Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Total Failure

Saturday I went up Gorgonio for the first time. I am in very good climbing shape and did Whitney last year for the first time and had no trouble at all. So I was cocky at the thought of going up to 11,500. I've done Baldy a few times recently and was strong each time.

So to my horror I was the weak link out of 6 guys whom are in good shape but with little specific training. My hydration/fuel/salts etc were all in line. I kept waiting my normal self to kick in and it never happened. I have no idea what went wrong. I do have a new respect for how each day one may feel better or worse.

We had a nice time and we all got home safely. Yet my confidence is low and I have a Whitney attempt in two weeks. I was hoping some of you super bright folks could help me figure what the hell went wrong. Based on my training I felt I was deserving of a stronger day. Perhaps my eye for an eye gage of fairness doesn't apply above 9000 feet.

Thanks- Mike

Some days are just 'off' days. I've definitely had them before both in hiking and other athletic ventures (specifically swimming for me). Some hikes, I just feel weak/sluggish even though my prep, training, hydration, rest, fuel etc are all in line.

Don't get down on yourself for it, and don't let your confidence get too low for Whitney either!!

tif's right. I had one of my best hiking days the other day, smiling and listening to the other hikers on Baldy as I passed them. I don't have many of those, in fact earlier in the week, I had a short 8 miler up above Corona and afterward my legs started cramping. So.... you just never know. As long as it doesn't happen too often, you should be okay.

You may have been thinking about Whitney in two weeks, possibly trying to get a good hike in before the Whitney hike. May be all mental. You'll be fine, SG's a bitch, to the point that I've done Baldy, San Jacinto a bunch, but just couldn't get motivated for SG. I think the difference is....you will enjoy Whitney.

It was hot and humid on Saturday, so that could have been a factor if you haven't been training in similar conditions. Also, you didn't say which route you took, but the switchbacks up to Vivian Creek are quite a bit steeper than than the Whitney main trail. And when you're with a fast group it's easy to get caught up in a pace that you end up paying for later in bonkage .
Chances are unless you were coming down with an illness of some sort, you'll never know exactly what went wrong. Being that you have a good hiking fitness base, you shouldn't worry about it too much. As was mentioned, everyone has their bad days.

Mike,

Blame is on "high anxiety": First time...training for the big one...mind going a thousand thoughts a minute...

You are going to have good days as well as bad...But your first time on San G cannot be considered bad...

If you went up VC then maybe the exertion may has gotten the best of you.

Don't know where you turned around (High Creek?) but you didn't outwit your common sense to turn around.

When you reach the Whitney Zone you are at the 9,900 mark. Start smiling from this point forward.

When you reach Trail Camp 12,039) you are higher than San G.

On your big Whit day, just say "gonna git'r done".

When you reach Trail Crest, turn towards San G and say, "I am up on you now!"

Bottom line...pace pace pace. It's not a race.

Have fun...we look forward to hearing to your adventure and seeing them summit pics!

Mike,
You're still not as big of a doosh as I am though. I thought I can get to Trail Camp with 42 lb backpack in 4 hours. Clearly not going to happen...I got to mile 5 in a little over 3 hours and I was completely drained. At that point, I could of continued on and get to Trail Camp in two more hours, but being the doosh bag that I was, I decide to turn back, and try a day hike next time without the 42 lb backpack. Even then, I think I'm still in-over-my-head for a dayhike, But this time, I'll try to have the right attitude.

In the end, we must learn from our previous mistake, and not beat ourselves up so badly and move on. Also, more often than not, we have a second chance life.

Mike,
you are an honest man, and probably 10 time a better person than I am, so don't beat yourself up too badly...

If you did Whitney last year and your training this year is comparable to what you did last year then you likely just had a bad day. It is also possible that the guys you were with pushed the pace and that drained you. If so, go at your own pace on Whitney. You've done it once and know what to expect.

I do Bikram Yoga (yoga in a humid room heated to 105+ degrees) several days a week. The poses are identical every day, we hold the poses for the same amount of time and we do them in the same order. And yet, every day feels different. We are constantly reminded that we do the best we can with the body we have today. On some days, I nail each pose and am very strong and my ballance is good. On other days, not so much. I have to practice with the body I have on that day. When I play raquetball, there are a couple of shots that I have in my arsenal that when I'm in the zone, I nail them and they are nearly unreturnable, but when I'm not in the zone, not so much. After I miss a few of those shots, I have to remind myself "not yet, not till your are in the zone." Sometimes, I can get back in on that day, sometimes not until the next day. I can still have a great game and win, so long as I'm not trying to hit my "in the zone" shots when I'm not "in the zone." Hike with the body you have on the day you are hiking.

I agree with Dave G. It was very hot, with unusual humidity for So. Cal. Even a few extra degrees of heat & humidity can make a huge difference in how well I feel doing any kind of exercise. We've even noticed it has affected us the last few evenings on our regular 3-mile walks...they seem more like 5 miles instead! Don't get down on yourself. It's Mother Nature's fault!

Two general thoughts, Mike.

First, sometimes, people come down with what are called "subclinical" illnesses, by which we medical types mean you don't get actually sick, per se, but if you push yourself, there is no gas in the tank. You won't really know it unless you do something that stresses the system, at which you'll think you're having an "off" day.

Second, in the larger arena of sport, we are confronted with an array of conditions, all of which can change. Each of these can affect our ability to perform. Sometimes, they all line up to the good, and we can press the pedal. Sometimes, they all push against us, and we have to downshift. What I think one of the arts of the more experienced athletes is to read how their environment is acting, and their body is reacting to it, and adjusting accordingly. I suspect a lot of that is unconsciously done. In competitive sports, it involves beating your opponent when you are having a bad day. There was a pro tennis player of a few years back who wrote a book about this called "Winning Ugly", named Brad Gilbert.

Hey Mike,

I had a similar situation on a few climbs on several "14ers" in 2009/2010; Whitney included: Strange situation; I did several tough (in my eyes), longer climbs and felt fine, though on a few 'easy' climbs, i.e 60% of the vertical and mileage, I was moving like a snail, despite similar training, in some cases feeling downright awful and turned around.

Nothing was consistent each time I felt bad: sleep, diet, hydration, temps, conditions, terrain, distance, etc..

After some head banging, I determined it to be case of overtraining; it was subtle for most of the year, but definitely was there and the more I pushed it, the more I felt it (usually by comparing my pace to others).

After backing off quite a bit for a few months over the winter and lowering the intensity I trained at, I started to do consistently better on similar climbs (knock on wood).

Don't know if that is one of the issues, but could be. I thought I was fit as a fiddle, but was actually borderline burned out most of the year without really knowing it.

Ironically, my climb up San Gorgonio was the first test climb I did after all of this training and I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make it! See link below:

http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=9790

Mike Kennedy.You say that you are doing Whitney in 2 weeks. Thus, next week go back to Baldy where you have had success recently and do it one more time. This will boost your confidence and when you get to Lone Pine, hike up to altitude maybe from Horseshoe Meadows to one of the passes, Cottonwood, Old or New Army. OR Onion Valley and do Kearsarge Pass. This will be your best prep mentally and physically for the Whitney climb.

For me personally, #1 variable is how rested I am beforehand--i.e., did I sleep well the night before, or the couple nights before. If not, good chance I will suck.

One thing that I found surprising is that I've had several people tell me that they have a harder time hiking San Gorgonio than Whitney.

I didn't really believe it the first time I heard it, but after hearing it several times from different people, I started thinking about why this could be.

The first thing that I thought of was the elevation gain. Prior to doing Whitney, people do some acclimation hikes or sleep at a higher elevation. If you sleep at the portal, your gain for the day is 6100+ ft. If you live at or near sea level, drive up to Forest Falls the morning of the hike, you gain 11000+ ft for the day. I've heard that you don't only have to pay attn to the actual elevation, you also need to think about the elevation gain.

I'm new at all of this and don't know much, but it's something to think about.

Any thoughts?

I had the same problem this year when I hiked San G on July 3. I felt fine going up to the Fish Creek trailhead, even felt good when I stopped for a snack around 10K ft. But after that - I felt whipped! I made it to the summit (we had to go straight up the side because of a huge snowfield) but I was stopping every 100 feet or so to rest and breathe. Once up there I felt nausea and couldn't eat anything.
I took one more day than usual on Whitney in mid-August, spending a few hours at Horseshoe Meadows on Friday and hiking almost to Lamarck Lake on Saturday. My acclimation usually doesn't involve a lot of miles or gain, I just like to spend time up high. Really helped, I didn't have any problems and just kept moving on the way to Whitney's summit.

I've done SG via Vivian Creek a few times. And I've done Whitney a few times. And I've done both fairly close in time to one another. I think SG via Vivian Creek is harder. Personally, I'm in the same amount of pain at the end of a day hike on either peak. But whitney's main trail has such an easy slope the entire way up, that it's easier for me to pace myself for the extra miles. SG via Vivian Creek has varrying degrees of slope (or pitch, or whatever the correct term is) all the way up. And when you come down via Vivian Creek, that last mile is absolute torture on the knees for me.

But if you're like me, you get more excited for MW, and attitude has a lot to do with your performance...just like it does in any other athletic event.

Mike, I can only echo what others have said. The weekend was brutally hot in Southern California. The temps in Mentone on Saturday were 106 degrees. I have never hiked San G. in the summer months for that sole reason: it's too hot! Even when I hike San G. in October or Novemeber, I always start at 5:30 am with headlamps. It can be hot even in the fall on the Vivian Creek trail.

I have a suggestion for you: why not hike San Bernardino peak next weekend? I know everyone always says to do Baldy in the triumvirate of Southern California hikes to prep for Whitney. But San Bernardino peak is far more scenic, challenging and less crowded than Baldy. In fact, SB peak is very similar to San G. It's 17 miles RT with 4700 elevation gain. You do need a permit to hike SB Peak, which you pick up at the Mentone Ranger station.

I've read many posts here over the years from people who have said they believe San G. is harder than Whitney. Countless people have posted this.

I can only speak for myself and my husband. Both of us think Whitney is far more tedious and difficult. More elevation gain, longer, less scenic, more people, more rocky and more pounding on the knees coming down. San G. is a challenge, yes, and I'm fatigued at the end of it, but I've always found Whitney far tougher. The day after a San G. hike I don't fele any soreness or lingering fatigue. Whereas after Whitney, I usually take a nap the next day and sleep more for a day or so.

The San Bernardino hike is one of my favorites - I don't understand why more people don't do it.

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1194063

I agree! San Bernardino peak is far and away more challenging and beautiful than Baldy. It's a very underrated hike.

I have thought about this all day: for those hikers who feel San G. is harder than Whitney, can you explain why? I'm so curious to try and understand this. Whitney is 4 miles longer, 700 feet more elevation gain, less shade, less scenic. It fascinates me that many feel San G. is harder. Can you tell us why you feel this way? Thanks.

"Whitney is 4 miles longer, 700 feet more elevation gain"

This right here is what makes San G harder - it's steeper for the most part which is tougher to hike. Only 700' of gain difference but 4 miles of hiking distance difference...