Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Children on Whitney

I hiked the main trail July 4-6, and I was surprised at the number of kids I saw on the trail compared to previous years. One kid in particular had me worried, and I was wondering if anyone knew how his hike turned out.

He was an 8-year old Japanese boy, whom I saw first half a mile up the switchbacks above Trail Camp. He was with his father or grandfather and his favorite teddy bear; he was a little on the chubby side, and way, way overdressed for the warm morning. He looked like he was tired and overheated, and I hoped the older man wasn't going to try to push him too far.

On our way down from the summit 4 hours later (about 12:30 Saturday afternoon), to my surprise we passed them again still very slowly on their way up, about a mile and a half from the summit. The older man, in poor English, seemed to be assuring us that he had plenty of water and that they were ok, but I couldn't help but feel it was a really bad idea to keep pushing the kid (if in fact he was doing so).

I'm all for pushing kids to be their best and to set lofty goals for themselves, but this one just looked out of his league, and I was really worried about his safety. Does anyone know if he made it to the summit and back again safely?

Yeah, I saw the same kid+dad, at Trail Crest I think - a little after 12, as I was coming down. I was surprised at how young the kid was - and dressed in a big down jacket. They both seemed in good spirits, to me. The kid was quiet - but I thought he looked happy enough - most people look somewhat like death by the top of the siwtchbacks =) - guess they might have been chasing dark by the time they got back to the portal, at that pace.

First time I went up the trail, as a chubby little kid of about 9, my dad made me turn around about halfway up the switchbacks, saying we'd get back too late. I'm pretty sure I put up a fight =).

They were on the way down as we were almost at the summit. I cdn't tell if it was a boy or girl due to how bundled up plus head down and looking ill. S/He was holding the stomach while the dad was basically holding the kid and walking him/her quickly down. We were very concerned and offered help, but the dad just said that they had water. I, too, am wondering if the kid ended up okay. It looked like it was trending the wrong way to me...