Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Food, Hydration & Electrolytes....Oh My!

Greetings adventurers,

In a little over a week from now, I'll be heading west and attempting my first Mt. Whitney summit attempt. Although it is my first attempt, I chose to try a single day summit as opposed to an overnight. Anyway....

I could really use some last minute insights on food, hydration and electolytes.

Starting with food ...

Can any of you offer some suggestions on food for a single day summit attempt, that provides the proper nutrition and is light weight in the backpack. And speaking of lightweight, some suggestions on packaging the food would also be very helpful. I plan on taking an assortment of Hammer Nutrition Bars and gels, Clif Bars and GU energy gels that will total about 2000 calories worth. However, I'd totally consider leaving those behind, if I can work out the logistics of taking real food.

Of course, even if I take all those bars and gels, I'd still like to take at least one or two "real food" meals to enjoy while on the mountain. A lot of the information I found so far on what to eat has been geared towards overnight, or mulitple nights on Whitney. I have to admit is has also been somewhat confusing about how altitude might affect appetite and digestion. So again, any of you that have "experience" to share would be greatly appreciated.

Regarding hydration...

I'll be using a CamelBak 3 litre unit with an additional 1 litre CamelBak for backup and additional water carrying capacity. I felt that taking the additional 1 litre made more sense than a bottle, so that if my main Camelbak unit malfunctioned, I'd have the 1 litre as a backup for use or parts. Will 4 litres of water carrying capacity be enough or should I return the 1 litre and get the 2 litre size?

Also related to hydration is information about available water sources. From what I've read, the most important consideration regarding water sources is to be sure and refill my water supply at Trail Camp, or fill them at a small spring about a half mile up the switchbacks, just above trail camp. I got this information out of a book and just want to make sure it is up-to-date information. Oh and I will be filtering my water.

Besides just drinking often to stay hydrated, what other tips do you have regarding water source locations or anything else related to the topic of hydration?


Last, but not least, electrolytes ...

At this point I think I'm going to try using pills over powder. I've purchased a bottle of Hammer ENDUROLYTES and will keep those in an easy-to-get location in my backpack pocket. Anyone here tried pills as opposed to powder?

So to wrap up, I would trust your "experience" over my "research" and look forward to any insights offered.

-- KentuckyCaver --

P.S. At 350 feet below the surface, Mammoth Cave is easily higher in elevation than Badwater in Death Valley!

I haven't dayhiked all the way to the summit, but have backpacked it 16 times in the
last 20 years. A few weeks ago, I hiked with a friend up to Trail Camp & back, while my husband summited. And, we do lots of fairly long dayhikes in the local mtns. I've found I ALWAYS enjoy a few items of "real" food. My favorites include the little sealed plastic cups of mandarin oranges, a few dates, a small can of chicken in broth. I also often take a V-8 drink (in the plastic container). These may seem a little heavy to carry, but when I'm really tired, they taste SO good! One or two little favorites are always a treat, & for me, & worth the effort to carry.

You can buy the fancy energy bars, but Snickers really satisfies.

For a day hike the real food waits at the Portal Store. It really comes down to what will you feel like eating when tired or struck with altitude symptoms.

Sometimes I like a tuna salad for lunch though (comes in a foil pouch with crackers mayo and relish).

Interesting randuf,

I would have never thought to consider those foods. Thanks for the suggestions!

You're right AsABat (by the way, cool name!),

Snickers are wonderful. I will for sure take that advice and bring one along! Tuna...I like tuna. Good protien source and sounds lightweight. I guess this item can be found at the usual food stores in any major city?

Hi,

I just did my first hike on 7/13. See my report at http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/65178/page/3#Post65178

I did write a bit about what I did for food and hydration. I took 4 1/2 liters of water and gatorade, and didn't need it all, perhaps in part because I drank a lot all weekend and also drank 1/2 liter of Gatorade about an hour before we started. As far as electrolyte replacement goes, I also snacked on Sports Beans during the hike.

I ate more than just energy bars, and actually didn't eat any energy bars, unless you count the homemade ones. Ate a bunch of Trader Joe's jerky b/c I wanted protein, not all carbs. String cheese might be another good snack - protein and fat - though I didn't bring any on this hike. Peanut butter and cheese crackers were good too, esp. combined with an apple.

But perhaps most importantly, what have you been eating and drinking on your training hikes? I learned a lot about what I wanted to eat and wouldn't eat on those hikes. For example, on hikes in hot weather, I loved having orange slices with me. But when I was cold, I couldn't force myself to eat them. I thought some of the best advice I received was to stick with what works for you when you hike Whitney, whether it's food, gear, or something else. Whitney hike day isn't the day for experiments.

Enjoy!

Laura

On July 30th, I'll be coming back for my 7th annual Whitney hike. Four of the past six trips were up-and-down in one day, last year I spend three days along the main trail, and two years ago, I came around from Horseshoe Meadow, and spent the fourth night on Whitney summit.

As far as food, I alway pack light, as I tend to lose my appetite at the summit. What works for me is to constently snack on small items that I keep in my pockets. Things like salted peanuts, pretzel sticks, fritos, dried fruit, and salami slices are some of my usual items. But what I have found out, and tell my friends that join me each year, is that what works for me may not work for someone else. You need to experiment.

I begin my hydration process the day before I hike, and drink at least a gallon of water while laying around camp. The morning of the hike, I drink another quart before I leave camp to head up to the trailhead. If you leave the Portal with three quarts of water and have a water filter, you will be fine. The main water spots where you can filter are: Lone Pine Lake at 2.8 miles, Outpost Camp at 3.5 miles, Mirror Lake at 4.0 miles, Trailside Meadows at 5.0 miles, and Trail Camp at 6.0 miles. There are also several streams along the way that you can use if needed, and there is a spring above Trail Camp between sweitchbacks 13 and 24. I usually go until Trail Camp before I filter, as this also offers a good rest stop before beginning the dreaded 97 switchbacks. I'll drink another quart at Trail Camp, and will leave for the summit with three full quarts. Remember, the water you leave Trail Camp with has to last the five miles to the summit, and the return trip back to Trail Camp (10 miles total). Here I refilter and head back down to the Portal with two quarts.

For electrolytes, GU works well for me, plus I munch on shot bloks and sports beans along the trail, two additional sources of electrolytes.

When you reach the Portal on the return trip, you have earned a few cold beers, and the awesome Mooseburger and fries at the Portal restaurant.

I hope this information has helped you a little, and good luck on your trip. Remember, doing Whitney in a single day is quite an endeavor. Start early (predawn), take your time, and enjoy the experience. If you can't make it, there is no shame in turning around short of the summit. As I always tell the new people that come with me each year - "The mountain will be there next year".

Whitney Mike

Whatever you do, make sure that you really like the food that you are bringing. I lose my appetite at elevation, and things that I can eat at sea level are hard to choke down at 14,000'. It is better to take things that you know you can eat that don't offer the best nutrition rather than fancy nutrition bars that you won't eat at all.

I usually do fine with things like nuts (both salted and sugar/cinnamon coated), wheat thins, foil pack tuna or salmon, dried pineapple, etc. The only Clif bar I can eat is apricot, and I really like the Balance cookie dough bars. Larabars are also something that I can eat at elevation without any trouble. Snickers are good, as is Nutella (I'm bringing a jar of that on a weeklong trip next week for after dinner snacks).

For a dayhike, your 3-L Camelback would be fine, just fill up on the switchbacks. Be very careful about filling up from the stream that drains Trail Camp; I would not even trust a regular filter for that unless coupled with chemical treatment like chlorine dioxide or iodine. But some of the side streams have good water, just choose your water source from streams that do not drain the high traffic areas. If you get water at Outpost Camp, get it from the stream on the north side, which comes down from Mirror Lake; don't get water from the waterfall on the south side. There is also a nice little stream that goes into Bighorn Park just below Outpost, and if you go just a little ways upstream it should be good water.

In Lone Pine I picked up some Mountain Berry shot blocks(new flavor) at the Elevation store and I also grabbed a Terryaki Chicken sandwich on flat bread from Subway this last weekend.

Add that to the 2 power bars, 1 snickers bar and small bag of cheetos that I was already packing.

My g/f likes to bring gum - it helps her ears also to adjust to the altitude change.

Started out on the trail with about 1 quart of water. Plenty of water available on the trail right now. You can use the search feature to find a previous posted map of the "reliable water sources".

L.

Your recommendations about where to get and where to avoid water are very specific and helpful. Thanks.

What about the water at Trailside Meadows? I usually trust water to be drinkable if it has run fast and clear for a couple hundred yards. Would you drink water from this spot without filtering it?

B.

I take a couple of cold slices of pizza. Lambertiana is correct in saying take foods you like due to lack of appetite. I heard Kurt Wedberg speak at Adventure 16 a couple of years ago when I was planning my first Mt. Whitney hike and he suggested to bring your favorite foods for that reason. So I stopped and got a from the Pizza Factory in Lone Pine to take on the hike Good luck!

I took a bunch of Tootsie Rools and Payday bars, extra 1 QT container that I would mix up some gatorade at each watering hole and suck that down

TJ's Peanut Butter pretzels: best of all worlds with salt, carbs, fat, and protein. Mmmm...

I'm also going to start bringing some Jolly Rancher candies. If I can keep from choking on them while I'm moving...

I have a hard time with the energy bars/gu/chews - they just don't taste good to me out there so I don't eat them (huge exception: the stuff made by Honey Stinger. Yum). I've found some 'real food' substitutes that I'll actually eat. I agree that snickers hits the spot, but I tend to avoid carrying chocolate in the summer since it gets all gooey.

Instead, I carry Walker short bread cookies and eat them with little honey packets. I also like PopTarts (silly, I know, but they are sooo goood out there - also, the Trader Joe's versions are even tastier). Skittles. Gummy bears. Nuts (I prefer almonds and cashews).

For electrolytes, I like the Nuun tablets and Camelbak elixer in my water. Propel powder, tastes good too. End of the day I mix in a couple of EmergenCs.

These are the things that work best for me. A couple of cliff
bars- a triple decker pbj, gatoraid mixed 50/50.
I carry enough water to last the whole trip.
A camel back in my opinion is not a good idea,
If one springs a leak you can kiss the trip good bye.
I use bottles. also two bike bottles on the outside of
your pack so you can take a drink without stopping.
Endurolytes are really great when i'm doing a 200 miler
(bike rides) in a day, but ive never used them for whitney.
extra batteries , clip your toe nails, bring gloves to
keep your hands from puffing up. Extra pair of sunglasses
If you break your glasses and its a bright day youll have
great time getting down. I use a heart monitor just to see
how much effort i'm putting out, it my tachometer.
As far as high altitude sickness if you get past the 97 switchbacks your good to go, at least for me.
Ive never had any problems with my 5 one day hikes
with High alt sickness knock on wood.
but the better shape your in the easier the hike will be.
also i get up to the portal about 1.5 to 2 days before
my hike to allow my lungs and body to adjust to the altitude.
well thats my take on the ultimate day hike.
BE SAFE, its not a race, start out for 2-3 miles
to warm up and find your pace and continue ,
yes the food at the portal is the best.
one more thing 3 days before the hike i eat
a lot of pasta each day. NO BEER OR WINE until after
youve completed the hike.
Have fun- be safe- enjoy the hike.

For me...and I found out for others...the main thing is variety. I carry a wide range of what I like in small portions. I usually go for PBJ sandwich on my regular hikes but that did not seem to work on Whitney. I carry all kinds of nuts, dried fruit, crackers and hard candies in small portions in baggies that fit in a pocket and are easy to get to.

Last year after summitting we stopped at trail camp to get water and another hiker approached me wanting to know if I had a piece of bread, I retrieved some nuts from a baggie in pocket after she said she wanted something other then a granola bar to eat since that was all she brought to eat.

Patty

Hello Laura C,

I wish I knew where I could find some really good turkey jerky. I wonder if someplace like whole foods would have that? In regard to what have I eaten during my training hikes, unfortunately I didn't do a very good job there in terms of working out food. For the last month and a half I've done a 16+ mile hike, one hike was 26.2 miles....my first marathon distance hike, but all I really ate was GORP and a turkey sandwich with a bag of chip. I guess I was hoping to improve on that in both taste and nutrition.

Thanks for the suggestions!

I agree. Take food you enjoy. All that fancy stuff gets old real quick on the mountain. I like to use the single serving Gatorade packets for my water (I usually care a 16 oz side bottle) and as for food I bring all the junk food full of carbohydrates we usually stay away from. I like to take candy like hot tamales to snack on and snickers are great but sometimes melt and are more of a pain then anything.. I know it sounds crazy but you need good flavorful food on the trail. I also take a baguette and a squeeze bottle with peanut butter and jelly so I can make a sandwich. Don’t buy into the hype that you need to use designer food. In all my years of hiking/backpacking I have only used the dehydrated foods once (overnights) and it wasn’t that good, I ended up eating my oatmeal for dinner. I like the simple stuff like top ramen (add some summer sausage and Tabasco) and you’ve got a good meal.

Don’t take the hike to seriously. Not to underestimate the difficulty, but I think a lot of people over prepare and bonk or don’t finish because of this. Also, I like to take an Advil every few hours.

As far as electrolytes go: I am a sweater; not the knit kind, the wet kind. I end up needing more fluid than others on longer hikes. Over the past few months, I have been testing different powdered mixes. I ended up being a little surprised, but I liked the Gatoraid products the best. The Gu20 was my next favorite.

Food something u like to eat... peanut butter M&M's go down easy and are simple. drink up the day before you go. The food is not a big deal, just what u like.