Mt. Whitney

At 14,494 feet, Mt. Whitney is the highest point in the contiguous United States and the crown jewel of Sequoia National Park's wild eastern side. The peak looms high above the tiny, high-mountain desert community of Lone Pine, where numerous Hollywood westerns have been filmed. The high mountain ranges, arid landscape, and scrubby brush of the Eastern Sierra are beautiful in their vastness and austerity.

Despite the mountain's scale, you can't see it from the more traveled west side of the park, because it is hidden behind the Great Western Divide. The only way to access Mt. Whitney from the main part of the park is to circumnavigate the Sierra Nevada via a 10-hour, nearly 400-mi drive outside the park. No road ascends the peak; the best vantage point from which to catch a glimpse of the mountain is at the end of Whitney Portal Road. The 13 mi of winding road leads from U.S. 395 at Lone Pine to the trailhead for the hiking route to the top of the mountain. Whitney Portal Road is closed in winter.

Mt. Whitney Trail. The most popular route to the summit, the Mt. Whitney Trail can be conquered by fit and moderately experienced hikers. If there's snow on the mountain, this is a challenge for expert mountaineers only. All overnighters must have a permit, as do day hikers on the trail beyond Lone Pine Lake, about 2½ mi from the trailhead. Reservations for climbing Mt. Whitney May through October are difficult to obtain because of a daily limit on the number of hikers allowed. You can apply for overnight and day permits by lottery each February. In May, if other hikers have canceled, a few permits become available.

Wilderness Permit Office of Inyo National Forest. Contact the Wilderness Permit Office of Inyo National Forest. 760/873-2485 information line; 760/873-2483 reservation line. www.fs.fed.us/r5/inyo.