Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board We did it!!!! July 6th

WE DID IT!!! July 6th, we got up at 2am, packed up camp (camped at the backpacker's camp-only 2 other tents there-awsome!) and started hiking 2:45 am. I had something that felt like a cramp the whole way up, so we took a 1 hr 15 minute break at Trail Camp-also to filter H20, try to eat (no appetite up there), change insoles to my superfeet... (sidenote-it wasn't a cramp-I still have the pain a few days later a little bit-don't know if it was from using the poles?). The eating a little bit every hr did not work for me at all, especially that early in the morn. i tried, but gave that up. i also don't like all the sweet stuff on a hike and most of the energy foods we brought were sweet. i think it's good to stick with what u usually do on a hike for the big hike.

Hiking in the dark was very cool. We actually passed a few groups of people in the dark. Saw the sunrise, were so early we didn't have to worry about storms, and didn't have to worry about heat/sun, either. Got up top in 7 hrs (including the 1 hr 15 min break and other few short breaks to rest or for technicalities...). It was windy and chilly up there. Stayed long enough to take a few pictures, eat a sandwhich, and hiked back down. Mosied down for another 6 1/2hrs. That's when we really were able to appreciate the beauty of the area.

22 miles reaching 14,497 ft- awsome hike-we did it-now i can hike and do other things like get back to my conga playing, gardening...

Highly recommend going a couple days earlier to acclimate. I had loss of appetite and some slight nausea and my husband had tingling in the fingers, but we didn't have the drunk feeling or headache like we've had in the past on Humphrey and other acclimation hikes.

for any readers, remember my husband who went just because he luvs me so, had a hard time on the training hikes, and didn't train nearly as much as me? (doesn't care for hiking like me)-he was ahead of me most of the way and ended up carrying most of the weight!!! Shows how much determination counts! Training and acclimation are so very important, though, too.

AWSOME!!! Highly recommended! ya gotta do it at least once!

Great job, Kim! I was hoping you would post to let us all know how you did! CONGRATS to both you and your husband. Nothing like it, is there?

Way to go!

CaT

Well done, Kim! All that preparation and all your questions paid off. I'm proud of your husband, too. You've done good!

thanks, yah, it was great. i had mentioned, earlier, that i had a miscarriage and that's part of the reason we hiked it- kind of to fill the gap and because i luv it and wanted to do things that i wouldl have a hard time doing with kids and things that i couldnt do if pregnant (the elevation wouldn't be good pregnant, period).

we're now not trying to not have kids, anymore, and i'm already mourning the loss of being able to do bigger hikes like this. i luv the challenge. i luv the outdoors and can still get that, but not the big ones, i suppose.

Hey, Kim, congrats on making the summit!

Now, when you succeed in "not trying not to have kids", don't despair! Take a look at the "highpointing" and "Mt. Ritter" sections of my <a href="http://www.mtritter.org">WWW page</a>. When Nathan was only about 2-1/2, he managed to walk from the rim drive down to the boat dock at Crater Lake (Oregon) and all the way back up. That's about 1 mile each way, and about 700 vertical feet. I was impressed...figured I'd have to haul him back up, but he did it under his own power.

Then, when he was 5-1/2, another family and we hiked up the Shadow Creek trail to Ediza Lake at the foot of "our" mountain, Mt. Ritter. Nearly 8 miles, roughly 2,000' gross vertical. A very long day with short legs, but he did that, too.

Now that he's 15-going-on-16, he's 6'1" and outhikes his poor old (50-something) dad until we get above 12,000'. (Something about greater experience pacing myself at altitude...) He's also a pack horse now, so I can offload some of those pounds I used to have to carry when he was younger/smaller.

We did Whitney in 2001 as a 3-day backpack.

Kids may slow you down a bit for a while, but it's a blast to take them along on the toughest hikes you think they can handle (and they'll surprise you at what they can handle)...their sense of accomplishment when they actually get there is more than payment enough for the extra effort!!

...happy hiking, and hope your family plans work out!!

Glad you could do the hike, Kim. Sounds like it did a world of good for your attitude. Best wishes for a successful venture in your quest for a baby.

I have an 11 year old daughter, and I have never found that my love out of outdoors was compromised. Okay, so maybe I cannot go as often as I use to (one long weekend a year), but especially when they're wee - they add a great weight for training hikes in a backpack, and for the goal - friends and family love to be able to mother them for a weekend every now and again. Then, when they're older, take 'em with you. What better gift can you give to a child than to pass on your love and appreciation of the outdoors?