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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 39
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 39 |
My daughter Audrey (11 year old) and I spent the weekend of May 21/22 on the mountain. We are both inexperienced hikers and had never been to Whitney before. Our high point turned out to be a few hundred feet above Mirror lake, not very far in the grand scheme of things, but we had a great weekend and I'm proud of the way Audrey stuck it out!
We knew from researching this site ahead of time that there was no chance for inexperienced hikers like us to summit. Our our ambitions were modest. Our objective for day one was simply to get up to Lone Pine Lake and get a feel for the altitude. On the second we hoped to go further, perhaps as far as Mirror Lake. On Saturday we left around 11.00 am. At the start we were really shocked by how hot it was - we were stopping every hundred yards or so to take on water. With hindsight an earlier start would have helped! The views even before you get to LP lake are spectacular - particularly looking back towards the Owens valley. We thought the route to Lone Pine lake would be straight forward - we were wrong. About 1/2 mile before we reached it the snow level rose rapidly and the marked trail disappeared below several feet of snow. We decided to follow the path with the most footsteps in the snow - there were many options. We frequently found ourselves backtracking and re-assessing. We weren't helped by the fact that the few people we met were as clueless as us! It was a slog up the hill in the soft snow and almost immediately we discovered the joys of post holing. Very soon we both had boots filled with melted snow! As it turned out we actually managed to hike past Lone Pine Lake without noticing it. We climbed a fairly steep snow slope to a rocky edifice and only then noticed the snow covered lake several hundred yards behind us. By this time we had met Dave and SwissMiss and we joined them for lunch - how you guys manage to get up these slopes carrying so much weight is beyond me! Dave and Swiss Miss were aiming to get to Trail Camp for the night - we turned for home hoping to return and see more the next day. Without any clear trail markings we even managed to go slightly astray on the way back, missing the log that traverses the creek, luckily we discovered our error quickly and backtracked till we found the crossing.
On Sunday we started out at 7.00 am and the going was much easier for the cool of the morning and the benefit of the previous day's experience. We had a wonderful time; storming up the hill to Lone Pine Lake and then on to Big Horn park which had a panoramic view that was truly breathtaking - particularly with the abundance of snow. We hiked on past Outpost Camp and up another steep incline to Mirror Lake - more incredible views! Till that point we had not met anyone else on the trail - it felt truly remote. Now we met a few climbers coming back the other way most of whom had succumbed to altitude sickness further up. I wanted to climb the steep incline to the north west of the lake which leads to the route to trail camp. I'm not sure if the actual trail was located on the same slope (?). I didn't really want Audrey to go as it looked a little risky but thankfully she was happy to stay behind and relax by the lake. I scrambled up the slope quite quickly and I was almost at the when I looked down to see that Audrey was following and was only about 20 yards behind me! At the top we knew we didn't have time to go further. We were a little alarmed when another couple returning from the summit donned crampons and took out their axes to descend the slope we had just climbed - in fact it suddenly looked rather steep and forbidding. However, we edged our way down slowly and with great caution and were soon on our way off the mountain. If the snow is an encumbrance going up, it makes going down a lot of fun on the descentwith plenty of safe places to glissade. We were back in our car by 3.00 pm and felt very satisfied.
I have seen many posts by other 'newbies' asking about conditions. We didn't go very far but even at the half way point we were seeing people using crampons, ice axes and snow shoes. It would also be helpful to have someone with previous experience of the mountain around to help guide you when the trail becomes nothing but a miriad of footprints in the snow. Although it was very warm and there was a rapid thaw in progress there is so much snow there that it is difficult to imagine conditions being much easier for several weeks. Having said that we had a brilliant time just going 'half way'. So however far you end up going you should enjoy a fantastic experience. As for my daughter and I, we will be back for a summit attempt later in the season (much later) permits allowing of course....
For those who might be interested I have posted a few photos (in no particular order) of our weekend:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/thetoffa/album?.dir=/ef4c&urlhint=actn,ren%3as,1%3af,0
I hope everyone has as good a time on the mountain as we did.
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 785
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Very interesting experience. I enjoyed reading about your adventure. What a great thing to let your 11 year old daughter experience. She will remember it for a lifetime. Who knows, maybe she will want to come back.
With all the warm weather, I was very suprised there is still so much snow above Lone Pine Lake.
With the warm temperatures, were there times early or late in the day when you where not sinking in? Current temperature ranges suggest it is not getting below freezing (even at night) below about 10000 feet. Do you happen to know how cold it was at night where you were camping?
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Joined: Jul 2003
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Whew! As you said, your images are not in order. It looks like pictures 3 and 4 in your collection were taken above Mirror Lake. Is that you or somebody else coming up the rock?
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 39
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Kashcraft,
We didn't camp out on the mountain so I can't confirm the overnight temperatures. However the snow is definitely softening with the warm temperatures. This actually makes hiking through/over it very difficult - presumably snow shoes would have helped.
Fred,
Not sure which photo you are referring to but I'm in a couple - usually from a suitably long distance! There are no photos taken from above Mirror because I left my camera at the base of the escarpment when climbing our final slope.
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Joined: Jun 2003
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Fun to read about the trip. It reminds me of the time I drove to Whitney Portal and took two of my children up to hike up to play in the snow. A great start on a lifetime of experiences in the area. Make it fun and don't do too much and they will want to go back.
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Joined: Dec 2002
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The canyon gets very warm...truer words haven't been spoken.
Congratulations on giving it a go and knowing your limitations.
It's even more fun these conditions in the winter when no one is around.
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Joined: Dec 2002
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Hat's off to you for taking the kids out and like was said earlier...knowing your limitations!
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Joined: Dec 2002
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Hi Looks like we have another Lynn Hill on the way up! Great report, shows what to expect once you hit the snow , and the tracks to ......., your next trip will let you see how much snow was in some of the areas. Audrey well done you were able to get your dad back down both days. Thanks Doug
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Thanks for the pictures! We made it to trail camp, and then to trail crest early the next morning. From there, however, we decided to turn around. The snow got really slushy as early as 8am, and traversing to the summit in slushy conditions didn't seem like a wise idea. Also, we had some altitude sickness issues. Just getting up to trail crest was totally worth it, though. You get a great view from there, toward death valley on one side and into the sierra on the other. And it sure made for some great glissading!
We were looking out for you the next day, but didn't find you. Impressive that you made it up that steep slope by mirror lake!
Good luck with any future attempts.
SwissMiss.
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Joined: May 2005
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Hey, glad to see you had a good time! We ran into you while you were on your way up (we were one of the AMS groups heading back down with a sickie) and your 11 year old became the topic of discussion for the next 3 hours+ down the trail and heading home. Very impressed with how quickly she scurried past! Her appellation at the time had been "mountain goat", and it sounds like it was apropos! We were talking about you two again today and I'm glad you had such a rewarding/safe trip.
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 39
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Posts: 39 |
Swiss Miss/sdjohng,
Thank you for your updates and comments. We were interested to hear how you guys had got on. Audrey and I are now 'hooked' and very keen to return in better conditions so that we can have a go at the summit - having said that I'm glad we went when we did; the conditions made the mountain all the more spectacular!
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