The trail-head at the Whitney Portal, 8,000 feet. We camped at the Family Campground for three days before ascending 4,000 feet to the Trail Camp.
The Whitney Portal. This is where the road ends and the trail begins. This is the Portal Store. We spent time here every day and spoke with hikers coming down from the mountain and with groups heading up. The operators of the store are a great resource of information about current conditions and keep an updated list of all water sources on the trail.
On day three we did a day hike to Lone Pine Lake, 2.5 miles up. This was our way of scouting the terrain and to see what we were up against when we started up with full packs. The trail was up, dry and dusty. Because of the altitude we, and everyone we met, moved in slow motion. It took us almost three hours to hike the 2.5 miles to the lake. This is a view of the trail back towards the Portal. You can see the trail descend down to the left of the screen. At this point we are barely half a mile in.
Almost to the half mile mark. At this junction the trail splits. One trail goes off to the right which is the mountaineering route. Our trail heads off to the left.
The half mile mark. We had been hiking for more than 40 minutes and felt like we had gone at least two miles. This made all of us reconsider some of the items we had planned on bringing up to Trail Camp the next day.
Still climbing. The switchbacks seemed to go on forever and shade was scarce.
The log bridge. The first real source of water we encountered after leaving the Portal. The good news is that we are less than half a mile from the lake.
The trail to the lake. The first piece of flat ground since we left the Portal.
Our first view of the lake. It is straight ahead through the trees.
Though the temperature is the low 80s the lake looked very inviting. We couldn't wait to get down to the shore and dip our feet into the cold water. It felt very refreshing!
Yes, that is a small snow pack to the right. The scouts immediately headed over to the snow and began carving their initials into the hard pack. Doing the day hike helped us revise our plan for the future. Our original plan was to camp at the Portal for three days and then make our way up to Trail Camp, at 12,000 feet. After completing this day hike we decided that for any future trips we would camp for two days, then haul or backpacks up to the lake and camp overnight, then start our ascent from Lone Pine Lake. We are still outside the Whitney Zone so camping here overnight would not effect our permit date. It also made all of us go though our packs and discard items to help lose weight. I still ended up with the heaviest pack at 45 pounds only because I carried five liters of water. In the future I will go with my standard three liters and fill up as we go.
Our first day on the trail. We are just a few yards away from Lone Pine Lake and heading toward the entrance to the Whitney Zone.
The Zone. This is what intimidates a lot of troops from attempting this hike. There is a lottery that takes place between March 1 and April 1. You are allowed to enter up to 15 different dates. The trick to the lottery is to stay away from the weekends and the middle of July. We were very lucky with our dates in June. Next time we may need to go just a few weeks later or try for the early part of August. Scouters, don't let this deter you from trying this adventure. Yes, the paperwork may seem a hassle but trust me, it is worth every moment.
Our happy group at the Zone entrance.
Going up...here we started to encounter the other feature that the trail is known for - steps. I would take grade over steps any day...
Snow as low as 9,000 feet. We would encounter many more pockets of melting snow and ice as we made our way up.
Looking down at Lone Pine Lake. We had a mile to go to our next checkpoint at Outpost Camp, 10,000 feet. You can see the trail switchback down to the left. The Zone entrance is down to the right.
The entrance to the meadow known as Outpost Camp. This is the lowest camp in the Zone. It was strange to hike up a mile of switchbacks then pass through this carved entrance and enter a land of green grass and cold water.
Heading down into the meadow.
One of the very few sections of trail that is flat and even.
We reach Outpost Camp, on the far side of the meadow.
Where the trail and water flow meet...
The waterfall at the end of Outpost Camp.
Looking back at the meadow.
The trail ahead, and up...
Mirror Lake, a mile and a half up from Outpost Camp. We stopped here to rest and grab something to eat.
Here I try out my new LifeStraw, it allows you to drink directly from the source.
The trail continues up that crevice.
Looking down at Mirror Lake. Next stop is Trail Meadow, about a mile away, and up.
Looking back: In the far distance is the White Mountains, lower down is Alabama Hills, in between is the town of Lone Pine at 4,000 feet. At the very bottom of the photo you can just see he meadow that where Outpost Camp is located.
Making my way up.
We are starting to leave the treeline behind and the trail turns to rock. At no other hike in my career have I ever kept to my mantra as I did now: one step at at time...
Still climbing. Mirror Lake is the lower left corner.
I was really starting to dislike the rock steps...
The melting snow pack that fed the lower streams...
More steps up into the Trail Meadow.
Trail Side Meadow.
This was like a Garden of Eden in the middle of nothing...
The water was refreshing and ice cold...
The melting ice pack.
Another mile to go before we reach our destination: Trail Camp at 12,000 feet.
The trail is just to the right.
Even at our slower pace we gained elevation rather quickly. You can just make out Trail Side Meadow below us.
Marching through a snow pack before we reach Trail Camp.
Finally, Trail Camp. Our only tent.
Dinner time. I am almost too exhausted to eat.
Day 2: To the Summit! The start of the 99 switchbacks.
Crossing a snow patch. Later we made it across a melting ice patch that would have been completely frozen and impassable a few hours before.
Trail Crest. We cross over from Inyo National Forest into Sequoia National and Kings Canyon National Parks. It was like we had the world spread out in front of us...
From here we have less than 2 miles to the summit.
More switchbacks up the Western side.
The view into Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Guitar Lake is to the right.
A window looking out to the Eastern side.
The Western side.
Me at the summit.
The hut at the top.
The way back down. We had to cross one ice field and several snow fields before reaching the Crest and making our back down to Trail Camp.
Day 3: The view from my sleeping bag at 5:30 AM.
My sleeping arrangements...
The local wildlife: a Mt Whitney marmot. They look like guinea pigs on steroids and will not hesitate to snatch food or drink from your hands...
And we arrive at the Portal just before 11 AM. They stop serving their pancakes at 11 and start serving their cheeseburgers. Since we couldn't decide which to have we had both...
While we were researching this trip we all came across people that told us that they had climbed Whitney 20 or 30 years ago. While climbing the mountain we came to realize why: this is a climb for the young. But since I am too stubborn to let age get in the way I am glad to say that I climbed Mt Whitney at my age and would not hesitate to do it again. In fact I am looking for any excuse to go back next summer and do the climb all over again. For me, this was not only the most difficult hike I have ever done, it was the most memorable. Even now, as I sit down to write this blog I can feel the sweat on my brow, the rocks under my feet, and the sweet breeze that would blow down the trail at just the right moment. I can't wait to try it again...
No comments:
Post a Comment