I'm surprised anyone hikes to get to the top of anything..heck..the only reason I go hiking is so that I can bring along all those fatty and delicious foods that I couldn't eat if I weren't hiking..
I mean..gorging yourself on Snicker's Bars, cheese sticks, peanut M&Ms, beef sticks...mmm... The hiking and all that camping stuff is all incidental to that.
Seriously though - the one thing I've learned from my trips out west to hike is that pace, particularly at the very beginning, is very important. Usually I'm so amped to be on the trail in the morning that I have to consciously slow down my pace on those first few miles so that I don't get all lathered up and waste energy on a ridiculous pace. Thankfully, all the guys that have seen fit to drag me up to the top of Whitney the past couple times have taken mercy on me and set a very nice and fun pace that allowed for taking pictures, videos, and telling stories...
