Gettin' there:We were able to get free flights to Los Angeles on Delta
because I had frequent flyer miles. We rented a car at the airport
and drove the ~5hrs to Whitney Portal campground.
(We stopped at
Walmart on the way and spent $80 on food, souvenirs for the kids,
and camping gear we left on top of the car when we left Cornelius. Good
thing we saved a buck on the flight.)
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Whit_340 driving in.jpg
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Driving up at dusk I thought I recognized the peaks from internet pictures, but we weren't sure.
Mt Whitney is the tall jagged one just right of center.
The other 2-3 jagged peaks directly in the center are the same as the fingers in the left top of the panorama above,
just viewed from the backside of the mountain.
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The campground was great--totally private, lots of trees,
big flat sandy area for the tent, and a river a hundred feet away. Certainly one of the cozier places we've car-camped.
The large brown metal box is to store the food so the bears don't get it. I think Julie wanted
to sleep inside it.
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Whit_352 camp table.jpg
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Whit_353 camp tent.jpg
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<-- Click Hiking Map to show/hide map
Following recommendations we got up at 4am and were at the trailhead at 5am. It
was very dark except for some moonlight and our flashlights.
We kept a quick pace most of the time and the trail wasn't very steep. I
kept thinking it was going to get steeper soon, but it never did. We passed
dozens of hikers throughout the morning. We got to Lone Pine Lake around 6:30am.
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Lone Pine Lake (#2 on hiking map) |
Side story: About 5 minutes into the hike I was adjusting my pack as we came to a little 2ft-wide stream.
I didn't have my light out yet so I asked Julie if I could use hers for a sec. I shined it
down on the rocks and stepped over. As I turned around Julie had followed behind me, not
knowing there was a stream, and stepped right in the middle. Dang! Nothing like starting
a 22mile hike with your boot full of water.
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Whit_360 sun rising with lake.jpg
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Julie looked to me like she was dressed for a casual stroll to school, but she was in great hiking shape. It
was fun to keep passing groups of breathless crusty guys with their fancy hiking gear and walking sticks.
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Whit_370 julie hiking early.jpg
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Whit_358 small lake in morning.JPG
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Outpost Camp (#3 on hiking map)
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Whit_377 bob julie in shadow.jpg
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Whit_382 bob julie sunrise.jpg
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We hiked a little over 2 hours before the sun reached us. The weather was just a bit
cool but I postponed putting on warmer clothes so I wouldn't sweat a ton. Once it did come out, the sun felt great.
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Whit_384 sun peaking.jpg
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Whit_394 whitney trail and rivers.jpg
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Resting at Trail Camp (#6 on hiking map)
before big switchback section |
Lake Boxx4.jpg
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Whit_417 looking back from saddle.JPG
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The left picture is taken from the ridge of the mountain, called Trail Crest (#7 on hiking map), and shows the view looking
back down at Trail Camp, right after the endless switchback section. The tiny lake in the center is the same
as the one above. The picture to the right is what we saw over and down
the opposite side of the mountain.
From here it was only about 2 1/2 miles and gentle grade to the summit, but we felt the altitude
and hiking was slow. It was around 9:15am.
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Whit_418 looking forward from saddle.JPG
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The hiking on the backside of the mountain wasn't very steep, but it was curiously hard
due to the elevation.
I wasn't out of breath and my legs weren't tired but I could feel my heart pounding in my head and I didn't feel great.
Any time I would climb over a rock or up a steep, albeit short, incline I would have to pause and let the
pounding subside.
Finally we reached the last leg of the hike: the rock scree to the summit. In the pic on the right, check out
how abruptly the rocks disappear on the right side.
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Whit_433 rock scree to summit.JPG
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Whit_434 the summit ahead.JPG
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Whit_434c julie at summit shack.JPG
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Whit_435 bob julie summit shack.JPG
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We got to the top at 11:06am, 6hrs 6min after starting. Not too shabby.
Three things I remember thinking at the summit: 1) Whew! We rock. 2) Man, I've got a bad headache, 3) Dang I'm freezing!!
It was mostly-sunny, but very cold. Julie looks pretty warm in my black fleece jacket.
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The summit of Mt Whitney!
The cliff is fairly sheer at the summit. I remember Dad saying he and his 2 buddies sat on the very edge and hung
their feet off, so I did that too.
After that we huddled behind a boulder and tried to choke down our lunch. Julie
had completely lost her appetite for soggy PB&J, but I managed to get mine down.
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Whit_438 bob julie on summit.JPG
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[Julie] Whitney was truly a paradox...it seemed to be one of the easiest
trails to the top of a mountain but the length and my poor altitude adjustment
made it the most difficult climb I've had to do. If I climb Whitney again,
I'll make sure I sleep a little more before I try and conquer the mountain and I'd get
used to the higher altitude longer than 8 hours. But since the ordeal is over,
I am very proud of myself for accomplishing the task! It's kind of like having
a baby naturally.
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Whit_445 sheer walls.JPG
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From the highest point in the contiguous United States you can see everything from sea to shining sea.
Click here to see the view east
After 20 minutes at the top we started down. Going down was a lot funner than going up.
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Whit_449 summit descent3.JPG
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Whit_453 summit fingers.JPG
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Here we're crossing back behind the giant mountain fingers seen in all pictures of Mt. Whitney. (Same as the panorama at the top).
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Whit_461 rugged backside.JPG
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Whit_475 coming down switchbacks.jpg
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Left: Half-way down the tedious switchbacks between Trail Crest and Trail Camp. The camera timer went off
before I got back and smiled but the picture shows how we were feeling at that moment.
Right: Getting close to Trail Camp and our favorite resting spot.
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Whit_478 switchbacks looking down at lake.JPG
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Whit_485 cooling off feet.JPG
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One final long rest in the sunshine and then the never-ending trail to camp. It seemed to take
forever to get back to camp. Julie was feeling exceptionally sick and going slow. It took us
almost as long to descend as it took to go up.
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Whit_501 wheres julie.JPG
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We got back to camp around 5pm, ate and went to sleep around 8:30pm. What a great feeling.
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Whit_548 tent view up.JPG
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