trailhead to Whitney Portal, including a stop for gas and picking up the permit.

Of course, even a 30-minute drive can become a big deal if it's dark and you're tired from hiking all day. I will risk being Mom and Dad here and say pull over and sleep before you start nodding off, regardless of how badly you want to get to your destination. It's not just your life that is at stake on those high-speed two-lane roads.

Catamount wrote:Also remember (if you plan on an overnight start) that you still have to figure in actually securing your permit from the Eastern Sierra InterAgency Visitor Center, which closes at 5:00 PM I believe (and IIRC, for day permits, you had to pick it up much earlier than 5 to keep them from giving it to walk-ins).

Okay, so I knew that they wouldn't mail me the permit and I would have to pick it up.... but somewhere in all the excitement of wanting to do this, that, and the other while I'm there, I freaking forgot all about when I would actually pick it up, that definitely throws a wrench in this itinerary. So now I will either need to cut Half Dome, or add extra days. Thanks Catamount for bringing this to mind. Would suck to have Whitney be my main objective and get so caught up in a schedule that I forget to pick up the permit in time, and it already be given to someone else.

Whitney and Boundary are definites, they are my prime objective. Half Dome would be nice, but then again the misses wants to do it too, but can't right now, so I know i'll be back later for it. The misses is not interested in Whitney though, so now is the best time to go for it.

Also waiting to hear about Gannett and Granite, before I finalize. Trying to hook up with a group now to try either of them, if that happens then the whole schedule will change, it'll become a two week trip and I'll be driving from S. Car. instead of flying into Vegas.

Can a honda civic make it to the mine on Boundary?

gwave47 wrote:

Catamount wrote:Also remember (if you plan on an overnight start) that you still have to figure in actually securing your permit from the Eastern Sierra InterAgency Visitor Center, which closes at 5:00 PM I believe (and IIRC, for day permits, you had to pick it up much earlier than 5 to keep them from giving it to walk-ins).

Okay, so I knew that they wouldn't mail me the permit and I would have to pick it up.... but somewhere in all the excitement of wanting to do this, that, and the other while I'm there, I freaking forgot all about when I would actually pick it up, that definitely throws a wrench in this itinerary. So now I will either need to cut Half Dome, or add extra days. Thanks Catamount for bringing this to mind. Would suck to have Whitney be my main objective and get so caught up in a schedule that I forget to pick up the permit in time, and it already be given to someone else.

Call the Forest Service in Lone Pine to check. They used to let people pick up permits with the overnight drop-box. If they don't allow that anymore, I don't know what they expect people to do. It's ridiculous to make people spend 2 days there just to do a one-day hike.

gwave47 wrote:Can a honda civic make it to the mine on Boundary?

In June 2005, yes. I went up there in something similar, just rear-wheel drive. But of course my road information is 5 years old.

You can call the Whitney Visitor's Center and tell them you want a night drop..the permit will then be in a box out by the highway.

I was at Boundy a few months ago and the road wasn't to bad..the last mile or so to the mine area is a little steep..but you can probably make it in 2wd. Definitley not beyond that though.

gwave47 wrote:Well my schedule is really flexible. I'm really just going to put in for any weekday in June, July, or August and take what I get. Yep, I printed out and filled out the lottery for a couple weeks ago, just waiting for Feb. 1 to roll around to mail it in.

You can dayhike (/climb) Whitney any time of the year. But if you are looking to do it as a reasonably quick dayhike on a snow-free trail, you might want to avoid early June. Someone else can hopefully confirm this. It will depend on the snow season, of course.

OK, originally you talked about sleeping in an SUV, now you are talking about a Honda Civic. Will you be looking for tent sites? Will several people be trying to get good sleep in the seats of the Civic?

I'm not sure where Day Hiker is routing you for his calculations; but if you drive from Boundary then S on rte 168 through Oasis, and over Westgard Pass, be wary that the road is very curvy and slow in some places, with cattle and coyotes just wandering across the road at times. It isn't a good place to drive at night, for the first time.

If you are tired after Boundary, consider camping at Grandview, on the road to White Mt.; the road is just after Westgard Pass, and puts you closer to Lone Pine.

Ill throw in my 2 cents worth too I guess. As metioned earlier, everybody responds differently to altitude, so dont take what any of us say as too seriously.

for myself, I have camped the night before at the campground at the top of Horseshoe Meadows road before a big dayhike of local peaks and it has helped me out. I've also done the sleep low and climb high thing. I've done both enough to realize the sleeping high helps me more. Even if I do have to get up an hour earlier to drive to the trailhead. And I sleep just fine at 10K even though I am not very strong at altitude (until at least a month or more of acclimitaztion!)

However, I would really recommend the skipping Half Dome like others said and doing Whitney as an overnighter. If you have a similar experience on Whitney as you did on Kings Peak, that last 1000-1500 feet of gain could be a real suffer fest. Spening a night out there makes the whole trip more leisurely and you'll feel better in the end.

MoapaPk wrote:I'm not sure where Day Hiker is routing you for his calculations; but if you drive from Boundary then S on rte 168 through Oasis, and over Westgard Pass, be wary that the road is very curvy and slow in some places, with cattle and coyotes just wandering across the road at times. It isn't a good place to drive at night, for the first time.

My description is for the Queen Mine trailhead, which is the one I have been to. Coming from the Queen Canyon Road, you just hang a Louie and take a fast drive down US6 to Bishop and then US395 to Lone Pine, all without any curvy spots or mountain passes.

Even from Trail Canyon, it is likely faster and certainly easier to go counterclockwise around the White Mountains and take NV264 to US6, instead of dealing with CA168 and Westgard Pass, especially at night.

Also, regarding another previous comment, the slow drive from White Mountain trailhead through the Bristlecone Forest to CA168 to Big Pine would mean there is probably no time benefit of substituting White Mountain Peak for Bounary Peak. It's only a couple of hours at most from Boundary to Lone Pine on US6 and US395.

Day Hiker wrote:Also, regarding another previous comment, the slow drive from White Mountain trailhead through the Bristlecone Forest to CA168 to Big Pine would mean there is probably no time benefit of substituting White Mountain Peak for Bounary Peak. It's only a couple of hours at most from Boundary to Lone Pine on US6 and US395.

I'm lost in the quotation ring here. Grandview campground is at ~8500', and is not that far north off rte 168. It is far, far south of the White Mt trailhead, and has a good 2wd road up to the entrance. There are restrooms and nice tent spots, but it is a dry campground. We use Grandview as a place to overnight when we start late in Vegas, and have to pick up permits in Bishop the next day.

If I'm reading the OP correctly, he is most interested in bagging state high points.

MoapaPk wrote:OK, originally you talked about sleeping in an SUV, now you are talking about a Honda Civic. Will you be looking for tent sites? Will several people be trying to get good sleep in the seats of the Civic?

To clarify, the SUV would be a rental. I would fly into Vegas, rent SUV, but only if I'm staying in CA and NV. I would have pretty much no gear, just sleep in the back of the SUV and maybe a motel or two.

If I end up adding in Rainier, Gannet, Granite, Longs Peak, and of the other things I want to do right now, I would make it a 2 week trip as opposed to 4 days, and I would drive my personal car, Honda Civic. But I'd be bringing all my gear, tent, etc. So I could camp and not sleep in my car.

I get more for my money driving out, but puts 7k wear on my car, and uses more days leave. Flying saves me 4 days leave driving time, and saves my car, but costs more money so I couldn't do as much. The civic is tough though so I believe it'd be up for the challenge. Bought it brand new August of 07 and already have put 75k miles on it. Road trip to upstate Maine, Road trip to AZ,NM,UT, WY, Co loop, Road trip to SD, ND, OK loop, and the most recent was a loop to MT, WY, ID, UT, CO, TX. Keep in mind it's all coming from SC. But i still have 2.5 years left of payments on it, and would like to be paying on a car that still runs.

MoapaPk wrote:

Day Hiker wrote:Also, regarding another previous comment, the slow drive from White Mountain trailhead through the Bristlecone Forest to CA168 to Big Pine would mean there is probably no time benefit of substituting White Mountain Peak for Bounary Peak. It's only a couple of hours at most from Boundary to Lone Pine on US6 and US395.

I'm lost in the quotation ring here. Grandview campground is at ~8500', and is not that far north off rte 168. It is far, far south of the White Mt trailhead, and has a good 2wd road up to the entrance. There are restrooms and nice tent spots, but it is a dry campground. We use Grandview as a place to overnight when we start late in Vegas, and have to pick up permits in Bishop the next day.

If I'm reading the OP correctly, he is most interested in bagging state high points.

I was referring to this quote:

Palisades79 wrote:I think you are going to spend way too much time in the car. I'd save Boundary and Half Dome for another trip and instead climb White Mountain and Whitney.

I didn't see the point of trading Boundary for White Mountain Peak. Skipping Half Dome, the drive would be White Mountain trailhead to Lone Pine versus Boundary Peak trailhead to Lone Pine, which would likely save little if any drive time. It might even take longer, but I haven't verified that. (This point is separate but in addition to the fact that the OP is more interested in state highpoints anyway.)