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Smithsonian Institution Shelter

Huts

Smithsonian Institution Shelter

Highlight • Mountain Hut

Smithsonian Institution Shelter

Name: Smithsonian Institution Shelter
Rating: 2

Recommended by 8 hikers

This Highlight is in a protected area

Please check local regulations for: Sequoia-Kings Canyon Wilderness

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Location: Tulare County, California, United States

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Best Hikes to Smithsonian Institution Shelter

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1. Timberline Lake and Camp – Mount Whitney loop from Lone Pine

23.7km

09:18

1,180m

Expert hike. Very good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.

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2. Guitar Lake – Mount Whitney loop from Lone Pine

15.7km

06:15

900m

Expert hike. Very good fitness required. Mostly accessible paths. Sure-footedness required.

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Tips

Caro "Bandit"

January 27, 2020

The Smithsonian Institution Shelter is also known as the Mount Whitney Summit Shelter.

Only four days after the first trail to the summit was completed in 1904, an employee of the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, Bryd Surby, was struck dead by a bolt of lightning after finishing his hike to the summit. This inspired the construction of the stone shelter.

The hut was built in 1909. The three room, granite shelter was constructed save hikers from the storms, but also as housing for scientists to study altitude. It is the place for Charles Greeley Abbot’s spectroscopic observations of Mars to investigate whether or not the planet had water.

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Details

Informations

Elevation 4,360 m

Weather

Today

Monday 10 November

7°C

-1°C

0 %

If you start your activity now...

Max wind speed: 15.0 km/h

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Location: Tulare County, California, United States

Other Popular Places to Check Out

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View of Mount Whitney

Smithsonian Institution Shelter

1. Timberline Lake and Camp – Mount Whitney loop from Lone Pine

2. Guitar Lake – Mount Whitney loop from Lone Pine

Other Popular Places to Check Out

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