Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Mt. Whitney in 30 miles & 9K of gain trip report.

On Sunday a group of 6 of us set out for the summit. The group was myself/Rafael, Tomcat, Sierragator, Alice, Lisa, and Rachel. The goal was to meet up on the summit with our friend Karen who would be finishing the JMT. Her last Spot message had her camped near the intersection of the JMT and the Main Trail. Our group had two plans. I started at midnight at Lone Pine Campground elevation 5620'. The others would start at the Portal and take the Mountaineer's Route at 4:00 AM. My plan was to take the Mt. Whitney Recreational Trail to the Portal and then from there the Main Trail to the summit. The ascent was steady and without event with the exception of the bat that flew a foot in front of my face near Lone Pine lake. At 1:45 I was at the Portal, 2:45 Lone Pine lake, 3:30 Outpost camp which is the halfway point when you start at Lone Pine Campground. 5:00 at trail Camp, 6:45 Trail Crest, and at 7:00 found my friend Karen at the junction of the JMT and Main Trail. We shot the bull for an hour while she packed her gear and then took an hour to summit. We made it to the summit sometime after 9:00 in the morning. Total time hiking for me was just under 8 hours to reach the summit. I was pleased since the first time I hiked Whitney from the Portal it took nearly 9 hours to summit. This time I did it from Lone Pine Campground in just under 8 hours. At the summit we met Sierragator. As it turned out he had been waiting for us for a while since he went up from the Portal to the summit via the MR in a mind numbing, ass on fire, 3 hours and 40 minutes. The others arrived a bit later at 7 hours and 30 minutes, a full hour faster than what we had all done last year on the MR. We left the summit rather quickly becuase of building clouds and rumbling thunder. We did stop for about 15 minutes at the JMT and Main trail junction to drink champagne and eat. After that it was a speedy descent to the Portal for burgers. We all came down in about 4 hours and 30 minutes. As usual Portal burgers with friends makes for a winning combination. At the end I turned down a couple of nice offers for a ride down the mountain. I was hell bent on getting my 30 miles. No Rachel, I'm not having a mid-life crisis. I'm way past mid-life. It took about an hour and a half to get from the Portal back to Lone Pine Campground. Total hiking time was just under 14 hours for me for the 30 miles and 9K of gain. The other group was done in a total time of 12 and a half hours. We all had a great day. I'm sure many have done Mt. Whitney from Lone Pine campground but if so I haven't heard much about it. I highly recommend it. I'm sure some think that Whitney is an easy hike. I'm not one of them. One way to make it more challenging is by increasing the mileage and gain by starting lower on the mountain. The Mt. Whitney Recreational trail is a nice trail and it lends itself well for the challenge. The key for me for such a long hike was to bring enough food and eat regularly. Those who know me, know that I usually don't do this. Also it helps to keep a steady pace. Back when I was 33 it took me 16 hours to climb Whitney Portal to summit. Now at 38 it took me just under 14 hours from Lone Pine Campground to summit. That is an additional 2700' of gain and 8 miles round trip. I was pleased. I have a friend at work who is 27 and tells me that I'm old. Next time I see her I'll tell her to kiss my ass.

Rafael...

Great job! I've hiked Whitney from Lone Pine Campground twice - it's a fun haul for sure............................DUG

Raffy:

You're a friggin' ROCKSTAR!! Congrats on a great day. Really impressive.

As for your co-worker, I agree: she should KYA!!

-L

It is sweet indeed to blow by people that are much younger

I do ok for an old man...... ;>/


Congrats on the beaucoup mileage and 9 k day

Great trip report although I am still wondering who that bald man was on the summit smoking a cigar? The champagne celebration was fun to - HUI. Another great day on the mountain.
Congrats to Rafael for a 30 mile day and to Sierra Gator for a 30th Whitney summit(with a kickass time) - you will be ready to try for a double again soon.



rest of pictures

Sounds like a satisfying push!

One question (since I'm trying to figure out how early a start to get for a day hike on the 30th): what time was it on the summit when the bad weather started threatening?

Would you guys stop doing these things????? You know I'll have to try and match you.

I think I also remember Robert Rainey doing Whitney from Lone Pine.

Jack told me that he's thinking about doing the same. I'm also hearing rumors that Rick Kent is also planning on it. More hard stuff that I'd rather not do!

I've done the NRT a few times. That adds quite a bit of pain to the ascent. Good going!

We bailed by noon - but the hail did not hit us until we were coming down the switchbacks - probably an hour later. People were still coming up to summit. We heard thunder - mostly to the south - but some seemed closer. My poles were not vibrating and my hair was not standing up.

It seems a bit pessimistic to call 38 "way past mid-life."

Of course 38 looks old from 27. But tell your 27-year-old friend that my 19 year old son thinks she is geriatric.

I wondered what you were up to when Irene heard from your daughters, at church, that you were out hiking.....clearly you were on a mission.

In terms of the whole mid-life issue, I'll be 35 in November and prefer to look at things a little differently. For me the question is, " Have I hit my prime?" At this point I believe the answer is NO. With any luck, I'll continue to be so optimistic....

Scott

I joke about 38 being way past mid-life because both of my parents died at the age of 58. One had lung cancer and the other pulmunary adema. In reality I hope to be around a long time. If I don't live for at least a few years beyond retirement age (62 for me) I will have felt cheated. If I ever did have a mid-life crisis if you could call it that was when I stopped trying to be the perfect family man and started taking time for myself. That is when I started hiking a lot back at 33 after putting it on hold for many years. If I ever do have another one I will certainly do something much more interesting and crazy than hiking Mt. Whitney in 30 miles. Maybe I'll get a fast sports car.

Rafael...

Congradulations Rafael! That's definitely an accomplishment. I don't think many people ever consider starting from the Lone Pine Campground. That kicks things up to a whole new level. Just wait. After the pain and stiffness goes away you'll be looking for a new goal to top it! It must have taken some willpower to resist the offers for a ride down. Way to go!

Richard -- If your friend jumped off of a bridge, would you...? Oh, never mind.

Richard - you've never day hiked Whitney from the Lone Pine Campground? I would have thought you had done it from China Lake by now......................................DUG

I was very fortunate. I wasn't sore the next day although I could tell that I'd hiked. In the past after a tough hike I would be crippled with soreness for a few days. As of this past year the next day after a tough hike my legs feel a little tired but not devastated. Not sure what's next. Probably a dayhike of Kern Peak. I think it is about 33 miles round trip but only about 6K of gain. It should be easier.

Rafael...

Does multi-day in winter count? (I used the road though.) I've been up the NRT to the Portal a bunch on times, but never beyond. I did once ride a bike from MDR to near Lone Pine Campground (legs ran out of steam) and then walked the rest of the way to the summit. (Took three days.)

Reading Bob's recent TR reminds me that I once stated that I'd do Badwater to Whitney Portal on a bicycle and then climb to the summit.

I must of missed this post. Nice going Rafael!