I'm back! Here's my tale:
Two weeks ago, I got the notice that I could climb Mt. Whitney with my brother and two friends. That's short notice, so I hit the gym extra hard with climbing and cardio (cycling, etc). I was already going to the gym 5 days a week.
I drove out to meet my brother and two friends in Lone Pine. I had to make a quick stop in LA, so I arrived later than the others. I drove up to the Portal, naturally thinking that's where camp would be, but alas, no dice. The only campsite they could secure after getting their dates was in Lone Pine Campground at the base of Whitney. Strike one. They already had camp set up, so when I arrived, we enjoyed some Mammoth brews that I got Lone Pine while dousing our feet creek side in the 85 degree weather. We grilled up some carne asada and had tacos.
Early to bed, but it was HOT at night. Up at 630 and packed - we ate at the Portal Store and 4 of us shared the giant pancake, some eggs and bacon with coffee. We hit the trail at about 8:30am. My pack weighed in at 26 pounds. How some people pack 40lbs for a summer overnight, I don't know! This included all gear and bear can. We started the trek and shortly came upon Lone Pine Lake. Like the interwebz says, hike down to it. It's BARELY a quarter mile...if that. You can see it from the sign and it's a good break. Continuing on, we passed the first campsite (Outpost Camp) and kept going because it would be crazy to stay here...although maybe not - a short gear haul, some altitude, and day pack the rest. Totally do-able. We took breaks along the way any time one person wanted to stop. As we crested the trail in to Trail Camp, I tapped out my 2L camelback. It turns out, that wasn't really enough, so drink a lot as there is PLENTY of water along the trail to refill up to TC. We arrived around 2:30 or 3:30pm...I didn't bring a phone or watch. We simply lounged, refilled water (I drank 5 more liters before bed). We crashed around 8pm, but nobody slept well. I was up every hour to pee (remember those 5 extra liters?) and the others couldn't get comfortable. It was warm and my brother slept under the stars.
We awoke at 4:30am and hit the trail by 5:30 after refilling our water and packing only food, rain coat and fleece for the day trek summit. We hit the switchbacks as the sun rose and it was nice and cool. I think an even earlier start would actually be better, BUT we didn't need our headlamps which is a plus. This time I drank too much water. I didn't feel good as we got an hour from the summit, and I had to WAG (wag bag) since camp. I should have done it in camp and ditched the discomfort it caused. After wagging off the trail, I immediately felt better and stopped drinking water. The body can only process so much anyways. The pace picked up since I felt better and we summited at 10am (right on schedule). We stayed for about 30 minutes for pictures, sitting and recovering. The trek down was FAST. We still took breaks, but immediately began to feel better as we descended. HIKING POLES ARE DEFINITELY WORTH THE EXPENSE. We got to TC at 1pm - ahead of schedule. We refilled our water, ate a quick lunch, packed the tents and hit the trail. The goal was trailhead by 8pm with a slow pace and we were already ahead. Taking lots of breaks, I realized that my new hiking boots were indeed too short, so by the trailhead, I was hurting. The hiking poles saved my hips and left knee (broken hip last April), but I didn't switch sides with the pole so my right knee hurt. 17 miles on this day, but the guys waited for me at the trail end so we "crossed the finish" together around 6:30pm (ahead of schedule). My pack was 22 pounds after eating and drinking most of the water. We got stickers and a cold Coke which was a definite pick-me-up! Drove to camp, cracked a beer, rinsed off in the creek and got pizza in Lone Pine. We all felt awesome!
Take aways:
1. Drink water generously, but not too much. Peeing is the best indicator (color and frequency).
2. We packed too much food. Nobody was hungry at altitude, but we forced it down anyways and still had leftover Cliff bars, Gu, and some fruit (ie: extra weight). Apples and mangoes are heavy
3. Pack light - I feel I did a good job of this, but too much food - heavy food.
4. Take breaks. Even if just for a minute or two. It's enough to let the blood flow and recover and lower the heart rate. Our fitness wasn't the enemy, it was the altitude.
That's it! I'll do it again! What a great feeling!
