| After dinner in Lone Pine, we headed
off toward the Mt Whitney Portal. The sun was setting now. We arrived
after dark at the portal. It took us a while to locate the camping
area, then a little longer to figure out that all of the camp sites
were occupied. We started loading our packs for the hike, and then
stored our remaining food in the local bear safe. It was decided that
three people would sleep in the Commander, and two would sleep in
the woods near the parking lot. Bryce, Taylor, and I opted for the
vehicle, while Dane and Trey laid out sleeping bags. We loaded our
gear back on top of the Commander so that the rear seats could be
folded down. I recall more than one vehicle pulling into the parking
lot as we were trying to get some sleep. These people were facing
the same problem. |
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| Mt. Whitney as seen
from Whitney Portal Rd., between Lone Pine and Whitney Portal. |
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| Morning at Whitney Portal. |
| Morning came and we started to pile
out of the Commander. Trey and Dane were still alive in the sleeping
bags. We were going to wait until the Whitney Portal Store opened
and check for camp fuel again. I saw this as my last chance to clean
up, so I filled up a water jug and headed into the wooded area near
the parking lot. I changed into some swimming shorts, doused myself
in freezing water, and then lathered up with some soap. I had been
swimming often in the Barton Springs pool in Austin, so it wasn't
too much of a shock, but still unpleasant. Dried off, put on some
clean clothes, and then bought some souvenirs in the store. Everyone
topped off their water supply. I had a 4 liter bladder I filled and
was trying to attach to the outside of my already over weight backpack.
I managed to punch a hole into my index finger with the D-ring on
the bladder. Not fun. I dug out my first aid kit while my finger was
bleeding profusely. Went down to the stream and soaked it in the freezing
water for a bit. Great way to start the hike. |
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| Unloading the Commander,
Waiting for the Whitney Portal store to open. |
| We started off on the trail up the
mountain and within 5 minutes decided my load needed to be lightened.
Bryce figured he could drop some weight too, so we headed back to
the parking lot. I emptied the 4 liter bladder (over 8 lbs right there)
and took out other miscellaneous junk from my pack. Bryce and I then
headed back up the trail to catch up with the others. |
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| 8,360 feet - The group
poses for a photo at the beginning of the Mt. Whitney trail. |
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| Trey and Dane navigating
over a shallow wash. |
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| 8,500 ft. - the trail
merges into the John Muir Wilderness Trail. |
| It didn't take us long to catch up.
Bryce and I eventually pulled ahead, taking a break every 10 minutes
or so. The incline was putting me to work. We arrived at Lone Pine
Lake about three miles later and took a lunch break. |
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| 9,850 ft. - Lone Pine
Lake panoramic (click for larger image) |
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| Spiraling Foxtail Pines
adorn the edge of Lone Pine Lake. |
| (At Lone Pine Lake) We used the water
filters and iodine tablets to top off everyone's water supplies. Maybe
an hour later, Bryce and I headed out towards Outpost Camp. I gave
Taylor one of the two-way radios so we could stay in touch. It took
us a few minutes to realize we were going the wrong way. We got back
on track. More uphill hiking, until the trail leveled out in what
I believe was Bighorn Park. |
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| Lone Pine Lake after
climbing a bit further up the mountain |
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| Bryce at Bighorn Park
- a large, lush, bowl-shaped oasis that thrives in spite of being
surrounded by granite. |
|
My head was banging. I assume this was due to fatigue and altitude. The Outpost Camp was just ahead. We found a log to sit on and debated whether we wanted to continue to Trail Camp 2.5 miles away, or stay here for the night. It was about 4:00 PM. Taylor and the other guys weren't too far behind us. We eventually decided to wait for everybody, versus splitting up the group. We only had fuel for my stove and I was dead tired. |
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We set up tents and packed gear for the next day's hike. Backpackers Pantry dehydrated food packets were on the menu this evening. After dinner, we set the bear canisters away from our tents and refilled our water supplies. There was a solar toilet not too far from the camp site, but it was taped off. The park wanted people to pack their crap (literally) out with them. There was also a fenced in area with a gate available. This provided one with a little privacy. Also taped off were several large garbage bins marked human waste. I won't go into any further detail here. |
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| 10,365 ft. - Outpost
Camp. Jason and Bryce scope out the area as Trey sets up camp behind
them. Notice the waterfall in the background. Jason's Dell
Axiom takes a reading from camp. |
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| Jason preparing
a Backpacker's Pantry meal. |
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| Waterfall at Outpost
Camp. |
| Throughout the night we could hear hikers walking through the camp site, on their way to the summit. Without a camping permit, which took months to obtain, your only option was to hike all the way to the top and back in one long day. I think we got up around 5:30am. With just my daypack, it seemed like I was already carrying too much weight. I recall Bryce and me pulling ahead again. At some point Trey decided to head back to camp. The trail incline wasn't getting any easier. The terrain seemed to be getting rough. I kept thinking there was no way I would have made it through here with all my gear yesterday. |
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| 10,640 ft. - Mirror
Lake and Thor Peak. |
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| We found this nice resting spot with Mirror Lake in the background. |
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| 11,800 ft. - Consultation
Lake |
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| Consultation Lake on the right |
| We eventually made it to Trail Camp, approximately three miles from Outpost Camp, where we could see several tents set up. You could smell another solar toilet just a few meters off the trail. We waited for Taylor and Dane to catch up then refilled our water again. We noticed several marmots in this area. May have been better off that we didn't camp at this site. |
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| 12,000 ft. - Trail
Camp with a view of the ridge |
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| Marmots. We saw a few
of these guys popping out over the rocks. In doing a little research
I found that they are of the genus Marmota in the rodent family
Sciuridae with squirrels. Wikipedia says: The name marmot comes
from French marmotte, from Old French marmotan, marmontaine,
from Old Franco-Provençal, from Low Latin mures montani
"mountain mouse", from Latin mures monti, from Classical
Latin mures alpini "Alps mouse". Thay didn't bother
us, and we didn't bother them. |
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| This small lake near
Trail Camp is the last water source on the way up. We filled up here in assembly line fashion. Bryce pumped and Jason held the container. As each filled, Dane would get the container and as he held it, I would add the proper quantity of Iodine tablets.
|
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| Above 12,000 ft. now
and still climbing |
| After Outpost Camp we ventured into
the infamous 97 Switchbacks - plus or minus a few. I had no intention
of counting them. Basically, this is a section of the trail that switches
back and forth close to a hundred times, with an unpleasant incline
the entire way up. I couldn't really see the trail from below, but
looking down you could see the trail winding back and forth. After
what seemed like forever, we made it out of the switchbacks. |
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| (left) After
climbing some ways up the 97 switchbacks, one of us turned around
and snapped this photo. In the distance you can see Consultation Lake
on the right and on the left, Trail Camp lake. (right) At one point
in the switchbacks, the drop-off is so dangerous that the park service
has installed a guardrail constructed out of metal pipes and steel
cables. |
| This is where the scenery kicks in.
We passed through several sections of narrow trail, where one wrong
step could really ruin your day. From here on my memory is spotty.
Once we made it to the section where the John Muir trail meets up
with trail we were on, Bryce and I decided to break for lunch. I think
this was around 2:00 PM. We found some large rocks to sit on, and
then dug out some MREs. We used the hydrogen packet heaters to warm
things up. An old man stopped for a rest. His pace looked slower than
mine. He mentioned this was his second time up. We talked a little
longer, but I don't remember the conversation. He eventually moved
on. Below us, on the John Muir trail, we could see where someone had
set up camp. The campers were returning to their site and noticed
a marmot was rummaging through their gear. One guy threw a rock at
the marmot and I believe he made contact. I told Bryce I needed a
nap, so we passed out for about 20 minutes or so. I think Taylor and
Dane caught up with us at this point. We decided to make that spot
a water cache, and lightened our load a bit. This section of trail
switched back several times, overlooking the Hitchcock Lakes, far
below. |
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| Sign reads, "Entering
Sequoia National Park - Trail Crest, John Muir Trail - Pets and Firearms
Prohibited" |
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|
Taylor: As we crossed through the switchbacks and over the trail crest,
my head began to pond like a drum, and Dane's stomach was tossing
and turning with every bend in the trail. Retreating didn't seem like
an option this close to the summit, but I'm sure we were both thinking
about it. Many breaks were taken between the trail crest and the summit.
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| We could see the peak far in the
distance, with an old shelter on top. I believe the shelter was constructed
in 1908. We eventually came across a snow bank. The incline was something
crazy like 45 degrees, but you could see where other people had crossed.
We were so close now. Past the snow bank the trail terrain wasn't
difficult, but still had the relentless incline. Bryce pulled ahead
while I took several breaks. I eventually walked passed the lightening
shelter, and made it to the top of Mt. Whitney. |
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|
Taylor: While this snowy trail may seem like a simple pathway, let
me assure you that it was in no way an effortless pass. For me and
my ceaseless fear of heights, this was the second scariest moment
on the trip (I'll get to the scariest later). What the above photo
doesn't show is that one slip here earns you a one-way ticket to the
bottom of the western side of the mountain - the quickest route to
Sequoia National Park. |
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| 14,000 ft.
- Bryce (left) and Jason (right) at "the windows" alongside
Keeler Needle. |
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Taylor: These photos
show Dane at his worst. It wasn't until Dane saw these images that
he realized how bloated his belly was while climbing - illustrating
the level of sickness he was suffering at that moment. That's Keeler
Needle in the background of the photo at left. |
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| Keeler Needle, only
494 ft. to the top! |
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|
Lightening shelter atop Mt. Whitney. Click here to see the other side of the shelter. |
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|
Photos taken from the top of Mt. Whitney. Click thumbnails for larger image. |
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| 14,494 ft. - The top
of Mt. Whitney! (left to right) Jason, Taylor, Dane, and Bryce. Check
out Jason's Dell
Axim reading. |
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| U.S. Geological
Survey markers. |
| The old man I had talked to earlier
was sitting next to the shelter. We congratulated each other. I could
feel the UV burning up my legs. Shorts were a bad choice. I figured
it was too late for sun block now. A few minutes later, a couple climbed
over the east face of the mountain (see photo below at right). No
trail here, they had used ropes and climbing gear for that route.
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| People we
met at the summit. The climber on the right is Jon Griffin of Portland,
OR. |
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|
Click here for a close-up of the registry. |
| There was a huge guest book next
to the shelter. We signed it then snapped some more photos. I could
see Taylor and Dane off in the distance. The altitude had been giving
Dane a tough time, but he made it. At around 4:30 PM we headed down
the mountain. The couple we had met earlier was going to take our
route down, so they followed us. Bryce seemed to be sprinting ahead,
determined to make it back before sunset. We were traveling maybe
three times as fast down than our speed up the mountain. Past the
snow bank, we retrieved our cached water. We passed the treacherous
drop-offs, back down the 97 switchbacks, and past Trail Camp. By now
the sun was gone. Maybe a mile or so from Outpost Camp, we needed
to break out the flashlights. I had been talking trash to Bryce that
morning, joking that he could save a few ounces by leaving his headlamp.
I'm glad he didn't. |
| We finally made it to Outpost Camp
at around 9:30 PM. The climbing couple continued on. The trail was
fairly easy to follow from here, so they should have been ok. We checked
on Trey in his tent. I couldn't reach Taylor on the radio. Bryce pulled
out a can of Dinty Moore stew and I fired up my camp stove. I could
see little mice coming out of the wood work - one near the spot where
I spilled some food on the ground. Another appeared on my stove after
I had turned it off. I definitely needed to clean my gear before bed.
Taylor and Dane made it back around 11:30 PM - everyone still alive.
I believe I read somewhere that the day hike takes anywhere between
10-14 hours. That's from Whitney portal, to the top of the mountain,
and back down. It took me approx. 16 hours, and that's cutting out
almost six miles of hiking. So much for being in shape. That mountain
kicked my but. |
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Taylor: We woke up at Outpost Camp on our last day on Mt. Whitney. I rolled over in my sleeping bag, cracked a hole in my tent's door, and snapped this photo of the day's first sunlight spilling onto Thor's Peak.
Jason: We agreed we didn't need to wake up at any specific time that morning. A few people grabbed a bite to eat, and then we broke camp. With all of my gear strapped to me, I felt ready to roll. With the exception of a few sections of trail, it was all downhill. I kept repeating that to myself - It's all downhill. What took us nearly seven hours to cover uphill (four miles), we knocked out in approx. two hours downhill. |
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| Jason and Bryce turning
a bend on the way down Mt. Whitney. |
| Back at the portal, I noticed the
scale used to weigh your gear. I think at one time the park calculated
your level of safety on the mountain using the weight of your gear.
At 58 lbs total, I guess I was pretty safe. If I ever return, I'd
like to shave it down to 40 lbs. There were several people taking
surveys from hikers coming off the mountain, so we all participated.
Bryce and I took showers at the visitor center, and everyone bought
lunch. |
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| Taylor: Under the vigilant
surveillance of these ravenous bluebirds, we devour lunch outside
the Whitney Portal Store. We also took some downtime to pour over
maps of California. We were contemplating which route to take from
our current location to Sequoia National Park: (1) north through Yosemite,
over steady inclines and slow roads or (2) south around the corner
of the Inyo National Forrest, via mostly level interstate. In the
end, considering the Jeep Commander's poor performance in lesser mountains,
we opted for the flatter course. |
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| Once again, the Commander
failed us. We stopped here for two reasons. Firstly, we had just driven
down from Whitney Portal to the foothills - a steady and damaging
downhill and loss of several thousand feet. The truck's brakes were
smoking up and needed… well, a brake. Also, our luggage was coming
undone again, and one bag slid off the top and was dangling at the
window. This break was fortunate though in that it allowed us one
last glimpse, and photo opportunity, of the mountain. (see photo below)
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| We strapped our gear back on top
of the Commander, then headed back to Lone Pine to return the bear
canisters. Our next stop was the Days Inn, in Visalia, CA. |
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| Death Valley National
Park |
Mt. Whitney - Inyo National
Forest |
Sequoia National Park |
|
