With a lot of help from the posts we read in this forum my wife and I successfully made the summit yesterday for the first time. What a terrific hike and adventure. THought I'd share our story as I recover this morning over a cup of coffee so here goes in somewhat random order:
ALTITUDE. We were fortunate enough to not have any issue at all with the altitude besides a bit of lightheadedness. We debated using Diamox and decided against it (partially due to it being a diuretic) but did take ginko biloba. I'm a skeptic when it comes to herbal remedies but figure it couldn't hurt and since we were fine I'd recommend it since there's no downside. We hydrated like crazy starting a couple of days before the hike, drinking tons of water, gatorade before the hike, and cytomax a few times during the hike. Only problem with that is that you have to pee nonstop, not a problem for me but much more so for my wife, especially in the dark and from the switchbacks on as there's little to no privacy. Still, a small price to pay.
ACCLIMATIZATION: Living in the Bay Area gave us little ability to hike at altitude so we had to do it as part of our trip. We first drove to Yosemite and took a roughly 4 mile hike from the top of Tioga Pass (starting at the park entrance) that went up to about 11,000 feet. This sure gave us a sense of what the altitude can do as we were breathless for the first 800' climb! We then spent the night in Lee Vining (eat at the Whoa Nellie Deli - it's really good!). We then drove the next day to Lone Pine, stopping at Mammoth Mountain for a side trip to Devil's Postpile (worth seeing and a good little hike at reasonable altitude). We picked up our permit and went to the Portal that evening to check it out and talk to some returning hikers. We debated staying at the Portal but chose instead to get a motel room in Lone Pine (Dow Villa) figuring that comfort outweighed the benefits of more altitude. I'd recommend that as it's only a 15-20 minute drive to the Portal and we appreciated the little sleep we got.
THE HIKE: We got up at 2, drank a gatorade and ate a PBJ for breakfast, and started our hike at 3. Very cool to watch the lines of lights heading up the trail. We intentionally hiked at a slower pace than we would normally do, perhaps a 3/4 pace, so we could get used to the altitude, and stopped about every 45 minutes to eat something. Clearly others didn't as we were passed by a few groups including one runner. Headlamps were needed for about 2 hrs, just before Outpost camp. People on the trail were very friendly, including two groups of 11 that we played tag-team with all the way up and down. Our pace throughout the day was "slow and steady", basically at a pace that allowed us to talk to each other and not notice our heartrate or breathing significantly above normal. I think this was a good way to do it for novice hikers as it allows your body to set the pace. We made the summit at 11:30, stayed for 30 mins, then headed back down and arrived at the Portal at 6.
Random thoughts:
- There is LOTS of water on the trail so don't carry too much - 2 liters is plenty if you stop and filter regularly. The stream on the switchbacks was going strong so load up there for the summit.
- Its said elsewhere in these posts but I'd emphasize to set your OWN pace, not anybody elses. Almost certainly there are faster hikers on the trail so let them pass rather than letting them push you at a faster rate than you'd do on your own.
- Short, regular breaks feel really good! Just a few minutes of rest every 30 mins or so kept us going.
- Absolutely use trekking poles. Use the straps right by overlapping them inside your grip so that the part that wraps around your wrist takes the pressure rather than your fingers. 90% of the people we saw were holding their poles wrong and it really makes a difference. Use thin gloves so you don't chafe.
- Take care of your feet. I wish I'd have taken my boots off a couple of times and soaked them in cold water.
- The last 2 miles from Trail Crest to the summit is a PITA. Just kick into low gear and keep going. I didn't believe that it could take 2 hrs to cover this 2 miles but it absolutely can.
- We didn't have problems with appetite but saw some people that did. I'd agree with the separate thread that emphasizes eating foods you like more than the ones that are supposed to be good for you. You supposedly burn 6,000 calories on the hike so don't eat like you normally do - you need a lot of coal in your engine! We took a bunch of different bars, gorp, dried fruit, jelly beans, jerky, etc and snacked on all of it at one time or another.
- The trip down takes a lot longer than you think, especially the last few miles from Outpost camp. You're tired and are covering trail that you hiked in the dark so don't have much perspective on where you are.
- Weather for us was very good. I wore a thin shirt and shorts from start to finish and needed one more layer a couple of times as clouds came in or out. We had some light rain and thunder on the way down but not enough to make us get out our ponchos.
- Enjoy the hike! There are some spectacularly beautiful things to see (rock formations, flowers, waterfalls, scenic vistas, etc) and it's easy to miss them while you trudge up the mountain.
There's no doubt that the Whitney day hike is a tough climb that should not be taken lightly. With that said, planning and preparation definitely makes a big difference and significantly improves your chances of making the summit. We had a great time preparing for the hike, traveling to Whitney, and making the hike and will remember yesterday for the rest of our lives. I'd absolutely encourage others to make the hike IF they're willing to put in the work that's needed.
Incidentally, part of our motivation to make the hike was to honor my parents who climbed Whitney over 50 years ago and whose love for Yosemite led us to climb Half Dome (3 trips now including one with our 9 year old daughter).
Happy to answer any questions...
