At the age of 65 I made my first Whitney Summit and I want to acknowledge and thank those that helped.
First and foremost I want to thank my hiking partner Burt Wallrich, who I met through this Board. Burt has summitted three times previously most recently in 2007 at the age of 70. Unfortunately, Burt had to turn around this time near the top of the switchbacks, but I can't imagine being able to do this hike at 70. That is a helluva accomplishment, and my hiking hat is off to him. Burt's advice on nutrition, starting time, pace, and trail conditions was really really helpful.
I also want to thank the members of the Board. This is a great service. I found both great advice and received much encouragement from reading all the posts.
We started at about 2:40 AM on the 19th with a little encouragement from a party of 4 friends originally from Venezuela who were also at the Summit when I finally got my old but up there some 9 hour later. They were also at the Portal when I finally got down at about 6:45 PM. There was also a family of 3 (Dad, Daughter, & Son) from Southern Cal who filtered water for me on the Switchbacks and who kept changing places with me almost all the way to the summit. Thanks to all.
Starting early really helps. I hadn't used a headlight previously, but it worked out great. A moderate or in my case a slow pace particularly at first is also advisable. Getting to Trail Crest was a workout but manageable. The last two miles to the Summit however was really a struggle. The trail is very rocky and coupled with the altitude a real test. But the experience is one I won't forget.
Good hiking to all.
