Mt Whitney Day Hike

Whitney Day Hike

I travelled from New Hampshire to California to try my first 14,000+ footer; actually my first hike higher than Mt Washington in NH at just over 6,200 ft. I was unsuccessful in the Whitney lottery (like most) so luckily I was able to get an unused day pass at the Interagency Office just south of Lone Pine the day before. There was still a fair amount of snow at higher elevations due to the near record snowfalls of the past winter so I suspect that kept a some people away.

All the books I had read said a 'first timer' should plan on a 9-11 hour ascent so I hit the trail at 2:30 am with a headlamp. I could see other groups of hikers with headlamps above and below as I progressed. About 1.5 miles in my headlamp illuminated a 20-30 foot snow wall. Holy crap! I thought the trail was burried underneath and my hike was over but fortunately the trail paralleled the base of the snow wall and remained snow free for a while. I couple of stream crossings were tricky especially since there was a some ice on the rocks in the early morning and the streams were running very high.

Lost the trail for a minute at the lower campground due to the darkness and meandered through all the tents (sorry campers) but found it again rather quickly. Sun started coming up by the time I reached the second campground at about six miles in.

There was early morning ice on the trail near 99 switchbacks which slowed me a bit. It was melted on the descent. There were a few short snow traverses (20-50 yards) and some snow climbing on well packed snow. I had packed micro-spikes but didn't feel the need to use them. One single knee-deep posthole on the way down was a small price to pay.

Amazing views started to appear as the sun rose and I took a lot of pictures (awesome scenery). It was hard to take a bad picture there. Passed into Sequoia National Park just behind the pinnacles and the views to the west were amazing as well. Ran into one young man losing his breakfast and another turning around to descend only about 1.5 miles from the summit. Reached the summit at 8:30am, much faster than I had expected, and there were only three other hikers there. More breathtaking views from the summit. Temperature was probably in low-mid 40's. A lightweight fleece pullover was all I needed.

The descent was easier, as you might expect, as the ice on the trail had melted and the snow was a bit softer. Had the opportunity to see all the amazing scenery on the way down that I missed on the ascent due to the early morning darkness. I reached the trailhead at 2:00pm. Six hours up, an hour at the summit and 4.5 hours down. I did not feel any effects of the elevation other than a minimal shortness of breath and weather conditions were ideal.

Overall it was an amazing hike with memories that will last a lifetime. The trail was very well maintained and well planned to avoid very steep grades. Eleven miles up with 6,000 feet of vertical gain isn't easy but it was a very enjoyable hike. Go do it!

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