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Tulare County

Smithsonian Institution Shelter

Highlight • Mountain Hut

Smithsonian Institution Shelter

Recommended by 8 hikers

This Highlight is in a protected area

Please check local regulations for: Sequoia-Kings Canyon Wilderness

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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

    1,180m

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

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    Expert

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

    Expert

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    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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      Elevation 4,360 m

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      Monday 10 November

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      Max wind speed: 15.0 km/h

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      Location: Tulare County, California, United States

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