Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Backpacking advice

I will be hiking/backpacking Whitney with a group the weekend of July 11-12. This group is very inexperienced, I need a good game plan for this newbee group... any tips on how to make this a relatively enjoyable experience for all would be greatly appreciated.

Keep your packs as light as possible, 35# is a good goal for beginners. This mean leave the cast iron skillet and the 40 qt. ice chest at home :-). Start early in the morning and as to avoid the sun in the lower canyon, the temperature jumps around 15 F from its dawn reading in about 2 hours. This will also give you time to explore Lone Pine Lake and the area around Trail Camp.

On your summit morning, if you can't sleep get up and go, not too many people sleep real well at 12,000'. The Sierra Crest or the summit at dawn is unbelievably beautiful.

Have a fun time,

Bill

table
let the least experinced person take the lead up the path , stop every 45 minutes to hydrate and take a advil.
If someone wants to turn around make sure someone goes with them.
The path up is like the ailes at the supermarket only steeper
enjoy

You don't have to make "getting to the top" the focal point of the hike. As the day goes on, if they've done little-to-no backpacking/hiking, they could get discouraged under the weight of the pack and at looking at the how much farther they have to go "to make it". Try to play down the summit and focus on enjoying the mountain and how far they CAN get. You'll probably know after the first few hours whether they could make it to the summit.

Dear Tablers: I hope you don't mind my post.... my wife and I will be returning from Yosemite July 10 or 11 and would really like to hike Mt. Whitney on our way home. I have summited Whitney 2 times, one overnighter and one day hike but my wife has never gone along. If anyone in your group happens to bail out we would love to tag along on your permit. If we don't hear from you, have a wonderful time on your trip!

kabilderbach@earthlink.net

Kurt

I agree with all the other replies. I'd only add that it's important NOT to make it a race to the top. Take your time and enjoy the incredible scenery. This will not only increase your enjoyment but give slower members of your group much needed rest on the way up. I'll be heading from Horseshoe Meadows on the 11th as well ... I'll look for your name in the register.

Have a GREAT time!

All good advise. If it is not too late, a training hike might help with the success of the trip as well. I took a group of 9 up two weekends ago and as a group we did three training hikes (Baldy, San Jacinto and San G). I agree that with a group it is important to emphasize the experience rather than "bagging the summit". Luckly, all of our group was able to summit but the experience was what everyone remembers.

Drink lots of water and make sure everyone keeps eating.

Hi guys,
I am new on the "store" message board. Just hiked with two friends to the Summit last weekend June 27-29. The trail is great. We slept at Whitney Portal and Trail Camp. The weather was perfect. See the photos at my web site:

www.homepage.mac.com/artomis

click on the Mt. Whitney trail or Movie

One guy in the group was newbee and got altitude problems but we went to lower elevation and he get better.
Just take slow pace and keep going.

Hi there,

I've backpacked Whitney twice with a small group of friends - the first time we hiked up to Trail Camp and had a very uncomfortable experience due to the gale-like winds and the raging headaches we had. The second day we summited, came back to the campsite and packed our backpacks and continued down to Whitney Portal. A very long and tiring day. We made it but came off the mountain saying we're glad we did it so we don't have to do it again!

A friend's 50th birthday wish is what got us to go up the second time. We changed our strategy based on our first experience - we camped at Outpost Camp, a beautiful spot (but lots of mosquitos). This way we didn't have to lug our backpacks up the steepest part of the trail which is between Outpost Camp and Trail Camp. The elevation is lower at Outpost Camp so we didn't have the raging headaches like we did at Trail Camp. We also had time to hike 1/2 mile up to Mirror Lake and hung around there for a little while. The second day, our summit day, we hiked all the way to the top and back to Outpost Camp where we spent another night. It took us just short of 12 hours to get to the top and back - this includes rest stops and water stops. The second day is a long day (roughly 14 miles) but it was much easier and infinitely more enjoyable than what we did on our first trip.

If you decide to stay at Outpost Camp, be sure to stop at Lone Pine Lake on you way up and spend some time enjoying the beauty of it. Since you're only going to Outpost Camp, you'll have time to enjoy Lone Pine Lake and Mirror Lake on that first day.

Also, for the headaches - Excedrine Migraine worked for us.

Enjoy your trip.

I agree with much of the above, especially about going slowly and steadily, staying hydrated, stopping for a few minutes at least every hour.

One big factor in your enjoyment or success is, of course, pack weight. As a guide, here is something that has been passed around and has appeared in mountaineering newsletters: <a href="http://www.ridgenet.net/~rockwell/Climbing/The_Ultralite_Pack.doc">pack weight</a>. Don't follow it at all religiously, but it is a good list to keep in mind as you put things together.

I also agree with all of the advice, above.
I teach backpacking in LA, and I find that people starting out have real trouble with ultralight concepts, although I STRONGLY advocate this approach. It is a HUGE advantage to have a light pack. While Bob's is a great goal (I end up about 12 for a weekend), for beginners, I think it is important to set some goal....I personally think 20# is reasonable, as it will include some borrowed gear, "backup" (sigh), and inefficient models of things. Weigh it, don't guess. You do NOT need three jackets (as a guy on a trip recently had). If you want the backup of a tent, go get a 4#, 2 person model from Big 5 or Wal-mart, spray scotchguard on it. You do NOT need a mountaineering tent!
I would go so far as to have an enforced break every 45 minutes, for 10 minutes. Everyone has to take their pack off and sit. Everyone has to drink. Makes a HUGE difference for beginners after about 5 hours.

Everyone should check out the pictures from the link in Tomi's post. I think those are the best pictures I've seen of the trail. Absolutely awesome!

I concur! Tomi's pics are the best pictures of the Whitney Trail I've seen this year or any year. They were really awesome! (Although Bob R's pics in May in the snow were great too!) So far as backpacking is concerned I agree with the posts here. You can never be too prepared for a hike in the wilderness, especially this one. I would have to say that keeping the backpack light is the key to having a great hiking experience. As a former scoutmaster I can remember my younger scouts bringing "the kitchen sink" and paying the price later in the hike! A real live and learn experience! Enjoy the beauty of the Sierra's. There is really no place on earth like it.

They ARE great pics. Well done.

I wish I didn't have to wait another month to go up!