Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board The Longest Day of My Life

Thursday, July 29, was the longest day of my life. I had been contemplating a "Whitney Double" for most of a year. After postponing my trip twice because of weather, I was finally ready to go.

I wanted to be at the Lone Pine Visitor Center for the 11:00 AM permit "Lottery" on Wednesday, so I left Reno on Tuesday night around 8:00. I drove to Conway Summit to sleep, got Breakfast in Bishop, and made it to the Visitor Center before 10:00. There were no permits available at 11:00, so I hung out at the local park and then ate at McDonalds. There were many no-show permits available at 2:00 PM, and I got the first one.

I drove to Whitney Portal and discovered that the only parking was in the overflow parking lot. The overflow lot would be fine for a normal climb, but I wanted to be right near the trailhead, store, water, and toilet for a double climb. I hung out in the day-use area like a vulture and waited for a space near the trailhead. I finally got one. I took a shower at the store, ate lots of spaghetti, and went to bed about 7:00.

I rested and dozed until almost 1:00 AM, but the Inyo Sheriff SAR, other climbers, and the anticipation of the double kept me from getting any meaningful sleep. I got dressed, grabbed my food and sunscreen from the nearby bear box, and started up the trail at 1:15 AM.

The trip up the Mountaineers, Route was uneventful, which is good. The moon played peek-a-boo with the trees and the clouds most of the way up, so I used my headlamp on and off until I was well into the couloir. My only stop on the way up was to get water just below Upper Boy Scout Lake. There was very little snow, but wet ground in the couloir suggested that it must have rained on Wednesday. I was glad I had waited until Thursday, but lots of clouds in every direction had me worried about completing a double.

I summitted at 6:11 AM, expecting to be alone. There must have been 20 other people there. I sent a SPOT message, signed the register, and headed back down the Mountaineers' Route.

I met a guide and his client starting up the couloir, and I met two guys heading for Keeler Needle. I was wearing trail runners, and I slipped several times on the way down. Otherwise, the trip down went smoothly. I was back at the car at 9:44 AM.

At the Portal, I headed for the toilet, proud that I hadn't had to stop to use my WAG bag. I drank some Recoverite, exchanged my trail runners for a pair of heavier but more secure hiking boots, swapped my almost empty food bag for a full one, and got more water. The batteries in my SPOT were dying, but the store didn't carry lithium batteries. I grabbed an emergency bivy and another layer in case the clouds made good on their threat to dump on me.

I headed back up the trail at 10:31 AM, worried about the weather, and wondering whether I had lost my mind. It was hot, and I felt that I was working harder and going much slower than I had on the first trip. By Lower Boy Scout Lake, I was feeling OK, and the altimeter indicated that I was gaining around 1,000 feet an hour. I stopped below Upper Boy Scout Lake again for water, leaving with three quarts. I met the guide and his client coming down, but I never saw the guys on Keeler Needle. I guess they didn't want to risk being there if a thunderstorm materialized.

There were still lots of clouds, but they weren't forming any obvious storm cells. I continued up, cautiously optimistic that I could get to the summit and back off of it without getting soaked or electrocuted. At 13,000 feet, I was still averaging around 1,000 feet an hour, but I was pretty trashed. I took a caffeine pill and pushed on. Sensing that the summit was within reach, I pushed even harder, reaching the summit at 4:20 PM. I expected to find hoards of stragglers from Trail Camp, but I had the summit to myself.

I think the Mountaineers' Route is the quicker way down, but I didn't want to risk a climbing or routefinding mistake when I was that tired. I sent another SPOT message, signed the register again, and headed down the trail, figuring that I could just cruise in zombie mode if I had to. I had the trail almost to myself all the way to Trail Crest.

On a long day like this, I believe in pacing myself and only stopping when I need something out of my pack. Some people advise sitting down for a 10-minute break every hour, but that would have added nearly four hours to my day. I sat down for my first break of the day at Trail Crest and changed my sox. I headed down the 97 boring, almost level, switchbacks, passing stragglers as I went. I was certainly tired, but I was making decent time, and I never deteriorated into zombie mode. The thunderstorms I had feared all day didn't materialize.

About an hour from the Portal, I ran out of water in my CamelBak. I still had a quart bottle left, but I wanted to make it without stopping to get out my headlamp. I had already stopped to pee seven times, so I figured I wasn't dehydrated, and pushed on. I had to pull out the headlamp to cross the North Fork stream anyway. I was back at the car at 9:05 PM, 19 hours and 50 minutes after I started.

I got more Recoverite, staggered around, and heated some spaghetti. I made sure that everything that would interest bears was in the bear box, and not in my car. I was in bed by 10:00 PM.

I woke up around 6:30 Friday morning. I had planned a shower and breakfast at the store before driving home, but they opened late, didn't have a cook on duty yet, and didn't have the key to the shower. I ended up skipping the shower and getting breakfast in Bishop. When I got to Mammoth, I was still so tired, I had to take an hour nap before driving the rest of the way home.

At 61, it takes longer to recover than it used to. It's now Sunday afternoon, and the soreness is diminishing. I may even head up nearby Mt. Rose in a day or two, but I won't be repeating the longest day of my life anytime soon.

Congratulations Bob!

I got an invite from Jim Freeland (SierraGator) yesterday evening to do a repeat of our MR Double . My reply (trying hard not to sound rude): No Way! (Although I may make a liar out of myself because even though it usually takes more time, I don't think this one is worse then the Willy/Tyndall Double that I probably (really) won't ever repeat.

Bob.... fantastic description and congratulations to you. This is some accomplishment at 61, or any age. WOW!

I did one Whitney double in my life and will never do another. I just felt like I was hiking in quicksand during portions of the second leg. It was a lot tougher than I had anticipated. I think it's harder than a Grand Canyon rim to rim to rim, which is 48 miles.

In any case, my sincere congrats to you!

Wow, congratulations! At any age that is incredible.

Outstanding Bob!
Way to challenge your inter-zombie
Ouch, those must have felt like cinderblocks on the 2nd lap

Wow! What an adventure! You inspire me! My goal is to do a double. I need to learn the mountaineers route first. Your trip was executed perfectly. Your time was amazing. And, at age 61! 61 is the new 50!

Congrats on the double! Hope I can still do that at 61

Thanks to everyone for the congratulations.

I must concede that I wasn't the first, the fastest, or the oldest to do a double. Others who did it first inspired me to try it.

Graham: The boots didn't feel like cinderblocks; they felt like a pair of brick ovens. The weight difference was 8 ounces per boot.

Ultramo was right to mention execution. Planning and execution were just as important as fitness. Knowing the route, knowing what to wear and how much food to bring, and patiently waiting for the right conditions were all necessary for the success. Yes, I'm fit, and, yes, I pushed myself hard. But I think it's more important that I took good care of myself and pushed hard enough to get the job done but not hard enough to crash before I finished.

A double isn't all about talent or the willingness to suffer. It's about experience, conditioning, and smart execution. Anybody can gain the same experience and conditioning that I have by simply hiking and climbing a lot. If you have the experience and you focus on efficient execution of a sensible plan, you may surprise yourself with what you can accomplish.

That is inspirational, especially for those of us who came to hiking/climbing late in life (37). I am building skills and experience gradually, and really do hope to be just like you at 61 Bob! Thanks for sharing your experience!

Nice work, Bob! (Doug said you were in the home stretch when I was up there. I'm sorry I couldn't congratulate you in person.)

A double has always been in my future---but fortunately I've been able to keep it there: in the future.

Inspiring effort Bob!

Does anyone know if the Main Trail has been doubled?...........................................DUG

Yes, it has!

Most notably by Jack Northam. Here's a link to a thread a few months ago regarding a write-up on Jack in a San Diego newspaper. Excellent read.

Jack completed two doubles while I was out there 3 weeks ago, as well as his 90th summit of Whitney. He's still getting to the summit in less than 4 hours at age 63, which just blows my mind. Betsy has, I believe, 45 summits, but I can't recall if she's ever done a double with Jack. And I agree - two of the nicest people you will ever meet. Jack said he plans to be back this month for several more summits, which I'm sure will include a double or two. Summit # 100 will probably be next summer, which I'd love to be out there for. Maybe Richard and Jack can coordinate their 100th together . . .

Hi Bob,
Congratulations for your 2X in a day. I can't comprehend your physical and mental ability to endure such a demanding hike.
I was shocked to hear that you are only 61. I just turned in 61 a few months ago. You set the bar too high for other ordinary
hikers.

Thank you for exhibiting 61 years old power.

I don't know about gaining the same experience and conditioning as you do Bob. The bar has been set pretty high (keep it up!). I know I can never do a Whitney double or a Tyndall/Whitney double, even at 29 years of age.

Steelfrog:

I climbed my first peak at 38.

You're probably right about a no-go at 29 Amin. You'll most likely need to wait till you're at least in your fifties to begin pulling doubles. Seems to be the trend . . .

Congratulations! Well planned and executed. Very inspirational.

John

You're crazy and you, RP and SN are a triple threat!

Absolutely amazing! Congratulations.

Did you get any blisters? How did your knees hold up?