Even as a first timer I was suprised at the number of people that were completely unprepared and had no idea what they were in for.
Me and a buddy hit the trail at 3:00 a.m. Saturday morning headed for trail camp with 40 pound packs. It was nice walking in the dark as we couldn't tell how slow we were going and by first light we were coming upon Outpost Camp. By this point it is safe to say that we were pooped but the fact that it was early and a nice breakfast at Mirror Lake helped ease our overloaded journey. The section between Mirror Lake and Trail Camp was a bit more challenging (remember our 40 puind packs?) but I wandered into trail camp around 12:00p.m., a full hour before my hiking partner. I took the time to set up our tent and take a nap and by the time my buddy showed up at 1:30 the wind was gusting 20 to 30 mph and the altitude was definitely taking its toll on my ability to sleep. We ate, sipped a little Southern Comfort, smoked a cigarette or two and decided by about 3:00 p.m. to crawl into our tent and sleep since there was nothing else to do.
Well, by 4:00 p.m. we found somewthing else to do, due to the reports of a front moving in we packed all of our gear in 20 minutes flat and hightailed it out of there so we could get back down by Mirror lake before dark. We made it there by 5:30 and to my suprise two groups of visibly out of shape and very tired looking first timers were just beginning the section next to Mirror Lake. They had no idea what they were up against and I would not recommend this feat for any first timers at night. We made one or two very short wrong turns through that particular section in the middle of the day!
Anyway we cruised on down the rest of the trail uneventfully and the rest is history. I know a lot of Whitney veterans monitor this board and obviously my advice is not geared toward you but for you first timers who are going back to Whitney next year like myself, LEAVE EARLY!and DON'T OVERPACK. Folowing these two simple rules will greatly increase your enjoyment because Whitney is no walk in the park. ( unless you're a marmot)
By the way thanks to all the contributors to this board who keep the rest of us out of the dark. board
