Overnight I did not sleep well, at all. I tossed, and I turned, and I rolled down the hill my tent was on. I fought off a slight bit of nausea. I was hot, I was cold. I wasn't happy. Eventually, I gave up and just stuck my head out the tent to look at the stars...and the people already starting their trek up to Whitney...at 3:30am. Around 4, Chris started stirring, and by 4:30, we were all up and ready to hike. I guess I was gonna start this hike with 2ish hours of broken sleep. Solid!
By 5:30, our water was filled, our day packs were set, and we were starting our trek. The first thing we ascended on the hike was the 99 switchbacks! We were also treated, about 1/4 of the way up, to this amazing sunrise!
Pretty incredible. Hard to describe how pretty a sunrise in the high sierra truly is. So as the sun rose from the East, we did as well, up the 99 switchbacks (or the 97 switchbacks, depending on who you talked to...I lost count around 7). The 99 switchbacks are just that...a whole shitton of switchbacks that take you up the Eastern slope of the Whitney Zone...from 12,000 feet elevation to 13,600 feet at the Trail Crest.
The switchbacks sucked...I'm not gonna lie. It was tough going for most of it. Slight bouts with nausea, uphill with seemingly no end in sight...it hurt. I was not having fun. And then...just as we neared the Trail Crest, I felt fine! My body had adjusted, and the altitude was no longer really affecting me. Although, its possible I was just distracted by the view from the Trail Crest...as we crossed the ridgeline and ended up on the Western slopes of Whitney, looking out over this:
And, of course, I had to find the highest rock ledge and take a picture on it!
After a decent stop here to appreciate our accomplishment, eat some food, and take some pictures, we continued on our way. The last 2 miles of this trail winds along the Western slopes, through the talus fields, and up to the summit of Whitney. It's not a bad hike, although there are times when you wonder if the talus fields will ever end. Up, up, up...and just when you are wondering if the end is ever approaching, you see the Whitney Cabin!
And then the marker for the "highest trail in the United States..." (which lies about the height, as it was posted before better measuring technology was created and used.)
And then you are there! The highest point in the Continental U.S. is summited. At this moment, I was the tallest thing in the entire country...and it was spectacular!
All four of us made it to the top pretty easily, all things considered. We were a great team. No one was a "weak link" or a "slave driver." We all set in at a good pace and knocked the hike out! And at the top we got the only picture taken of all four of us at once!
And we had to sign the log at the top...a record of us having summited this epic peak. More machine than man today!
Mt. Whitney is not an easy hike. The elevation change, the altitude itself, the length of the hike...its tough. You have to be in shape, you have to have enough water, and you have to be prepared for the lack of oxygen up top. But if you can do it, the views are incredible...and so worth it.
Haha, yes, it was Sharks Territory here too! We spent about half an hour at the top, where I called my mom, texted a few key individuals, and generally reveled in my accomplishment for a bit. Hey, I think I had earned it at this point. And then we started our descent.
I took no pictures on the descent. It's an out and back trail...so I had taken pictures of everything already. And we were MOVING on our way down. Whereas the 5 miles from Trail Camp to the summit took us 4 hours on the way up, we made it back down in 2 hrs 15 minutes! This was also the part of the hike where I apparently almost died!
OK, so I didn't really almost die. We were going down, and someone was coming up the trail at us, so we moved to the side for them to pass. Chris, Darren, and Jason went to the side of the trail against the mountain...I chose the side of the trail with the cliff. I chose my rock to stand on and wait for this guy to pass, when all of a sudden the rock decided it did not want to be there anymore...so it slid out from under me. On the edge of a 4,000 foot drop. Sigh. Whatever...I just leaned forward and grabbed a solid rock on the trail itself and pulled myself back up, not thinking anything of it. And then I looked at the faces of those in my party...all standing there, looks of terror frozen on their faces. I guess they all thought I was about to go for a bit of a ride! Weird...I never felt in danger once! Still, Jason said I should add this one to the list of near death experiences in my life, so I guess I'm up to 5 now! I'm running out of lives...
Anyways, back to camp to pack up and strap our heavy packs back on for the 6 mile hike back to the parking lot. We knocked that 6 mile hike out in 2 hours 25 minutes. We were MOVING! We stopped once, total...and only because Darren needed to stretch out his hamstrings. Our feet hurt, our legs hurt, our shoulders hurt...we just wanted to be done with it. So we knocked it out quickly!
Post hike we went back to the room to shower and change...then went into Lone Pine for some pizza and beer, and to watch the basketball game. Getting back to the hotel room, our AC was not working...and our room was now 95 degrees. Ridiculous. We ask the front desk to move us...they refuse, despite having HALF THE HOTEL FREE. Ridiculous. However, they did send the maintenance guy over, who was able to fix the AC. Apparently he's known as Big Jesus at the hotel...so there's that. Before he fixed the AC, we were packing up to drive home that very night. Maybe not the smartest idea we've ever had, but we were pissed, and weren't about to sleep in a 95 degree room.
Anyways, crashed pretty hard, woke up early on Monday, had breakfast and then took off for home. Made great time home...and Monday night I spent time with Jessica and played in a softball game (because I'm insane...and also a machine at times). So, good weekend all around.
So, that's my story from Mt. Whitney...presented in two glorious parts! Hope you enjoyed it. I know I certainly did. It was an incredible hike. Not just for the view at the top...but the entire hike was really pretty, and had a lot of little areas that were just so beautiful and relaxing. I loved it. I'll have to go back at some point...but maybe not til next year, lol.
Now that I've summited the highest point in the U.S., what in the world will I do for an encore? I dunno...I'll have to think about it. But you can rest assured that it will be epic!
The switchbacks sucked...I'm not gonna lie. It was tough going for most of it. Slight bouts with nausea, uphill with seemingly no end in sight...it hurt. I was not having fun. And then...just as we neared the Trail Crest, I felt fine! My body had adjusted, and the altitude was no longer really affecting me. Although, its possible I was just distracted by the view from the Trail Crest...as we crossed the ridgeline and ended up on the Western slopes of Whitney, looking out over this:
And, of course, I had to find the highest rock ledge and take a picture on it!
After a decent stop here to appreciate our accomplishment, eat some food, and take some pictures, we continued on our way. The last 2 miles of this trail winds along the Western slopes, through the talus fields, and up to the summit of Whitney. It's not a bad hike, although there are times when you wonder if the talus fields will ever end. Up, up, up...and just when you are wondering if the end is ever approaching, you see the Whitney Cabin!
And then the marker for the "highest trail in the United States..." (which lies about the height, as it was posted before better measuring technology was created and used.)
And then you are there! The highest point in the Continental U.S. is summited. At this moment, I was the tallest thing in the entire country...and it was spectacular!
All four of us made it to the top pretty easily, all things considered. We were a great team. No one was a "weak link" or a "slave driver." We all set in at a good pace and knocked the hike out! And at the top we got the only picture taken of all four of us at once!
And we had to sign the log at the top...a record of us having summited this epic peak. More machine than man today!
Mt. Whitney is not an easy hike. The elevation change, the altitude itself, the length of the hike...its tough. You have to be in shape, you have to have enough water, and you have to be prepared for the lack of oxygen up top. But if you can do it, the views are incredible...and so worth it.
Haha, yes, it was Sharks Territory here too! We spent about half an hour at the top, where I called my mom, texted a few key individuals, and generally reveled in my accomplishment for a bit. Hey, I think I had earned it at this point. And then we started our descent.
I took no pictures on the descent. It's an out and back trail...so I had taken pictures of everything already. And we were MOVING on our way down. Whereas the 5 miles from Trail Camp to the summit took us 4 hours on the way up, we made it back down in 2 hrs 15 minutes! This was also the part of the hike where I apparently almost died!
OK, so I didn't really almost die. We were going down, and someone was coming up the trail at us, so we moved to the side for them to pass. Chris, Darren, and Jason went to the side of the trail against the mountain...I chose the side of the trail with the cliff. I chose my rock to stand on and wait for this guy to pass, when all of a sudden the rock decided it did not want to be there anymore...so it slid out from under me. On the edge of a 4,000 foot drop. Sigh. Whatever...I just leaned forward and grabbed a solid rock on the trail itself and pulled myself back up, not thinking anything of it. And then I looked at the faces of those in my party...all standing there, looks of terror frozen on their faces. I guess they all thought I was about to go for a bit of a ride! Weird...I never felt in danger once! Still, Jason said I should add this one to the list of near death experiences in my life, so I guess I'm up to 5 now! I'm running out of lives...
Anyways, back to camp to pack up and strap our heavy packs back on for the 6 mile hike back to the parking lot. We knocked that 6 mile hike out in 2 hours 25 minutes. We were MOVING! We stopped once, total...and only because Darren needed to stretch out his hamstrings. Our feet hurt, our legs hurt, our shoulders hurt...we just wanted to be done with it. So we knocked it out quickly!
Post hike we went back to the room to shower and change...then went into Lone Pine for some pizza and beer, and to watch the basketball game. Getting back to the hotel room, our AC was not working...and our room was now 95 degrees. Ridiculous. We ask the front desk to move us...they refuse, despite having HALF THE HOTEL FREE. Ridiculous. However, they did send the maintenance guy over, who was able to fix the AC. Apparently he's known as Big Jesus at the hotel...so there's that. Before he fixed the AC, we were packing up to drive home that very night. Maybe not the smartest idea we've ever had, but we were pissed, and weren't about to sleep in a 95 degree room.
Anyways, crashed pretty hard, woke up early on Monday, had breakfast and then took off for home. Made great time home...and Monday night I spent time with Jessica and played in a softball game (because I'm insane...and also a machine at times). So, good weekend all around.
So, that's my story from Mt. Whitney...presented in two glorious parts! Hope you enjoyed it. I know I certainly did. It was an incredible hike. Not just for the view at the top...but the entire hike was really pretty, and had a lot of little areas that were just so beautiful and relaxing. I loved it. I'll have to go back at some point...but maybe not til next year, lol.
Now that I've summited the highest point in the U.S., what in the world will I do for an encore? I dunno...I'll have to think about it. But you can rest assured that it will be epic!
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