Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Whitney / JMT report

I did a 4-day trip on Whitney last week.
Started at 5:08 a.m. on August 11 and ascended
in 4:18 via the main trail. The weather was
perfect and the alpenglow very impressive.
Had a sandwich on the summit then departed at
9:47 a.m. for a descent via a longer route --
the entire JMT. I arrived at Happy Isles in
Yosemite at 3:12 a.m. on Aug 15, hence the
descent took 89 hours and 25 minutes, and the
total trip time was 94:04 car-to-car.

I slept a little (about 9 hours) during the trip
and had 3 resupply points along the way (Le Conte,
Reds Meadow and Tuolumne.) More sleep would have
been useful. I didn't weigh my gear but estimate
that I carried a maximum of about 8 lbs not
including what I was wearing.

The long exit route was worth it for the
lovely view of Sallie Keyes Lakes by full moon at
4a.m. and the wonderful early morning light on
Mts Banner and Ritter by Garnet Lake.

If you have not ascended or descended Mt Whitney
via the JMT I heartily recommend it, though a
10 or 20 day trip may be more enjoyable.

Peter
Boulder, CO
peter.bakwin@noaa.gov

Peter,
Congrats on your fine achievement! I'll look forward to reading the long story. Sounds like Ian and Hal are out to do some damage to the Colorado Trail time, too.

you did the entire JMT in just over 4 days. so you hiked about 50 miles a day? so basically you hiked over 2mph the entire time? sounds pretty ridiculous.

Vinze, what's so ridiculous about that?? Peter is an amazing athlete and likes a worthy challenge, the John Muir Trail provided that. As one who helped crew for Peter on his journey, I got to see him at his best and worst (sorry PB ;-)) and for the majority of the time he actually enjoyed his challenge and without a doubt appreciated the beauty and ruggedness of the Sierras. There were 4 of us along that got to help him & keep him company on various parts of the trail and we were thankful to be included and withness his achievement. As has been stated many times before, everyone's challenge and goals are different. It goes to show what the human body can accomplish when trained & fueled properly. The limits of performance are a lot higher than most people realize. So, why not shoot for the moon??

Sorry if it was not clear:
I did the entire JMT plus the ascent of Whitney
in just UNDER 4 days (94 hours and 4 minutes).
Yes, I guess you could call it ridiculous.
But then I recall a bumper sticker:
"My dream vacation is your worst nightmare!"
This trip was both a dream and a nightmare.

Since I did sleep some my hiking pace was actually
closer to 3 mph.

I know of at least 3 other trips where folks have
done the JMT under 5 days.

Peter

Unbelievable! If we ever win the lottery can we hire you to be our full time all expenses paid personal trainer?

There has been a lot of debate on this board between people who think you have to test your limits, and that is why you climb Whitney, and people who hike it at a slower pace and enjoy the beauty of your surroundings and the mountain...

I think these last few posts are the strongest arguement for the people who go at a slower pace and enjoy every minute of what they're doing - no nightmares included.

Yes Folks, Peter is an amazing athlete both physically and mentally! To plan and achieve what he has done is absolutely amazing! I too cannot wait to read the full report. I have three attempts at JMT, one successful (9 days, bonus mileage included) and I dream about a sub-six day completion.

Peter inspires and leads the way for those of us who share his sense of adventure!

Why does there even need to be an arguement about what is the best way to accomplish a challenge such as this. For me personally some of my most gratifying accomplishments have had very difficult moments (nightmares). As one who tried to do what Peter did, and failed to match his accomplishment, I knew going in to it that it was not all going to be peaches and cream. I'm certain Peter knew this as well. That doesn't make it an unhappy experience. If I might offer this comparison - Some days I ride my bike to get to work, some days I ride my bike to get a good workout, some days I ride my bike to race, and I have ridden my bike down the coast of California and Baja to see the scenery. There is something for everybody out there. If I were Peter I would be on top of the world with the pride of having planned, trained, and succeeding in executing my plan. Hummm, sounds like what a lot of people posting to this board are trying to do on Mt. Whitney.....

The only meaningful argument is what is the best way for YOU to do something. If someone else gets a lot of satisfaction out of going very fast, or very slow, whether or not there are some nightmare challenges along the way, then it is a good way for them to go. If afterwards, you say, "That was miserable, why did I do that?" then it was a mistake. If afterwards, you say, "That was fantastic!" then it was a good move.

Yes, people are different. On Whitney or the JMT, I am much faster than the slowest hikers. I am much slower than the fastest hikers. And when I get to go at my pace, I enjoy myself much more than I would if I went as fast as the fastest hikers or as slow as the slowest (and indeed, I have been forced at times to go slower by being with a group, and I don't enjoy it as much).

IMO, the strongest argument is for people who go the pace they want to go, be it fast or slow.

Whatever rocks your boat I say. Yes I'm impressed but it's not for me.

Reminds me of the guy who did 6 accents of Shasta in 24 hours a few years back. He was working in the Sierra club hut that summer and was in great shape and decided to break the record. He ran up in tennis shoes and skied down - the ski's were waiting for him at the summit.

I happened to run into him on the mountain and asked him about it. He said it was miserable and he spent most of the time puking up everything he tried to eat. But he did it cause he wanted to. I think a lot of people understand that sometimes pushing yourself and over coming the pain can be satisfying. It doesn't have to be this extreme. In my opinion at least once on every adventure of mine I have to ask myself why I do this to myself. If I don't then I'm not doing enough. That's probably why most of my friends hate going with me. Everyone is different.

I never thought I had enough vacation to do the whole JMT at once and now I realize I just need to train more and I can knock it out in a weekend!

Cool - I'm there!

Pbakwin: First off, congratulations on an incredible achievement, you should be proud of yourself. To thru hike the JMT is great no matter what, but your time is awesome!

On a side note, the only thing that mars this board are all the people who go slow (either because they are in not-so-great shape or whatever reason), who go after the ones who go fast. I've seen this refrain constantly over the years here. Have the slow pokes ever considered that the fast ones are infinitely in better shape, mentally and physically, than the slow ones are? I say this reasonably, because I am not that fast but I never make the petty mistake of whining, "Well, what can you see when you go fast?--- "This is ridiculous"----"What's the point?"

Maybe the slow ones complain because the fast hikers remind them that they aren't so fast, in shape or fit, or young enough anymore... or... a thousand other reasons.

Anyway, Pbakwin, to use the words my son would use, "You are da MAN!"

I was one of the people that Pbakin (and his group) blew past on the main trail part of his amazing trip (he passed me going up and then while I was still going up, he passed me on his way down).

I find people who take on challenges like this inspiring. No ribbons or plaques or medals or prize money; they just do it to test themselves. Good for them.

So,

hooray and hurrah for those who go fast.

hooray and hurrah for those who go slow.

P.S., Just for the challenge, I am going to shoot a bullet into my head. But I am going to do it slow.

last summer I did the JMT as a day hike

APEMAN: Re the guy who did 6 "accents" of Shasta in 24 hours. What were they? I am guessing Italian, Spanish, French, German, Chinese and Russian. Am I right?

Very Funny Joe.