Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Climbing August 4 2009 - Training and Gear Talk

I doubt that I am adding anything to what has been said before, probably more like summarizing everything above.

I have trouble with altitude so I have to arrive early every trip. After checking into the portal campsite I take a hike up to Lone Pine Lake and get re-acquainted with the trail in the daylight because I always start my hike between 1:30 and 2:30 in the morning. I sit at the lake for about 2 hours just relaxing and thinking about a burger and fries.

The next day I either hike to Iceberg Lake (if I can get a permit the day before at the ranger station) or I hike to Meysan Lake and hang out there for a couple of hours just relaxing and thinking about a burger and fries.

The next day I drive over to Horseshoe Meadows and hang out there for a couple of hours and pick up my permit and last minute supplies and phone calls in Lone Pine. Then I go to bed early after packing my backpack and set the alarm. I bring a travel alarm because of the problem with cell phones and time zones up there.

I also recommend filling up your 3 liter bladder and an additional 1 liter bottle. I constantly sip and have to break out the 1 liter somewhere on the switchbacks on the way down.

I wear liners and socks, hiking boots, convertible pants, t-shirt, lightweight fleece, long sleeve button up shirt and neoprene knee braces around my ankles and a headlamp. I put the knee braces on for the downhill. I have in my pack my waterproof pants and waterproof hooded jacket, beanie, fleece gloves (you may need them at trail crest), extra pair of socks and sometimes a down vest. I also carry a filter and ten+ essentials. I take a sandwich made from a bagel, cream cheese, ham & turkey and swiss cheese and lots of gu, clif bars, clif shots and beef jerky. Up to Trail Camp I carry 1.5 to 2 liters because there are plenty of places to fill up.

Don't forget to take cash with you because you may not have the time to get back to your campsite or car before the store closes. Last year I ran from Lone Pine Lake to get to the store in time to order before they closed because one of the guys in the group was taking a 15 minute break every hour on the way down.

Have a great trip. I did not get a permit this year so I am going up mid July during the week to try for a cancellation.

There is a debate about this carrying this much water at the start. One liter weighs 2.2 pounds. Is it worth carrying 8.8 pounds at the start of your hike?

At the start of the hike, I carry 1.5 liters of water in my Camelbak and leave my Nalgene empty. I know the watering points along the way and the last source to get water before trying for the summit. During this time,I am constantly sipping out of my Camelbak keeping hydrated and replenishing my supplies.

For my final push to the summit, I carry 2 liters to last me until I return from the summit to the first watering point on SB #23.

Hope this advice helps. This is just from my experiences and your experience may vary.

Have fun.

Hey Kentucky Caver-- I too will be attempting to summit Mt. Whitney on August 4th... Hope to see you at the top!

Cheers,

KYScott

Duct tape has a lot of great uses, just know it’s limitations and uses. One year I was on the JMT and crossing a stream near Deer Meadow when I noticed my right foot felt damp. I checked my boot and was horrified to see that the sole was separating from the boot (really frustrating, because I had them checked by a cobbler before I left for this trip). I had to backtrack to exit the trail over Bishop Pass and used duct tape to keep my boot intact. It worked, but I had to keep applying it because the trail was just chewing up the tape. It got me out, and I was able to pick up some more boots in Bishop (good ol’ Eastside Sports).

I’ve used duct tape on hot spots also, just make sure it’s not an actual blister. It will pull the skin off the top of the blister… moleskin’s probably your best bet.

Yes. I will only be wearing the Marmot precip pants if it is raining. Otherwise, I'll be wearing the typical nylon hiking pants with zip off legs.

Ahhh yes....the filter question...what to do. I'm really trying to talk myself into purchasing a steripen....of course I've already spent more money on gear than I should have! Maybe I'll just make myself suffer and use iodine tabs. Thanks for the tip....still haven't decided exactly what I will do...but I will treat the water one way or another.

excellent gear tips, I plan on using them all! Training....I just can't train any harder. If I don't make it with the training I'm doing then it was not meant to be. I logged 32 trail miles last week in some very hot and muggy Kentucky weather. I just don't think I can train any harder based on time and recovery required.

Blisters are still a problem. For long hikes, I train in top of the line La Sportiva Boots and for shorter hikes (under 10 miles) I train in North Face trail shoes. I use injinji (sp?) liners and high quality hiking/running socks. I guess I just got funky toes! (big grin)

burk75,

I slow pace sounds good to me. One reason I like the idea for a slow pace is so I can enjoy the experience and views!

Although, pace does raise some interesting questions. For example, a slow pace may mean more time for altitude to take its toll on the hiker...and a fast pace may mean less time for altitude to take its toll on the hiker....OR....could it be that a slow pace is less taxing on your system (energy reserves, hydration, etc..) and makes the hiker less prone to altitude issues. Altitude has been very confusing to research. Too much conflicting information.

Regardless, I appreciate you sharing your experience and I hope it goes the same with me. I'm down for the "Long Slow Distance"

I'm just now nailing down my food and electrolyte plan. I'm going to post again about those topics.

> Ahhh yes....the filter question...what to do.

Just so you know, a number of the Whitney regulars skip the water treatment. Here's Bob R's thread on where to find good water:

Water sources: Main Trail and Mountaineer’s Route

...and many more references and debate in this thread: &nbsp Filter question

heart_of_a_tiger,

Natural Bridge....a hidden gem of Kentucky! The Red River Gorge area has more natural sand stone arches than anywhere else except Utah. Awesome place to hike for sure.

August snowstorm, So should I take cramp-ons? I've never even seen them...grin. If it snows hard on the way up, I'll turn back...but if it snows after I'm on summit, then have to come back down through it....well...that would be a problem. So again, should all hikers take cramp-ons?

It shouldn't snow enough in August to make crampons necessary.

Kentucky, this year I have been pace training more than anything else. For example, on low elevation steep trails. I'll hike them one time as fast as I can. The next time I will hike extra slow (although my competitive side wants to push) and force myself to keep it slow. I find that if I start very slow, I have much more left late in a hike, even short ones.

So good luck, I'm sure that you'll do great.

Let me add to what Steve C said, once you reach Trail Crest you will be able to what weather is coming out on the western horizon.

I see no reason to carry winter gear in August...clothing might be another story. I've seen single digits up high in August.

docdiamond,

All excellent advice, which I will heed to the nth degree!

I also appreciate you trying to talk me into the Steripen, which I'm trying to convince myself to purchase anyway.

I hope to repost with a complete and final list of what all I'm taking to get feedback on. I'm still a little confused about taking a jacket other than my Marmot rain jacket. I've got a down vest to put on under it, so I wonder if that will be enough for warmth...especially on the arms, since it is a vest.

@ti2d,

First of all, you have a very wild user name. I'm assuming it is attitude right? cool.

Your post brings up a really intersting thought...what should a person summitting do to add that extra something to the day? As you said, one could bring a flag and represent a state, or any number of things to give the moment more meaning. I bet there are some great stories of what people have hauled to the top, or the reason of motivation for reaching the summit...I bet all this would make a very interesting read!

Thanks for chiming in and giving me something to think about other than just gear and training....which I can say have dominated my thoughts more than they probably should've over the last four months!

Duct tape can fix almost anything - never leave home without it.

For blister issues we use cool little neoprene booties called "ezeefits" and they pretty much eliminate heel & ankle blisters. I think they rock & take them everywhere I go. Yup, even hawaii - they kept the sand from eating holes in my feet. Aloha, Nepali Coast hike ~

Ezee fit booties http://www.ezeefitsports.com/booties.htm

As far as summiting gear - I had a friend wear a Cheesehead hat up to summit. Our buddy at trail camp had no problem keeping tabs on us as we schlepped up the SB's. We also have "Joe" who always carries a diet coke & a porkchop from the market up to the top..why? I don't know - but he almost always summits, so I can't argue with him - I can shake my head & smile, but not argue.

Hello KentuckyCaver,

(Haven't been on WPS for a while, feels good to wander back in) just thought I'd toss this little visual at you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucwhH65ryGw&feature=channel

the Duct tape works wonders for many things, but usually, it just gets wrapped around your water bottle or poles and you never touch it . . . but, yeah, then a boot goes out.

You don't sound too young, so you've got that in your favor, as far as going up whitney in a day––I've seen a bunch of young guys blast up that trail, only to run out of steam and get hit by the altitude, while the older, slower (dare I say, wiser) guys kind of plod on by them as they turn around, head down.

Last summer I met a guy who had been on the trail (when I met him) almost 24 hours and he was probably on for 30-35 and in bad shape, but I guess he made it.

go slow, drink as much as you can. make sure your shoes are broken-in, but not broken. I don't see a headlamp on your gear list. get one. Also, last year, in august, there was a good amount of ice on the top of the switchbacks, around the cables. You might want to think about getting a pair of slip on cleat/crampons––it was no fun doing that 100 or so yards of patchy ice––especially if you are tired after a very long day. They don't weigh much and they're cheaper than a helicopter ride off the mountain.

bob

Hello Sierra Dreamer,

Ironically, I met a couple from E-Town hiking in Bernheim Forest on Sunday who mentioned an engineer from the Louisville area that was hiking Whitney in July.....would that be you? I can't remember their names, but they were training for Mt. Fuji in Japan.
I have also been using a Garmin Forerunner and as you say, the local knobs offer quite a bit of elevation in terms of a good workout. The Millenium Trail at Bernheim Forrest offer about 8000 feet elevation gain (and loss) over a distance of about 14 miles. Of course, I know I can't confuse elevation gain and loss with altitude.

If all goes well in August, I might just have to consider a JMT hike in the next year or two.

Good luck with your adventure and let me know how it turns out!

I may have to try your SmartWook socks with Ultimax liners. I'm about to go broke because I'm buying so many boxes of advanced healing blister band-aids! For my long hikes I need about 4 (four toes give me trouble) and they cost about $5.00 a box! I've tried athletes tape....didn't work for me....I've tried regular band-aids....also didn't work.

The huge swing in temperature is going to be interesting. I've never done an adventure that required so much planning around "possibilites".

Thanks for the suggestions.

I should clarify that it was probably more like early september by the time I summited and being the sierra, we got a day of snow dusting up high and cold temps. Yup, don't bring full-on crampons, just something like these:

http://www.asseenontvguys.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=355