Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board High Sierra Trail Success

All the planning, preparation and waiting were well worth it. As the sun rose over the eastern horizon, Friday - September 17th, Buttercup and I reached the summit of Whitney. We had started our trek on the previous Sunday in the late afternoon at Crescent Meadow as we said goodbye to our shuttle driver Skip Wilder. Knocking out a quick six miles we spent the first night at Merhlton Creek. The next day we pushed on to the beautiful Hamilton Lake. Next night was Moraine Lake and then Junction Meadow with a stop at Kern Hot Springs. I would like to acknowledge NPS Ranger Nina Weismen for her mellow mandolin and the intrepid hiking skills she demonstrated as she trucked on down the trail with that heavy pack. I was impressed. On Thursday night we were situated at Guitar Lake ready for our ascent. At 2AM I roused Buttercup and we headed up Whitney by headlamp and stars. We reached TrailCrest by dawn and were the third to register at the summit. Spectacular day! Clear, cold and windy. We headed toward Portal finally reaching our cheeseburgers and a cold six pack of pale ale at 4:30 PM. Success has never been sweeter or a beer more refreshing. Talk about a cheeseburger in Paradise! We had flown into Las Vegas from North Carolina and enjoyed two days treking around Death Valley prior to HST and then afterwards toured around Rt. 395 up to Bodie and Mono Lake before heading back over to Las Vegas for our flight out. Great region, those that live close are fortunate.
I want to thank this Message Board for all the advice and tips and the Whitney Portal Store for their hospitality. When we dropped our rental car off at trail's end we inquired about camp fuel since we had not brought any due to the airflight. The staff offered us free fuel which was very welcomed. We returned our unused fuel when we finished the following week. Thanks again, see y'all on the trail!
Mongoose

Mongoose...
A big congrats from me. I started my HST hike at Crescent Meadow on Friday the 10th. My mom came along for her very first backpacking trip...I know a little ambitious. Our original plan was to start on Sunday the 12th and summit Whitney on the 17th...that was derailed by a last minute job interview so we set out on the 10th and decided to just loop around for a few days. Stayed at Bearpaw the first night....that was a hell of a long 11 miles. Very long and steep at the end. My day 2 we were pretty much thinking that we never would have made it to Whitney. Too much weight....too many ups for my mom. Had a great time anyway and ended up doing 30 miles. Hiked out in the dark by headlights. I can truly appreciate your accomplishment knowing first hand how hard that trail can be. Congrats!

Thanks for the reply Ouch, we appreciate it.
At least you gave it a try.
It's no wonder the HST doesn't get much attention it's one of the toughest trails we've encountered, but it sure makes up for it in spectacular views and great campsites. I wish you had made it to Hamilton Lake it it one of the best campsites I've ever seen. You may have been encouraged to go on, but it would be a difficult trail for a first timer like your mom. We were carrying 30lb packs and averaged 15 miles a day, but we're in our 50's and lowland easterners so the altitude and the trail did take it's toll at first. By the time we reached the western base of Whitney we were ready. The 2 AM start was a first for us and a little unnerving, but seeing the sun rise from TrailCrest was worth it. Lite'n up your pack Ouch and give it another shot sometime, it's well worth it.
Mongoose

Hey Mongoose, I too hiked this spectacular trail this past summer, all I can say is WOW!
We had the same overnights as you except we stayed at Nine Mile instead of Mehrtens the first night.
I have some photos posted over at webshots if you would like to relive some memories I brought my DSLR and it took some beautiful shots.

http://community.webshots.com/album/176046443sqjRpo

You'll have to cut and paste, I don't know how to post a link here.
Do you have any photos anywhere?