DAY 1- MEET YOUR GUIDES IN LONE PINE, CA 

We’ll begin our trip with a one night stay at the Best Western Hotel in Lone Pine, CA, with Mt. Whitney looming on the western horizon. Meet your guide and group for an orientation at 5 pm. Dinner is then on your own in town.

DAY 2- CAMP AT CHICKEN SPRINGS LAKE 

Grab breakfast at the Best Western or a local cafe down the street.  At 8am, we’ll caravan up to the pack station, about 45 minutes from town, and offload our gear for the mule train.  After that, we’ll lace up our boots and hit the trail! Our first night's camp is at Chicken Springs Lake. Though a short day, it’s a big one, as we climb 1300’ over Cottonwood Pass (11,140’). 

4 miles, Elevation: +1516' / -217' 

DAY 3- HIKE ALONG THE PCT 

Today we'll follow the famous Pacific Crest Trail through majestic Foxtail Pine forests, and on to the lower reaches of Rock Creek, where we’ll make camp and enjoy taking a dip in the creek.

9 miles +632'/ -2,128' 

DAY 4- HIKE TO GUITAR LAKE

Leaving camp, we’ll travel over Guyot Pass to Crabtree Meadows, where we will turn towards Mt. Whitney and steadily hike to Guitar Lake, where we’ll set up our camp and settle in early in preparation for our early start for our summit bid.

11 miles, Elevation: +2,985'/ -1,826' 

DAY 5- SUMMIT MT. WHITNEY 

We’ll make an alpine start, hitting the trail before sunrise for our summit attempt of Mt. Whitney. After taking in the panoramic views from the highest point in the US outside of Alaska, we’ll make our way back to camp for a siesta. The day’s work is not over as we pack up camp and hike a few miles back to Crabtree Meadows. After a celebration supper, we’ll enjoy a memorable sunset over Mt Russell and enjoy a much needed rest after a big day.

15 miles, Elevation: +4,118'/ -4,475' 

DAY 6- HIKE TO ROCK CREEK 

Waking with a sense of accomplishment, we’ll begin our hike back southward through Sequoia- King’s National Park. An alternate route than how we arrived will see us to the headwaters of Rock Creek near Soldier Meadow.  10.5 miles, Elevation: +1,926'/ -1947' 

DAY 7- EXIT VIA COTTONWOOD TRAILHEAD 

Packing up camp one last time, we’ll exit the High Sierra back via Cottonwood Pass, which will have us back to our vehicles at the trailhead in the early afternoon.  

10 miles, Elevation: +1,602'/ -1,192'

Accommodations 

• 1st night's stay at the Best Western Hotel in Lone Pine, CA 

• 5 nights of wilderness tent camping  (permits included) 

Food 

• Starting with lunch on Day 2 and ending with lunch on Day 7 

• Gourmet backcountry meals including trail snacks 

• Hot tea or coffee served each morning 

Gear 

• All group gear including stoves, cookware, water filters, chairs, group first aid kit, bathroom kit, etc.  

• Personal camping gear provided by request: Backpacks, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, and trekking poles.

❌ Trip Insurance (strongly recommended) 

❌ Recommended 10-20% gratuity for guide(s) and 3% for packers 

❌ Transportation to and from trailhead

❌ Personal clothing & footwear 

❌ Dinner on the first night in Lone Pine

❌ Airfare 

❌ Evacuations

There is a 5 person minimum requirement for this trip to run.

If a trip does not reach the minimum number of guests, you may choose to transfer to another trip, be refunded your payments in full, or you may have the choice to pay a supplemental fee to run the trip with fewer guests.

We make the final determination for these trips 4-5 weeks before the departure date, and notify guests of changes and options immediately

• Full Payment: Due 60 days before trip departure

• Cancellation 60+ days before departure: 75% of deposit refunded or transferred to another trip in same season.

• Cancellation within 60-45 days of departure: 50% of trip cost refunded or transferred to another trip in same season.

• Cancel 45 days or less, non-refundable, non-transferable.

Cancellation policies are necessary for operating “tour-type” programs with high up-front costs and overhead. While AWE operates within industry standards and strives to be fair, there are many things are out of our control.  

By their nature, backcountry adventures are uncertain endeavors. Many factors can influence the arrival to, the running of, or the outcome of an AWE program. Therefore, AWE strongly suggests obtaining “cancel for any reason” travel insurance before embarking. Weather, route conditions, or your own abilities may create circumstances that make continuing an AWE program unsafe or unwise, and you and/or your party may have to exit early. No refunds are given if a program ends early due to weather or route conditions. If this occurs your guide will offer to spend your remaining time pursuing a different or more feasible route. There is no credit for any days that go unused.

Should AWE need to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances (government closures, etc), we will offer you the opportunity to change programs, reschedule, or refund without penalty.

Unless you are willing to absorb the entire cost of your trip in the event of a cancellation or early exit, it is recommended that you obtain travel insurance to protect your investment. AWE is not liable for cancellation fees or costs pertaining to your changed or canceled flights, rentals, lodging, or other arrangements (travel insurance can cover those costs). We recommend you call and speak with agent(s) before purchasing.

Our recommendations (please do your own research to see what best suits your needs):

• Travel Guard- travelguard.com

• World Nomads- worldnomads.com

• ADD Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) Coverage to your insurance plan – it’s highly recommended you add this to your policy. You often need to purchase this coverage within a short timeframe of making your reservation (typically 1-2 weeks).