Like many other people who have had successful trips after using this forum, I am grateful to the WPS folks, and I am greatful to all of the nice people who answered my many questions on this forum and provided such useful info over the last few months.
I got to the Dow Villa in Lone Pine on Sunday, July 13 late in the day. The lady behind the desk said that the Portal road had been washed out during a massive thunderstorm, and that no permits were being issued, at least for a while. After an initial panic, I surmised that everything would be ok -- my permit entry date wasn‘t until Thursday, July 17. By the way, the Dow was very nice, and is in a perfect, central location.
The first order of business was acclimation. This was critical since I live in Raleigh, North Carolina, at an altitude of around 400 feet. So, Monday I went up to Horseshoe Meadows and climbed up to Cottonwood Pass. This was a very nice hike, and really helped me get some confidence that I could function at the higher altitude. By the way, the road to Horseshoe Meadows really freaked me out. It is narrow, steep, and has no guardrails. I even had to stop the car once and move boulders off the road so that I could pass.
After a second night at the Dow Villa, I picked up my permit and headed up to Whitney Portal Campground for two nights. I continued to hike around the area to get further acclimated. Lone Pine Lake is another great hike that isn’t too hard, but gets you up to almost 10,000 feet. The burgers and pancake at the WP Store are a real plus (i.e., you don't have to cook), and the folks at WP Store are the best. Believe me that the pancake is tasty, but ridiculous. I gave away 2/3 of it to other folks at the store, and still had plenty to eat. This is no joke, they had to put the pancake on two plates it was so big!
Site #9 at the WP campground was the best tent site in the whole place. It is huge and not too close to the creek. Now, a note about the bears. The bears go up the creek looking for fish, so don’t park too close to the creek. Also, based on the advice of the campground host, do NOT leave your car windows open. Several people left their windows open over night while I was there. What these nice people found out the hard way is that the bears will crawl in the open window and ransack the vehicle. Word to the wise, just be sure not to leave any food in the vehicle, and don’t leave any other articles in view. But keep the windows shut!
My Thursday, July 17 entry date finally rolled around. I started up the main trail about 10:30 after packing up everything and finding a place to park. My pack was 35 pounds -- not too bad compared to what I normally carry. The weather was mostly sunny and warm, at least when I started. By the time I got to Outpost Camp, it started to sprinkle. After climbing past Mirror Lake a few tenths of a mile, I had to put on my rain gear. By the time I got to trail camp, it was cold and rainy. After setting up my gear in the rain and lying around in my tent for a while, the rain stopped and it was sunny and warm again. Go figure. As some others have told me, this is pretty normal for the Sierras. Be prepared!!!
While it was still raining, three young men from San Francisco showed up at Trail Camp. They were lucky it warmed up again, because they didn’t have any rain gear. Had it stayed cold and rainy, they would have been in real trouble. As it turned out, they were able to dry out their gear in the sun. Later, they figured out that they didn’t bring a lighter, so I loaned them one. Then their stove didn’t work, to I heated their water in the huge pot that they lugged up the mountain. We had a talk about bringing proper rain gear, and I hope they learned their lesson.
Now a note about acclimation. I had breathing problems climbing 14ers in Colorado a few years ago, so I took the advice of many others on this site. I took 3 days to acclimate, including 2 nights at Whitney Portal Campground. I had no breathing problems on this trip, except for a little fluid in my lungs, causing me to develop a slight cough. Mountain sickness can ruin any trip, regardless of how well it is planned, and regardless of how much you want to summit. Don’t let mountain sickness ruin your trip -- spend some time at higher altitudes.
I didn’t sleep well at Trail Camp due to my cough and general excitement, and decided get an early start. I had already prepared my summit pack, so all I had to do is get up and go. I hit the switchbacks at about 4:30 AM, and saw the sun rise at trail crest. What a beautiful sight. The rest of the hike was pretty routine until I got to the summit at about 8:00 AM. I was up there totally by myself. The wind was calm, the sky was totally clear, and the temp was about 54 degrees. Very surreal. A nice young lady showed up about 15 minutes later, and took my picture for me by the Mount Whitney placard. It had been worth all of the effort.
One word about how much water to carry as you leave Trail Camp. Know yourself, and take more than you think you will need. The hydration bladder in my pack takes 3 liters. But I took an extra liter just in case, thank goodness. By the time I got back to Trail Camp, I had drunk most of the fourth liter. Everyone is different, so don’t let anyone tell you how much water you will need. And filter or purify your water for heaven's sake. Otherwise, you are playing Russian roulette with your health. I took a Steripen, which is light and effective. The water in the pond at Trail Camp was loaded with algae, and I would not trust it if I were you.
I then went down to Trail Camp, packed up and walked back to the Portal for a burger and fries at the Portal. A perfect end to a perfect trip! Thanks again to all who gave me such good advice. Happy Trails!
Dave C.
