Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board August 13-27 Out & Back from Onion Valley

Hello, I’m a flatlander from Michigan who has gotten hooked on hiking in the Sierras. A couple weeks ago, I finished my 6th backpacking trip in the Sierras. I spent a week doing an out and back from Onion Valley crossing Kearsarge Pass and Forester Pass from both directions. I spent a day hiking Mt Tallac then finished the trip with a few days of hiking with my wife in Point Reyes. I thought I’d share a few things that I knew going in, but evidently still needed to be reminded of. I’m sure that the majority of people on this board are well aware of these things but I find that it never hurts to review health and safety tips.

1. #1 on the list - If you need to be reminded that there are still good people in the world then go backpacking. The majority of people I met on the trail were very friendly. On day 2 the hip belt on my REI Flash 65 gave out putting all my pack weight on my shoulders. Later that evening a nice person gave me some duct tape. The next day I met someone while heading up Forester Pass who experienced the same issue with the same pack. He gave me some tie wraps and told me exactly how to fix it. These kind acts saved me from an early exit due to shoulder/back pain. Tie wraps and duct tape are now on my pack list as well.
2. Eat, eat, eat. Your body needs fuel. I’m one of those people who have to force themselves to eat when at altitude. I didn’t do a very good job of that at first and wound up bonking on my 4th day of hiking. I actually fell down and may have blacked out for a second. I remember the fall seemed to happen in slow motion. Your natural reaction is to reach out and catch yourself when you fall but I made no attempt to catch myself leading me to believe I blacked out for a second. My face hit rock 1st which wasn’t pleasant but did provide the benefit of restoring me to a state of full alertness. Fortunately I was about a quarter mile from Tyndall Creek and not in a place where a fall like that could have resulted in serious injury. Also fortunate that my nose or temple didn’t hit rock 1st. I was lucky to wind up with only a couple scrapes. My log book entry for that day includes the phrase “eat more food dumbass.”
3. Stay hydrated. Drink more than you think you need. I went through 3 liters of water and 1 liter of Gatorade per day while hiking and I probably should have been drinking more based on the evidence.
4. GPS and satellite messengers are nice but no substitute for map, compass, and rational thought. They don’t always work depending on obstructions around you (trees, rock walls). I carried an Inreach because it made my wife more comfortable with me hiking alone plus it allowed me to check in with her on a daily basis. Regardless, carry a map and compass and know how to use them.
5. Don’t be afraid or too stubborn to be flexible with your daily plans. Don’t push to make it to your next goal if you’re too tired or sore to make it safely. My daily plans changed daily based on how I felt and the issues I had during my hike. I didn't make it as far as I wanted to but still had an great time, met some nice people, and saw some incredible scenery.

Here's some pix:
[img]https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1516698691689162&l=0d4f73e937[/img]
[img]https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1516698685022496&l=c026dc3ed3[/img]
[img]https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1516698721689159&l=9c8da4aa71[/img]
[img]https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1516698731689158&l=01c56990db[/img]
[img]https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1516699638355734&l=f0ae50251c[/img]

This is my first post on this board in a LONG time. But your # 1 point resonated with me enough to "second" it. Perhaps because I'm only an itinerant hiker (not full time) I recognize immediately that when I do hike that fellow hikers and backpackers ARE the nicest folks on earth!

i really like your route choice thanks for the photos

Once you are at Tyndall Creek, you can follow the trail up the creek to Shepherd Pass (and if you have any energy left trot up Tyndall and Williamson. Beautiful panorama down and up the drainage you just left. This will save you a day returning from whence you came.

It is a trudge down the pass (better now that the trail is being repaired) and UP 500' just when you didn't need THAT and finally down from the ridge to Simmes Creek - and trail head for the pass.

From here it is a 3 mile (about) dusty road to the main road to Onion Valley. I've never heard of anyone not getting a ride up hill to the car. Well, it depends if anybody is going up hill or willing to turn around to take you back up.

Nice loop, but put it in the strenuous list.

If you have and extra car for a car shuttle leave Tyndall Creek on the PCT/JMP to the 'back side' of Whitney. You sometimes can get a permit to hike up the west side but you have to return down and finish off the hike over Army Pass to Cottonwood Lakes