On Sunday May 31, 2015 I set out on the Mt Whitney Trail with LOW expectations to achieve my goal of reaching the summit of Mt. Whitney, the tallest peak in the lower 48. In the end, there would NOT be a summit attempt.
During the previous three weeks there had been a lot of unseasonably late snow near the top and no one had made the summit via the non-technical trail to the top for which I had trained. Deep snow simply blocked the trail. But, there would be a trip up to Trail Camp at 12,000 ft. and that story will come later.
To journal this adventure, there will be two posts:
1) Trip Preparation
2) The Trip to Trail Camp On The Whitney Trail
This is the Preparation Post
Why Do It?
As February 2015 rolled in I began to tire of my exercise program. Initially I wanted to be in good shape for the coming summer of adventures like last fall's motorcycle [
The Trip to Monache] . But I now needed a new motivator, something different. Brian, had occasionally, over the past years said, "Let's do Whitney!" While it had sounded fantastic, I had always thought this beyond reach. Suddenly and Finally I decided: "It's now or never! Let's do it! " This would be one great [
SDS Adventure]
What Were The Preparations?
The Beginning:
First, I began reading a lot; info on the internet and the book by Elizabeth Wenk, "One Best Hike:Mt. Whitney". All this reading did cause some doubts, however, whether I was up to the challenges.
I attended a free class "Climbing Mt. Whitney" at the local REI, which was fantastic, but here again, there were many things which were a cause for concern.
First off, of all those that set out on the trail over 73% of the folks do not make it (I am now, unfortunately, a 73 percentor!)
According to the instructor, the top three reasons for not gaining the summit are:
1) Not prepared physically or mentally
2) Problems with the altitude
3) Do not have the GRIT....Lack the Grit to prepare or the Grit to continue, especially as one begins to gasp for air at the higher altitudes
The Permit:
To get a permit to hike the Whitney Trail one has to enter a lottery. In 2014 roughly only one in three entries were successful. I applied for an overnight permit with an entry on Sunday May 31 and June 1 Summit. Early June would present a better chance of winning, but was risky because snow might still be there. I figured this a reasonable gamble since the snow pack this year was about 6% of normal. A Sunday/Monday has better chance than Friday or Saturday. May 31 would be a full moon, desirable because the last few miles on Sunday may be well after sunset. Thus the 'Perfect Plan'. On March 24 I received an email that I was a Lottery Winner!!! Perfect. Time to get serious about training and preparations.
The Equipment
I continued to prepare an ever changing list of gear to take. I weighed most everything, so I could calculate the pack weights. Two Pack Weights: 1) Going to Trail Camp and then 2) leaving most of the gear at Trail Camp, thus a pack weight just for the Summit. The gear left behind would packed up after the Summit for the trip down.
The actual weight as I left the Portal was at on my final calculation, of 43 lbs.
My list can be seen on page [
Mt Whitney Hike Equipment ]
One interesting piece of "equipment" is the WAG Bag (issued by Forest Service with permit)---on the Whitney Trail if you go number TWO, you must carry it out!
The Training:
In March I began "hiking" the 9.6 miles round trip to work and back three times a week, in my hiking boots with my small office back pack. I eventually, purchased a new backpack and kept adding weight to where I began to easily carry a 23 pound pack on these jaunts. Late March, I decided that I should try some trekking poles,and two days later began to use these as well. I was quite the sight as I hiked the 4.8 miles from San Gabriel, through San Marino, into Pasadena and eventually to work in Old Town Pasadena. I can only imagine what people thought.
On weekends I usually found some other hikes to do, like my post of May 20 which included pictures of the 6 mile round trip up Wildrose Trail near our cabin.
We also did Mt. Lukens, not far from LA home. It is a 5 plus mile up to 5074 feet to the highest point in LA County, with a 25 lb pack at a nice pace without difficulty.
From March through the last week prior to the trip I had logged over 178 miles of hiking on my Endomondo phone app plus at least another 30 or 40 miles of unlogged walking and hiking. I actually wore out my original hiking boots and needed new at a very late date. Fortunately, they have been fantastic.
Trying out the Equipment:
Set up my new tent not 20 feet from cabin and spent the night on one weekend. The temp dropped below freezing but tent and sleeping bag were up to the task and slept pretty well but had to think about how to make a better pillow. Woke up, fired up my new JetBoil MiniMo, made instant coffee and had the freeze dried scrambled egg and sausage breakfast. Coffee was great, but food was, well, not to my liking at all. Scratched that as a breakfast choice. Sleeping arrangements--success.
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| A Stones Throw from the Cabin for My First Night in New Tent |
On May 23, loaded up my pack to about 25 lbs and headed solo up the mountain to Sherman Pass to the trail leading to the 9905 ft elevation of Sherman Peak. Hiked the two miles up with an elevation gain of 700 ft at an easy pace, practicing deep breathing in this 9500 plus foot altitude. When I reached the top I tried the Teryake Chicken for lunch. Now that was a meal I enjoyed. I headed down at a much quicker pace, once again pleased with the results. Felt like it was all coming together quite nicely.
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| Nice Beginning for the Trek to Sherman Peak |
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| Clouds Moving In and Need to be Watchful |
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| Getting Ready for Some Lunch (You Need a Fire Permit even for this Stove in the US Forests, good for the year) |
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| May 25: Brian, Lindsay, Mary, me and Three Dogs Head Up Hooker Trail with a hot lunch trying another meal for the trip |
Final Prep at the Mt Whitney Portal
Acclimatization to Altitude:
Effects of Altitude is a major problem for the climb to the
14,505 ft level of Mt Whitney. Also, sleeping at Trail Camp at
12,000 ft can be a major issue. The best way to get ready for altitude is to gradually acclimate ones body to ever increasing altitude levels over as many days as you can.
Thursday, May 28 traveled to and spent the night at the cabin at
6300 ft.
Friday, May 29 Brian, Lindsay and I traveled to Lone Pine, got our permits, and headed up to the Whitney Portal. We set up Camp at about
8000 ft. then spent the mid to late afternoon doing an acclimatization hike part way up a nearby trail, direction Meysan Lake to around
8300 ft.
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The Goal From the Forest Service Center Just Outside of Lone Pine, CA.
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| Headed Up To Whitney Portal Camp Ground |
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| Ready for Two Nights in My Tent "With a View" at Whitney Portal Campground |
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| Our Camp Site (Note the Bear Food Storage Unit, all scented items must go here) |
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| Brian and Me on Meysan Lake Trail, photo by Lindsay |
Saturday, May 29---10,000 + ft
Another acclimatization hike: Travel down from Whitney Portal Camp then up to Cottonwood Pass Campground at about 10,000 ft for an easy paced roughly 3.5 mile round trip hike.
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| Half Way Up to Cottonwood: View of the Owens Valley...Used to be a huge lake until the early 1900's when it was drained dry by piping all the water the to LA!!! Water still piped directly to LA. You can see old lake's edge slightly left of center. |
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| Brian and Me, as we leave Cottonwood Campground; Horseshoe Meadow in the not-too-far distance |
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| Lindsay and Brian as he crosses a little creek in Horseshoe Meadow |
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| This tree species grain grows in a spiral giving it added strength against the wind |
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| A Great Art Piece Courtesy Mother Nature |
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| Training is not Really Training with Views Like This: Cottonwood Pass Trail |
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| Maybe Trails for Future Adventures |
Sunday May 31, The Trip to Trail Camp on the Whitney Trail----Coming Soon
