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MOUNT WHITNEY BACKGROUND INFORMATION
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Many visitors to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are interested in seeing Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the "lower 48" states. However, Mt. Whitney is on the east side of the Great Western Divide, a chain of mountains that runs north/south through the center of Sequoia National Park, "dividing" the watersheds of the Kaweah River to the west and the Kern River to the east. The best place from which to see Mt. Whitney is the Interagency Visitor Center on Highway 395, just south of the town of Lone Pine on the east side of the Sierra. Highway 395 can be reached via Tioga Pass in Yosemite National Park (open summer only), or by going around the southern end of the Sierra from the town of Bakersfield. There are no roads across the Sierra in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.
 
 
0.0 miles oo Trailhead (8,360 feet)
0.85 miles   Enter John Muir Wilderness (permit required beyond)
2.7 miles   Cross Lone Pine Creek. Shortly after crossing, trail forks to Lone Pine Lake on left, right continues towards summit. (9,980 feet)
3.8 miles   Outpost Camp with Thor Peak dominating the view. Use solar latrine. (10,360 feet)
4.3 miles   Mirror Lake (10,640 feet)
4.9 miles   50 yards past Whitebark Stump, a dwarf whitebark pine is the last tree on trail
5.3 miles   Trailside Meadow (11,395 feet)
6.3 miles   Trail Camp, a good place to rest before the grueling 96 switchbacks to Trail Crest. Use solar latrine. (12,039 feet)
8.5 miles   Cross Trail Crest and enter Sequoia National Park. (13,777 feet)
9.0 miles   John Muir Trail joins from the west. Altitude sickness common. (13,480 feet )
9.3 miles   Cutoff to Mount Muir.
10.5 miles   Keeler Needle, just a short climb to the summit from here. (14,003 feet)
11.0 miles   Mt. Whitney summit. No water. Camping permitted. (14, 495 feet)
     
   
Information above provided by www.desertusa.com
 

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