Day 54 – Lottery winners!

Yesterday when talking to the Ranger, he said to be at the visitor center by 2pm to stand by the map to get into the drawing for the available passes for the next days Mt Whitney Portal Zone day pass lottery drawing. In order to be in line for the Whitney Lottery the team pulled up stakes by 9 am at Mammoth Mountain. The drive was only 104 miles so the Smitanic could potentially pull into the Boulder Creek RV Resort right around high noon. The drive proved to be straight forward and uneventful as the team rolled into their base camp for the next adventure. Set up of the Smitanic went smoothly until, suddenly the 50 amp shore power quit. Kevin immediately thought that the sequence of powering on systems may have blown a switch. Before trouble shooting what fuse may have blown Kevin checked the origin of the shore power to ensure it was still operational. He noticed that the power meter was no longer registering watts. Just as he was prepared to continue his trouble shooting techniques other campers were seen exiting their RV's. Others were also working to determine the lack of shore power. “I checked all my fuses and could not find the issue”, replied one of the many campers. “Me too”, replied another. Kevin informed the group that “It appeared the Power Meter was not registering any power, and it might be global in nature”. One elected to visit the office and returned quickly with information that the entire town of Lone Pine was without power with no estimated up time. At least the Smitanic was not at fault :). The Smitanic crew quickly resolved the power issue by unplugging from shore power, followed by starting up the onboard generator. Within minutes all systems were ready to be engaged. Air Conditioners along with refrigerator, cell phone and laptop charging stations were all now online. Plans were then made to try their hand at the Whitney Lottery. The toad was unburdened from its multiple bicycle load. The crew then drove the 4 miles back towards the town of Lone Pine to the Visitor Center at the turn off to Death Valley.

The visitor center was also without power but the lottery for permits take place by pulling numbers out of a hat which required no wattage. There were several others who were hanging around awaiting on the lottery. At 2pm numbers were pulled from a hat. Theresa, the designated group leader (her and Kevin), took her turn and drew #3. That was better than #10. The first 2 numbers were called to get their passes just as the power came back and the computer network was restored. Number 3 was then called and Theresa quickly approached the counter and submitted the info for the next days permit. Permits are valid from midnight to midnight, so hikers have 24 hours to complete the 22 mile round trip summit climb.

Kevin and Theresa had discussed prior that they only had at max 12 hours to leave Zin alone in the RV. With this in mind they never planned to complete the entire 22 mile round trip. They still needed a full days pass to accomplish their objective of trying to make it to the Trail Camp which was estimated at 6.5 to 7 miles one way from Whitney Portal. The Trail Camp was at the base of the last set of switchbacks that signaled the last assent to the summit. If the team was able to conservatively hike 1 mile per hour, including stops, they felt they could accomplish the 13 to 14 mile planned hike.

The Ranger logged the team information, shared his wisdom of how to dress properly, how much the team needs to hydrate, and where to Piss and Poop along the trail. It is acceptable to pee several yards away from any water source/stream. It is acceptable to Poop only in a bag and pack the waste out. The ranger then handed the team 2 WAG bags with instructions on how to use them.

With the permit in hand as well as 2 WAG bags the 2 unprepared hikers headed to the nearest sporting goods stores and market to get additional supplies needed for the next days trek. First the hikers would need to either carry, or have a filtration system for water for 2 people for 13 - 14 miles, that was estimated at 8 liters. A inexpensive filtration system was purchased as well as 2 gallons of water. Next was food/snacks for the 10-12 hours. Bananas, PB&J as well as goldfish and cookies were selected to provide nutrients for the day. Just what every child would crave.

Back at the RV all the needed items were assembled systematically. 2 x (day/small) backpacks, 2 x Head lamps, 2 x spare flash lights, spare AAA batteries, sun shirts, cargo pants with zip off legs, tee shirts, socks, spare socks, hats, sun glasses, reading glasses, 2 sets of expandable hiking sticks, 2 pairs of hiking boots, sun screen, back pack, Topo map of the area, not to scale map with hand written notes on expected water consumption needs and where to find/pump/purify water on trail, 2 x Wag bags, water purifier system, fanny pack, 7 water bottles, Leather man tool, permits for each hiker, granola bars, baggy of Gold Fish, 3 X PB&J tortillas. Baggy of Mint Chocolate Milano Cookies, Fig Newtons, mixed nuts with chocolate chips, two bananas, 4 Aleve tablets, 3 Pepcid tablets, mole skin, Vaseline, Go Pro camera, SLR camera, two cell phones/one that will be turned off to save power as a back up if needed. In addition a bag of spare cloths and comfortable shoes for after the hike was assembled. Dinner was leftovers from a previous dinner out.

Alarms were set for 3AM with the plan to be on the trail by 4AM.