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So 2020 strikes again, Mt Whitney and the areas around it are closing at 5 PM today due to smoke and potential fire risk. The closure is day to day right now, so I am scrambling for a back up plan. Our permit is in 10 days, so hopefully things reopen within a week.

In prep for Mt. Whitney, our party has plans to camp in Cedar Breaks National Monument to next week Sunday through Tuesday. What would be a worthy peak or long death march that is within a 4-6 hour drive of southern Utah to add to our list of back-ups to vote on as a group?

I was thinking Wheeler Peak in Nevada and another is thinking about peaks around Durango.

Albeit a scorcher on the near sea level approach, the upper end is refreshing.
[ Telescope Peak from Shorty's Well ]

@joebartels - That's been on my short list for a while. But I'm not holding my breath that anything in California will be open. Or if it is, I'll be able to breath without an oxygen tank.

I hope the fires die down before your trip. Last time there was a bad fire in Cali, I was in Colorado and it sucked for air quality as well. Utah was horrid and I was on the east side. Even I had a hard time breathing and got pretty sick from all of it. Spent a lot of time in my car, really sick. Two weeks on a smoky road about killed me I think.

Wait and see.

But if Whitney is closed, it seems unlikely western Nevada is going to be better. You'll gain a clearer picture of the conditions in a week. Personally, if Whitney ended up having good air right before, I would want to do that since you've been planning for it.

I nominate Mt Charleston from the North and Trail Canyon as a substitute. [ Charleston Peak from Trail Canyon ]

I thoroughly enjoyed the Rattlesnake Creek - Ashdown Gorge route, doing it both directions would be a good death march
[ Rattlesnake Creek - Ashdown Gorge Trail ]

Jim_H wrote: ↑Sep 07 2020 2:41 pm Wait and see.

But if Whitney is closed, it seems unlikely western Nevada is going to be better. You'll gain a clearer picture of the conditions in a week. Personally, if Whitney ended up having good air right before, I would want to do that since you've been planning for it.

I nominate Mt Charleston from the North and Trail Canyon as a substitute. [ Charleston Peak from Trail Canyon ]

That's on the short list as well. Appears Whitney is shut down due to fire risk and not from smoke from the current fires. The entire area is shut down as of 10 minutes ago. California will have to wait until next year.

@SpiderLegs
Wheeler Pk.would not be a Worthy peak but you mentioned the peaks around Durango. The day trek to Chicago Basin and climbing all of the three 14ers above it and return would be Worthy. This is not riding the non existant train service, but taking the Purgatory Trail as access.

@SpiderLegs Do you know if there is a website that has current closure info for Mount Whitney?

@PrestonSands
https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/inyo/ale ... ?aid=61545

@chumley Thank you! I don’t know California geography very well.

@PrestonSands
This is actually a common dilemma for a lot of hikers, even here within Arizona. The HAZ map has an excellent feature under the options menu called "find boundaries" (in the crosshair section). Just center the map on your area of interest and HAZ will identify the forest (or other public land), county, and the USGS 24k Topo quad name. In this case, click on "Inyo" and if it was working right, the map boundaries of the Inyo Forest would be highlighted on the map. Of course, once you are aware of the land management agency for the location you are interested in, it's much easier to visit the official website when researching current conditions, permit requirements, etc. It's one of the great tools that the HAZ map provides.

@PrestonSands Some guys were photographed by the Wilderness sign a few years back.

[ photo ]

@wallyfrack That was such a great trip!

@nikorock28

https://cdec.water.ca.gov/reportapp/jav ... e=PLOT_SWC
It is worth noting that this year could be a good year for the Whitney zone as far as snow pack goes. Lower than normal means easier early season access. Later summer could be like 2020 with fires, but one thing at a time.