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14
June 2006: I've learned from posts on the Whitney
message board that the famous solar toilets at
Outpost Camp and Trail Camp on the Whitney trail are now
closed! Instead, hikers are required to use the infamous
pack-out-your-poop kits. This is an obviously
shortsighted and environmentally unsound policy decision
by the forest service, which hopefully will be reversed.
In the meantime be prepared to pack it out and watch
where you step on the trail! The kits are reported to be
available at the Eastern Sierra Interagency Visitors
Center in Lone Pine (the permit pick-up spot - not sure
if they are included in the permit cost).
03
March 2006: Received the Whitney reservation
confirmation letter and pamphlet.
We were lucky enough to get our
first choice on the lottery application - an overnight
hike starting Sunday September 3. I reserved Whitney
portal campsite #44 for
Friday, September 1 through Monday, September 4.
14
February 2006: Faxed the permit application to the
Whitney Permit Office. The Permit Office will start
processing lottery entries on February 15, and expects
to be completed by April 1.
10 January 2006:
The Whitney permit lottery will accept applications
starting February 1, with the lottery taking place on
February 15. Here's the
proposed application (password protected Word
document, intended for group members only), showing the requested dates. I
requested dates from mid-July through mid-September -
the time frame with the best chance of avoiding bad weather and
snowed-in trail. I'd like to have a weekend either to do
the hike or to acclimate for it, so I requested entry
dates on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays. I favored overnight trips over
day hikes but included both. I favored
Saturdays over Sundays and Sundays over Mondays. I
favored holiday weekends and weekends with a fairly full
moon over other weekends. I ended up
with 60+ possible choices, which hopefully gives us a
good chance to land a permit in the lottery. Let me know
what you think of the date choices. They can be changed
and re-arranged up to the time to submit the application
in early February.
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