Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board The Whitney Follies

All of us have experienced the Altitude effect on the Whitney trail....A few years back I was at the Portal and struck up a conversation with an older gentleman who had just driven up from San Diego. He told me he was going to strap on his backpack and head up the trail, with no adjustment time. I was a little concerned since he was at sea level 6 hours before. Please hang out here a little while, I insisted, before you head out...unless you want to invite a raging case of altitude sickness in a few hours up the trail. I couldn't tell if he believed me and I don't know if he took my advice. Driving to the portal from sea level and heading right out is a sure way to ruin your trip. I know, I tried it once and felt like I had the flu around Lone Pine Lake.

I.Q. doesn't increase on the east coast, either. Last summer, we did a swing through the New England states, including Mt. Katahdin up in Maine.

It was nice at the gate to Baxter State Park, but by the time you gained the ridge on Katahdin, it was socked in by clouds, 40 MPH wind blowing and still air temperatures down in the 40s. We were comfortable in long pants, fleece pullovers and Goretex parkas, as long as we kept moving.

The folks up there in shorts, t-shirts and tennis shoes were looking a little like fresh-frozen hiker-cicles! (Plus, most of them had come up the Hunt trail, so had been in that wind most of the way, instead of just on the ridge as we were, coming up the sheltered side via the Abol "trail".)

A few years ago we hiked into the Rock Creek Canyon over Cottonwood pass. During the trip we had a little strife within our group, while camped at sky blue lake. (emerging from a snowball fight) On the way out we all stopped at chicken spring lake for a little rest, before hiking out that last 3-4 miles. That is when the "event" happened. My nephew took a rock, about as big as a frisbee but thicker and stuck it inside the backpack of the hot head teenager in the group. Then he high tailed, with those of us who witnesses "the adding of the paperweight" to the trailhead to the waiting get away car. We laughed all the way to the car about the rock. Turns out he didn't realize it was there until he got back to the car and removed some things from his pack....Story goes he sure was mad. But then again, we had left the scene of the crime long before.

Anyone care to admit things they've done themselves that weren't too smart? Here's a story about my sister, and myself, about 20 years ago, and our first real hike. I was a novice hiker, truly novice - recently transplanted to CA from New York City. My sister, a few years younger and still in college, was staying with me for the summer. We went to Yosemite and stayed in Curry Village, with Half Dome as our goal for a day hike. I didn't even own a daypack, nor did I know what one was. We hiked the whole day with a camera, a quart of water, an apple, and a peach, stuck in a small purse with a shoulder strap, for the two of us. We drank lavishly and refilled our bottle just above Nevada Falls, never having heard of giardia. . Nearing the shoulder, we were leapfrogging and talking with a kind man who gave us each a cherry or two. Tasted like a feast. On the cables, the purse strap broke, and it went tumbling down the granite and came to rest in a crack some dozens of feet below and well outside the cables. A young man who I assumed to be a climber scurried out –while we shouted to forget it, leave it there! - and retrieved it for us, then carried it the rest of the way to the top! We then sunned ourselves at the top in our bikinis, which we wore under shorts and t-shirts. We ran at least half of the way down, the sooner to buy dinner. Oh yeah, I also bought for the guy who saved our camera. If I were to hike Half Dome again now, I'd be carrying lots more food, layers of clothes, camelbak, probably a book to identify flowers, hiking poles….on second thought, maybe we weren't so dumb-we went so light! (OK, you're right, we were dumb.)

Last year I did Whitney from Cottonwood Pass. As we passed Chicken Spring Lake, a topless bimbo-ish woman was walking toward the lake, commentling to us how good a swim would feel. While we were on the PCT part of our hike, other through-hikers were telling us tales of a thru-hiker who was just a plain idiot. Weeel, about 10 minutes after leaving Whitney's summit, we saw someone WAAAAY down the backside of Whitney. "YOOO-HOOO! Are you on the trail??" This person couldn't even find the trail and she was a PCT thru-hiker? We waited for her to reach us, then stayed with her till trail crest. Oh please let it just be the altitude, please let it just be the altitute!
Funny, my 1st acsent was a dayhike, and I saw these 2 other dayhikers who were just carrying what they could cram into their Camelbaks. I thought how silly, with all the various stuff you need just in case. 2 weeks ago I did it with...a Camelbak! It was a peice of cake!

I hope this little anecdote may be a lesson learned for others. Years ago when I first started hiking in the Sierras as a Boy Scout, one of our Scout Masters was very excited about a trip we planned on the east side of Whitney because he would have the chance to fish for Golden Trout (California's state freshwater fish). This scout master was an avid flyfisherman and certainly would not let a little rain or hail interfere with his fishing. It seems that waving a flyrod through the air in a thunderstorm, even if the fish are biting, is not a bright idea. While no one saw him get struck by lightening we did see what happened to his flyrod and to his hand. Fortunately for him the charge appeared to hit the tip of the flyrod and pass through the bottom and into the ground. Still, the fly rod heated enough to vaporize the cork handle and inflict serious burns to his casting hand. The lesson here is, do not fish in thunderstorms. This is especially true now as today's modern rod materials are better conductors. I've experienced static discharge and heard crackling sounds in my flyrods when bad weather is approaching and it is enough to make me put my flyrods away (unless the fish are really biting).

howdy, we were camping in little yosemite valley and a troup of boy scouts decided to camp there also. The leader was a nasty fellow, always berating the boys--making them feel bad--constantly yelling--You know the type--Anyway, after listening to this for a few hours, we decided to teach him a lesson. We took an old sock--filled it with marshmellows, honey, anything that smelled good--basically a bear magnet--and tied it to his tent with 50 pound fish line. On the middle of the nite --heard a howl and awoke to see his tent being carted up the trail--(small freestanding with no pegs)--Never forget the look on his face--justice is sweet.

Markskor:

I hope you made that story up (it kind of sounds like you did).

If you didn't, I hope for your sake that your "evil" scoutmaster never reads this thread. He might decide to prosecute you for destruction of personal property and reckless endangerment.

Ironically, that would be justice - the legal kind.

Marksor:
I concur with ericb and believe that bear baiting is as bad or worse than the Scout Master's berating of his troop. The baited sock probably went a long way to reinforce the presence of campers with easy food. While it may have been comical to see the Scout Master's tent dragging down the trail, your actions may not have only spoiled the Scout Master's trip, but may have also spoiled the trip of the boys in the troop. As a former scout I recall how eagerly we anticipated our trips to the Sierras. Possibly ruining their trip and reinforcing the bear's association of sweet food with campers seem like failures in judgement worthy of the Whitney Follies and I'm sure your post was meant to teach others from your own personal experience. Thank you for sharing your story.

I have to ask, why were you carrying honey, 50 pound test fishing line, and an old sock in Yosemite's back country?

I will probably get crap, along with vynse on this, but I agree, that was a great story. If the scout leader was the ***hole he is claimed to be by belittling scouts all day long, he deserved the beautiful prank. (if it is true of course) I am sure the scout master did more harm to the scouts esteem then, the laughter, I am sure they all enjoyed when they found out what happened. Nice work.

Gonna have to side with the morality police here. Bear baiting is just stupid- esp in someplace like Yosemite where there is an enormous bear problem.

(Also think the story is crap, as either the sock, the tent, or the fishing line would likely break long before dragging a tent with an adult in it very far. Also, who brings bring 50 lb test (i.e deep sea fishing line) on a backpacking trip?)

I am surprised to see that I've been annointed as a morality cop. My mother would be so proud of me.

The point to my earlier post was not that the Scout Master did not deserve some type of corrective action, but that the corrective action may have had unintended consequences. Sure the bear problem in the Sierras continues to get worse and you may think that just one more person tying a food covered sock to an evil Scout Master's tent is not going to make a difference, but just think what would happen if everyone who visited the Sierras tied food covered socks to the tents of people who annoyed them? Even if you think you are the only one giving food to a bear please consider that everyone else who gives food to a bear thinks the same way as you. That is why we have the problem. Why is that your gift of food is okay and everyone else's is not.

Along the same lines, those young scouts probably did not need counseling after seeing their Scout Master's tent dragged down the trail by a bear, but I'm sure Mr. Scout Master was in an even worse mood after the incident than before the incident. If someone has a bad disposition and is treating me poorly because of it I'd much rather their mood improve than get worse. Why would anyone think that making Mr. Scout Master's mood worse would make the trip better for the troop?

Perhaps the best action would have been to have a tactful discussion with Mr. Scout Master. If he responded well to your comments then the world would have been a better place. If he acted beligerently during your talk then you could have beat the ever living crap out of him and stolen all of his gear teaching him a lesson he would not soon forget. Oops, there goes my position on the morality police board.

Who the heck takes honey and marshmallows into a wilderness area that is notorius for black bears. I'm not sure I believe that story.

Kinda reminds me of the commercial where the two guys run into a Grizzly Bear while backpacking. The Grizzly is extremely agitated, standing on his hind legs and growling. The one guy looks at his friend hugs him and sprays him down wtih honey and takes off!

I was beginning my ascent of the MR approach last fall, had just crossed SFLP Creek the first time (about 45 minutes or 500-600 vertical feet above the main trail), and was sherpa-resting on a boulder when I noticed bushes rustling above me. There was a woman wandering about, ascending a dead-end scree slope. We spied each other at about the same time. She: "Hi! Can you see the trail?" Me: (Looking down at my feet) "I think I'm on it." She: "Oh wow, that's good. 'Cause I think I'm lost, and I don't have a map, and I'm not very good at directions in the wilderness, and I'm supposed to meet my friends at Trail Camp this evening!"

I almost fell off my boulder laughing.

Marshmallows, in scouts you could always con some kid into loading extra sugar products into his pack as a necessity. Some trips you would see almost as much candy as Halloween.

Think about it, a 13 year old, away from his parents, traveling to a destination out of town. The first gas station alone is going to have 10-15 kids purchasing at least $100 in candy.

Any of the people who spent any time in scouts can give you all kinds of stories from loading rocks in other kids packs to putting chocolate laxatives in gorp. While I certainly rolled up rocks in buddies tents on more than 2 or 3 occasions, it was also done to me more than a few times. This was just part of the hazing.

My first time doing the Whitney trail, I decided to day hike it. The longest hike I had done before were day hikes in Yosemite, all below 9,000 ft. So, not being much of a planner at the time, I decided to do Whitney after the trail quote season ended, sometime in November. As I recall, it was November 1.
I did not check the weather and the first winter storm of the season blew in. Conditions did not look good for the day but I decided to give it a try. I started on the trailhead, later than I planned since my alarm did not go off. I would make up the time by running up the trail. So off I went. In about 30 yards I was panting a puffing and ready to die; 30 yards down, the rest of the trail to go. When I finally reached Lone Pine Lake I was exausted and decided to take a break and rest on a boulder. I took off my sun glasses and looked at the sky. It occurred to me that the sky should not appear grey, nor should it have monochrome fireworks in it. Lesson: know your limits at altitude!! A nice vomiting session soon followed.

Youngsters are resilient. I doubt any of those Boy Scouts were emotionally damaged either by their ***hole Scoutmaster's negativity or by the bear incident.

My point was this: Did the Scoutmaster deserve to have his tent destroyed? If your answer to that question is "Yes", my next question is, "Who are you to make that decision?" So many people on this message board throw around the concept "morality police" any time somebody posts an assertion they happen to disagree with. What we fail to see is that we are ALL morality cops. If you have an opinion regarding the way one ought to conduct himself in the "wilderness", you are entitled to that opinion and you are entitled to voice that opinion. If somebody disagrees with you, that's healthy.

But, am I to understand that because they disagree with you, they are the morality cops and you are not? Who's the morality cop in this situation? The Scoutmaster, because he was trying to shape the behavior of his charges? The bear-baiter, because he passed judgment on the Scoutmaster and took action? Me, because I suggested that the bear-baiter's actions were not prudent? Spanky Bob, because he agrees with me? Vhinse and AZ Climber, because they don't? Gezinger, because he uses his cell phone? Throcker, because he doesn't?

Wake up!!! We are all morally self-righteous, and we all have the right to argue our side of each moral dilemma - that's one of the points of this message board. In my mind, the only immoral action within such discourse is to deny somebody else the right to their own opinion...

Also, try this one on for size: No matter how resilient those 'Scouts are emotionally, what if the bear had become frustrated, scared, or angry?

A negative, insulting Scoutmaster? Having property damaged by a bear? These are things a Boyscout can easily recover from.

Witnessing a black bear sink his jaws into your Scoutmaster's neck? That might require some therapy.

Howdy, adding a bit--regarding honey?--from degnons deli--small packets--regarding marshmellows?--ever hear of s'mores--on a boy scout trip--ya think maybe?. regarding 50 pound fish line?--could have been 40--who knows?--We found it up there--lots of misc. trash around-so didn't really test the line--all I know is that it was thick stuff-- Regarding the leader?---yes he was a real A-hole-yelled from first minute they arrived till nite. Very loud and obnoxious. regarding the old sock?---well after 10 days in, all my socks are a bit old. Regarding his tent--yes it lost one of the poles--snapped, but so did the fish line-eventually.
Regarding the scouts--they laughed so hard--maybe still laughing today. Regarding the rest of the surrounding campers? they cheered and clapped. It seems they all felt that this guy was out of touch, or so it seemed then. So, If your out there mr. boy scout leader--I am sorry about your tent, but not about the rest.
Regarding this story--it is true.

Vince,
I'm sorry to hear you think this is a lame excuse. What proof do you have that the statement is false? I know of several examples that prove it is true. Many species have become extinct because people didn't think killing one animal would hurt. The Boy Scouts may have thought the Scout Master deserved it, but it wouldn't have been so funny if someone was hurt. A stupid and childish prank. I would expect more from Boy Scouts.

Mark A. Patton

This is hilarious. I love the fact that a funny, mildly harmless prank(aside from the damaged tent), has gotten this much attention. Just for the sake of debate, and I hope no one takes offense but, the what if every body did it, excuse, is lame. Think about it, that statement could be related to any and everything, good or bad, and it still has no clout, just annoying. What if everyone ditched school, what if everyone pissed in a creek, what if everyone burned ants with a magnifying glass as a kid, what if everybody used this statement, everytime they tried to make a point. The reality is this, we can all have our Utopian Idealistic views on how others should act and think, but nothing is going to change. Certainly not the extinction of animals. I guess Mark, probably also feels that we are responsible for the extinction of dinosuars, sabertooths, mamoths, cromagnum man, etc. It, is called a cycle, and we are along for the ride.