Our first overnight stop was in Bishop, where Catie had lived for four years and which became our base of operations as we chased summer storms, explored the gorge, and climbed the White Mountains to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. 

The Mt. Whitney Portal was one of several stops on the first leg of our road trip.  As we drove up to the portal, the entire valley between the Eastern Sierras and the White Mountains became visible. The road up from the valley was completely deserted, so I was suprised by the number of people at the portal, returning from adventures or beginnning new ones.