5

After the Hike

The Whitney crest, from Mt. Muir to Mt. Whitney as seen from Russell/Carillon Col

Just a guess, but you may want to celebrate after your hike up Mt. Whitney. The section on Lone Pine and Whitney Portal, provides a list of restaurants to enjoy. If after a hearty dinner you aren’t asleep and decide a dose of alcohol is in order, Double L Bar (226 N. Main Street) and Jake’s Saloon (119 N. Main Street) are two options. (But avoid alcohol the day before you head up the Mt. Whitney Trail, since alcohol and altitude don’t mix!) You will probably also want to wander along Main Street in search of some “I climbed Whitney” souvenirs. Suitable T-shirts are available in many stores.

If you have an extra day (or few hours) before heading home, there are a handful of nearby opportunities for sightseeing that do not require much walking—a likely requirement the day after you summited. And for your drive home, stop by the Interagency Visitor Center or the Lone Pine Chamber of Commerce and pick up a free copy of the Eastern Sierra Roadside Heritage CD produced by the Eastern Sierra Institute for Collaborative Education. On it are 35 minutes of engaging stories about Owens Valley history to make the first part of your drive home pass just a bit faster. (Or you can download the MP3 files from www.roadsideheritage.org.)

The Beverly and Jim Rodgers Museum of Lone Pine Film History, located at 701 S. Main Street, is open from 10 AM to 4 PM (closed Tuesday). In addition to an informative 20-minute film recounting the history of films made in the Lone Pine region, the museum is full of props from movies filmed in the area, such as How the West was Won, Gunga Din, and Tremors. Old western and science fiction movies are shown on Thursday and Saturday evenings from late winter through mid October, beginning around 7 PM. They cost $4. If you wish to explore the Alabama Hills with a bit of insider knowledge, the Lone Pine Chamber of Commerce website has a map of the Alabama Hills showing where many famous films were shot: www.lonepinechamber.org; go to the site-seeing link.

Manzanar National Historic Site is a bit farther afield. This national historic site is on the location of one of the World War II Japanese war relocation camps, just off Hwy. 395, 7 miles north of Lone Pine. It’s open daily in the summer, from 9 AM to 5:30 PM. In addition to a driving loop that takes you past a few outlines of structures from the internment camp, there is a small museum and short introductory film that are worth seeing. See www.nps.gov/manz for additional information.