[pct-l] RE: Whitney Questions

[mardav@xxxxxxxxxxx (Marion Davison)]

I have been to the summit of Whitney four times, always going up from
Guitar Lake.  Quite near the junction of the trail with the side trail that
goes north to  the summit, there is a wide spot where many people ditch
their packs for the hike up to the summit.  You are leaving it at about
13,000 feet, so bear problems are unlikely (especially since a couple
hundred people will pass by the spot while you are on your summit hike) but
the spot is vulnerable to marmots, if they choose to be pests.  I have also
witnessed a Sierra Club group who left their packs outside their tents at
Guitar Lake and put all their food bags in a pile and covered it with big
rocks to deter the marmots.  PS There is a secret spring, covered by a flat
rock, a  couple dozen yards from the shore of Guitar Lake.  That lake is
one of my five favorite places  on earth.
Marion Davison, "llamalady"

Jon Lovejoy wrote:

> When summitting Whitney from the PCT, what do most thru-hikers do with
> their pack? I've never been more than 100 yards from mine on the trail,
> but read that most folks leave their pack for the final summit. Do you
> bring a daypack?
>
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