So my dad can't let me out train him to much for our late summer Mt. Whitney trip so he and my mother put together a nice little trip over the last few days.
1. They visited Whitney Portal and hiked as far as allowed without a permit. My dad also took a swim in Lone Pine Lake. He doesn't like log balancing a lot and is somewhat concerned about a long section of log crossing that is required that we will be doing in the dark in August.
2. Mt. Dana: My dad hiked almost all the way to the cairn on their way back home to Fresno. He turned back since my mom didn't participate this time.
3. I saved my favorite for last: Both my mom and dad hiked a bit into Tenaya Canyon. My favorite part, that I am jealous of, is that they found the "This is not a trail-Turn Back!" sign that I missed last year on our Tenaya Canyon attempt. My dad's best explanation to find it is when you are on the trail from Sunrise Trailhead go right of the rocks off the trail instead of left. I know what he is talking about but I can't explain it any better either. THey hiked well past the sign, they didn't make it all the way to the Lone Boulder but they were thrilled at the views from the Bowl and my dad was amazed at how high the water slide flow was compared to our attempt last year even in a very low snow year. (My dad went about this far with us last year before he turned back---he was our driver from the Valley to the Sunrise Trailhead.
Someone else mentioned it but my parents also said the smoke was terrible on their way out and decided to skip the Valley because of it. I'll try and get pictures.