Sara and I got the opportunity in August to climb Mt Whitney with some friends Larry, Scott and Gary. We drove to Lone Pine at the same time as Gary and stopped at the Visitors Center. We could see Whitney just looming above us from there.
We were lucky to get a camping spot at Whitney Portal about a half mile from the trail-head.
We got a great campsite just yards away from the bathroom and water. We setup our tent and then setup Larry and Scott’s since they weren’t going to get in until after dark.
Kari cooking dinner at camp. We needed to fuel up and get to bed as early as possible for the super early start tomorrow morning.
The next morning we got up at a little after 3 AM had a small amount to eat and drink before getting into the car for the short drive to the portal.
The trailhead at Whitney portal.
They have this trellis area here with information on the hike and how not to get into trouble. They also have a scale to weigh our packs.
While hiking up the first set of switchbacks we were hiking with our headlamps just as the pre-dawn was coming over the mountains.
There was many spots where the water was flowing over the trail. Where the water was very deep there are logs to walk on as part of the trail.
Other spots there are rocks to walk across. Here is Sara making it look easy.
Outpost camp at about 10,000 feet with a meadow and waterfall that was gushing water
The snow started showing up before our last water stop.
Sara hiking up one of the many switchback steps on the way to the Trail camp
Our first snow crossing on the trail. The snow was hard on the top and easy to hike over with our poles.
This is a very common view of the rock trail steps above the tree line that seem to go on and on.
We could hear water flowing beneath us and all around us. In this case the water flowed down the steps like a waterfall – take a look.
Trail camp is the last place to camp below the 99 switchbacks to Trail crest. We stopped here and filtered some water into our pack bladders. This is a really pretty spot and you will see it from Trail crest in pictures to come.
View of Trail camp lake area and Sara with 99 swtichbacks to come.
This was about half-way up the switchbacks in an area where they added some railings. It is really steep here and the rocks are off camber.
View from Trail crest. In the background you can see Lake Consultation and the route we took to get here. This is about 13,000 feet.
Looking the other direction on Trail Crest you can see down into Sequoia National park. It was such a beautiful sight it made me smile from ear to ear. From here it is about 2 miles to the top.
Just before the top there was a snow crossing. Hikers had cut by walking a groove in the snow which was pretty easy to walk up on, was kinda slippery coming down. Oh yea and the sheer drop off to the side.
Sara finishing up the hike on the top. Behind her you can see all of the mountains in the distance. It was like that all around us here.
There is a small rock ranger house at the top that is open in case you need a place to duck in from weather.
Summit picture. It was such a beautiful day with light winds and lots of sun. We spent about 30 min at the top taking pictures and soaking in the views.
It was a long day of hiking but totally worth the training and the effort. We finished up around 4:00 PM and there was some nice guys who took our picture as we came out.
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