Mt. Whitney - August 2009

Mt. Whitney is the highest peak in the lower 48 states with an elevation of 14,497 feet. Calvin and I joined a group in climbing Mt. Whitney in 2007. I went again in 2008 and then Calvin, BJ, Brandon Dean (friend of the family) and I hiked it as a group in August. This is a picture of Mt. Whitney from a distance. Some hikers go from the Whitney Portal to the summit and back in less than 24 hours but we have chosen to make it more of an adventure rather than an endurance event. The pictures below show a little bit of our journey over a three-day period.

Before heading up the mountain, we enjoyed some interesting rock formations known as the Alabama Hills just outside of Lone Pine, CA. This is Brandon, BJ and Calvin standing in one of the arches.
The rock formation below (we call it Jaba the Hut) needed to be climbed. Brandon and BJ shinnied up the rock and then found it was harder coming back down.

But a great view from the top!

We spent the night at the Whitney Portal (elev. 8,500) and then made our final preparations for our three-day trip. We organized our packs and made ready. Calvin tried on three different cell phones to text his final messages before we lost contact with civilization.

BJ said he was ready to go although there seems to still be a lot of gear outside the packs we needed to carry.

Here we are at the sign as we start the Mt Whitney trail. Our goal for the day is only 3.5 miles and an elevation gain of 2000 feet to Outpost Camp where we will camp overnight.

On the trail we ran into a few deer - a doe and two fawns. They kept on the move through the brush but we got a quick picture while one of the fawns was checking us out.

We stopped along the way at Lone Pine Lake for lunch, to catch our breath and to enjoy the beautiful scenery!

This mountain range has been described as a 300 mile long piece of granite. As you can see below, it is very obvious where the tree line stops.

Calvin came prepared for a quick dip in the lake. I can't believe he stayed in as long as he did - the water is freezing cold. He was kind enough to stop and pose for a quick picture with a great background.

After our lunch we completed the 3.5 mile trek to our camp at Outpost Camp. After getting our camp set up, BJ and Calvin soaked their hot feet in the stream that runs through the camp. It was also icey cold and you could only keep your feet in the water for a few seconds and then you had to let them warm up a bit on the rocks before soaking them again. Very refreshing though!

Brandon was feeling a bit of the effects of the elevation (10,500 feet) and crashed in the tent for a good nap.

We ate chicken quesadillas with guacamole for dinner. This was Calvin's creation and turned out very well. We were all feeling good as we went to bed that night.

The next morning came early with an alarm at 4:00 am. We ate breakfast and were on the trail by 5:15 am (well before sunrise) using headlamps. This is a picture as the sun first began to rise - you can see the moon and probably Venus in the upper right corner.

Slowly it got lighter and lighter. You can see the sunlight just starting to hit the peaks in the background as we continued the hike up to Trail Camp at 12,500 feet where we would have our last chance to get water before heading to the summit!

So far the trip was rating a good thumbs up from BJ!

The wildflowers were amazing - growing out of the rocks in the places you wouldn't think possible.

After climbing the 97 switchbacks we finally arrived at Trail Crest - 13,600 feet! We planned to take a short break and eat a little but the crew was ready to push on around to the west side of the mountain range and head for the summit.

Brandon, Calvin, me and BJ at the Trail Crest sign.

From the back (or west side) of the mountain range you get a view of more mountains and lakes to the west.

Lots of beautiful and interesting rock formations.

And a landscape that would seem more appropriate in outer space.

Here's BJ and Calvin enjoying the trail.

Brandon was feeling some of the effects of the altitude - headache, nausea. We read that normal mental ability is reduced to 60% of normal at 14,000 feet. We were definitely higher than that by this point on the trail.

There are a couple of spots where you have a glimpse from the back side through openings between the "needles" where you can see the sheer cliffs and look down about 1000 feet straight down.

More views down to the east.

Another time for a break.

Calvin looked like quite the mountain man with his bandana, beard and black shirt. Here he's taking a drink from his Camelback.

We arrived at the summit right at 11:00 am! Brandon laid down on a rock to see if he could get feeling better. Within 10 minutes he was up and going strong. We got cell phone coverage and made a few phone calls. BJ called Kiki - good thinking since we spent his 7th anniversary on the mountain!!! Thanks again Kiki for sharing BJ with us for a few days.

This is a few from the very top with me sitting on the edge shooting down between my feet. It's a long way down - wouldn't want to slip!!

Here's Brandon at the edge - obviously feeling better.

We shared the summit with about 30 people - coming and going. We were in no hurry to head back down the mountain just yet so we chatted and watched a marmot scurrying around looking for food. He certainly didn't look like he was starving - and we helped a bit by giving him half of a peanut butter sandwich. He quickly took it down into the rocks to enjoy without the birds pestering him for scraps.

This is a funny shot - Calvin, BJ and Brandon all stretched out on the rocks in the sun and enjoyed a little nap.

Once we were all rested and feeling good - we gathered on the rock with the Mt. Whitney plaque and had a picture taken. We had achieved our goal - summiting Mt. Whitney at 14,497 feet!! A great accomplishment and with great company.

About 12:45 pm we began our hike back down to Outpost Camp. It was very interesting to see things from a different perspective as we were going DOWN instead of UP. Maybe we were just more aware since we weren't gasping for breath and just trying to keep putting one foot in front of the other!

This is a view all the way down to the town of Lone Pine in the distance at an elevation of 3,727 feet.

The view of the 97 switchbacks is great from up above. It is certainly easier to see where they are headed. You can see a few of the small switchbacks to the left of us working the way down the side of the mountain.

This gives you a little of an idea about the switchbacks. Brandon, Calvin and BJ are all standing one tier further down the mountain. The 97 switchbacks move you about 1,100 feet up or down the mountain.

And from a little different angle-

There was more snow around the trail this year than either of the two years before. Here Calvin and Brandon stopped for a minute in front of a crusty snow drift in one of the small valleys.

More little wildflowers - some kind of hearty daisy.

The sun was pretty bright and Brandon's neck was getting burned - even with sun screen. His extra shirt provided another layer of protection.

We were finally getting close to Outpost Camp - almost completing our 15 mile round trip hike to the summit. This is Mirror Lake which we passed in the dark earlier in the morning. We knew it was there but certainly couldn't see how pretty it was.

We arrived back at Outpost Camp at about 4:45 pm - 4 hours after leaving the summit. The hike to the top took took 5 hours and 45 minutes. We ate an interesting dinner of mashed potatoes with chicken noodle soup mixed in. We've had this before but I forgot that we usually mix the soup up first and then add the potato flakes. The noodles and chicken were a little crunchy but we were hungry and ate it anyway.

We were up and moving the last day between 6:00 and 6:30. The sun was just starting to hit the mountains above the valley.

We packed up and prepared for our final 3.5 mile hike out to the Whitney Portal. Here's the four of us ready to go.

We reached Whitney Portal by 10:00 am, retrieved our extra items from the bear vault and went on into Lone Pine for a hot shower at the hostel and then lunch at the Mt. Whitney Restaurant.

We had a great time and I really appreciate BJ, Calvin and Brandon going slow for the old man at the back of the pack. It was a great hike. Who's going with us next year???

The following slide show has the rest of the pictures we took-