Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Your Whitney Day Hike Gear List

Okay so I want to see what everyones detailed gear list is for a day hike of Whitney. Try to list everything if you can.
I have told friends that my pack for a day hike to the summit and back in under 12 lbs and they say no way. Lets see yours

Are you talking about now or during the summer?

sorry, i should have said summer time conditions.

12 pounds seems more than reasonable for a SUMMER day hike in GOOD weather conditions.

It's basically the ten essentials:

Map and compass - nominal weight.
First aid kit - mine's about 4 ounces, with knowledge in my head to improvise for the catastrophic stuff.
LED Headlamp - 3 ounces.
Matches for emergency use only - nominal.
Knife - 1 ounce.
Extra clothing - I choose some combination of Marmot Ion windshirt (4 oz.), Western Mountaineering Flight down jacket (12 oz.), silk longjohns (3 oz.) (Remember, this is SUMMER.) Rain gear - Red Ledge rain parka (10 oz.), or a trash compactor bag for emergency bivy/poncho.
Sunscreen.
Water - in-line filter (4 oz), enough bottles to carry 3 liters from Trail Camp to summit and back.
Food - about a pound or so.
Oh yeah, the wonderful wag bag.

Clearly, the above is well under 12 pounds until I fill the water bottles.

My list is pretty close to AsABat's except that I make do with 2 liters of water. I think that 12 pounds is fine, even with the water. In summer under good conditions.

no camera for either of you guys ?

I always take a camera. It doesn't weigh close to a pound. I was thinking of my pack, and I never put my camera in my pack.

Yes, a small camera (Nikon Coolpix 4100). I also carry a 2-meter radio, so total electronics are about a pound.

Maybe what I wear makes a different too. Long sleeve pants and shirt keeps the sun off, blocks some wind, and a little warmer so the extra layers don't have to be so heavy. I can zip off the legs and roll up the sleeves if too hot. Also a good hat with full brim (Tilley Airflo). Two layers of wool socks, trail running shoes. Silk boxers (cotton holds sweat, and polypro stinks).

A thread from July:

A Proper Daypack

Base weight is 12 lbs, ok. What about the 6 to 10 lbs of water for the trip to the summit? Yes, I've use up to 5 L of water one near freezing May day for the Trail Camp-summit round trip.

Everything depends on the day you go, the summit with 30 MPH breeze and near single digit temperature requires a bit more clothing than a visit to the Smithsonian Hut when the temperature is 60* F and nary a breeze...I've both in August.

My gear list for a Mt. Whitney day hike where I have to travel 200 miles to reach the trailhead will always have a few extra items in the bin for last minute decisions...especially this time of year.

AsABat, you mentioned carrying a 2-meter radio. I considered bringing mine along on my summit last June but didn't. Are you able to hit any repeaters up there? If so can you share the frequency? I'm sure there are other Ham fans on this forum that would be interested in this as well.

146.760- (100.0) Mazourka Peak (Independence)

It is spotty in the canyon as the repeater is to the northeast. From the summit you can hit repeaters in Bishop and also in the Central Valley. It can be a little messy as you might think you're on Mammoth Mountain but really on a repeater in the Central Valley!

I have more info at www.qsl.net/aa6j/pct

My pack on 21 August 08 weighed 17 lbs. that included the 3 liters of water in the camelbak, filter, essentials, layers, food, headlamp, camera etc..

I don't think the list (or the link to the other thread) suggests rainpants. Some say rain gear, some say layers, or parka, or shells

Many people just take a rain top. You need a bottom, too.

In a wet sleet storm (been there, even in summer), you can be coated with ice, wet to the skin, cooling the legs and wicking all the way up through shorts or pants as high as the waist.(been there, even in summer). The risk of hypothermia is real. There was a recent hypothermia death on Cathedral in Yosemite from a similar scenario.

With the combination of sleet, lack of warming sun, and wind, the percentage of body surface cooled is considerable. You might be able to keep moving and burn it off, but what if you are stopped by a twisted ankle? Need rainpants.

I rarely carry rain pants on a summer DAY HIKE. I find my legs get as wet wearing them as they do without them, and often cause my legs to overheat. (I do carry rainpants on longer outings, or in winter.) I figure if the weather turns ugly on a day hike I can just bail out.

Speaking of ugly, what I do carry on day hikes (and some longer trips) is a rain wrap, aka a rain skirt. About 3 ounces and takes no space at all. Think of it as a poncho for your lower have to keep your rear dry.

http://ula-equipment.com/rain_wrap.htm

MY last day hike I carried under 10 pounds loaded in a fanny pack. Hit snow on the top, rain/sleet on the way down. Even had a water filter. I can post the whole list and how I did it later if anyone is interested. The only thing I wished I had was my wind pants since the rain poncho sheds water just above my knees. Other than that I had plenty of food, water, clothing and medical supplies. I even carried my SPOT...................................................DUG

Went up Sept 17, 2008. Here's everything:

Osprey Statos 24 pack
10 bottles of water
4 bottles of protein drink
4 bottles of Cytomax
15 Power Bars
Pearl Azumi gloves
NF beanie hat
Pearl Azumi arm warmers
Silly sun hat
Patagonia shorts & T-shirt (Wick-a-way)
Seiko watch w/groovy features
My lucky socks
Sunscreen
Headlamp (didn't need it)
Small roll of duct tape
Extra socks
NF waterproof jacket
Camera
Lip balm
$40 cash
Asprin
Spare shoe laces
Climbing permit

That's absolutely everything I wore & carried. Up & back from the portal in 8 hrs & 20 min. That was as fast as I could go. Still had 4 Power Bars at the portal but was on my last bottle of water.

TEP how much did all that weigh? Sounds like a lot of fluids especially when you walk next to water the entire trip.

LOL. Ya, I kept reading that the water on the trail was not drinkable without filtration so I just carried all I thought I'd need.

All bottles were 16 oz., so that was a little over 2 gallons of fluid. Lets call it 18 pounds of drink. Everything else was well under than 10 pounds, so my pack total was right around 30 pounds. Very light compared to some training packs I/we used in preparing for Whitney, and of course the pack got lighter every 45 min or so when I'd finish a bottle.

I kept stopping and tasting the water along the trail and always thought, "This taste pretty good to me. Why am I carrying so much H20?" LOL.

tommy

Well most of the people who travel Whitney regularly don't filter but drink the water straight without any problems. If you tasted the water you should of just drank it because you run the same risk of getting bacteria by putting it in your mouth. You can easily filter,steri-pen or use tablets if you prefer not to drink the water au natural.That would have saved you 18-20 lbs which is a big deal IMO.