Trail options to Whitney

[bobby49]

Day 1: up Shepherd Pass and west to the JMT.
Day 2: south on the JMT to Crabtree Camp.
Day 3: up and down Whitney, back to Crabtree Camp.
Day 4: north on the JMT and east over Shepherd Pass part way.
Day 5: finish down Shepherd Pass.

[Wandering Daisy]

In and out via Shepherd Pass, to me, is a long, grueling, hot slog to climb Whitney with way too many repeat miles. I would only do it if I could get a Whitney Zone exit permit.

At least with Cottonwood, you have Cottonwood and New Army passes to go either in or out for less repeat miles. Again, better to get a Whitney Zone exit.

[bobby49]

"a long, grueling, hot slog"

Not so bad if you start at 3 a.m.

[BigTubs]

Cottonwood Pass with a Whitney exit or loop back is a good option. Not a ton of up and down, and you could get to Guitar Lake or the tarns above in 3-4 days without it being too grueling. If you do go that way, I suggest taking the slight detour up to Rock Creek as there’s a ton of water sources that way.

FYI, I had food stolen from the bear bin at the Horseshoe Meadow campground by the trailhead, and talked to someone else who had food stolen from the bear box at Crabtree. That was a first for me and thoroughly depressing. Whitney combined with the PCTers is a bit of a s**t show.