The Whitney portal store is a great place to stock up on gear and souvenirs and to get an outstanding view of Mount Whitney Trail and Peak. The Mount Whitney Trail requires a pass to hike due to the over excessive use so there are...other trails in the area but you can't just jump on the Mount Whitney Trail. The portal store had excellent variety of hiking and backpacking gear and we were able to grab a pair of gloves and a nice warm hat that we forgot to bring plus I added a nice patch to sew onto my back pack from where I hiked Mount Whitney seven years ago. It's quite picturesque in the waterfall was flowing. They serve pancakes that are absolutely monstrous! People sitting there eating them offered us a bite which was laughably cute! The cashier mentioned that they have a patron who comes in and orders a bunch and puts them in the freezer to eat for later so they are obviously quite delicious but I didn't get to try one myself. And one can certainly handle that number of carbs when they're getting ready to hike the trail! Stop into the store and say hello!More