[pct-l] Trail Crest to Whitney Portal/ Lone Pine

[Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com]

On May 18, 2009, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
> I was wondering why some of the guide books don't mention hiking  
> over Trail
> Crest  to Whitney Portal as a away of getting to Lone Pine?  I  
> checked the
> Data book, Yogi's guide, and even the recent ( and very cool) PCT  
> Atlas and
> none of them mention this option.
>> From what I hear, it is probably the easiest way to get into Lone  
>> Pine while
> bagging Whitney.
>
> Am I missing something here?  How is the trail going from Trail  
> Crest to
> Whitney Portal in Mid June?
I believe it is because a) the trail is bloody steep and b) you need  
a permit.

A better way to Lone Pine is Trail Pass to Horseshoe Meadow. It's a  
long hitchhike but a short trail. It's what I did last year and what  
I plan to do again this year. Doing only 3 days out of KM to resupply  
in Lone Pine is more appealing to me than mailing a ton of food to  
myself that might be stale or unwanted. Gives me a gentler adjustment  
to the bear can, too.

Diane