Mt Whitney – I’m Coming For YOU! (Part 1)

A couple months ago, online friends Paul and Dee of 2 More Miles invited me to join their group on a Whitney summit trip. Since I’d bailed before Whitney on my JMT/PCT trip last summer, this seemed like a perfect opportunity to conquer this objective. As my friend WhyNot?! would say, WHY NOT?

Several in my group had a history of altitude sensitivity and with my asthma I was more than happy to begin our trip with a couple of acclimation hikes and nights at higher elevation. Arriving fairly late on Wednesday, June 8th, we spent our first night at the Lone Pine Campground (about 6,000′).

On Thursday, we drove up the Whitney Portal Road and hiked to Lone Pine Lake (about 10,000′), lollygagging our day away at 8-10,000′.

I believe the waterfall in the center of the photo is the outflow from Lone Pine Lake.

This waterfall will be a pleasant sight as we descend from Whitney in a few days.

Not quite my first visit to the John Muir Wilderness, but my first steps on this section of trail. And for those that don’t know, this is the $5 skirt I’ve been adventuring in for the past few months.

Good log walking practice. There were a couple of lengthy separations that required a tiny leap . . . that’ll be interesting with full packs.

Lone Pine Lake. There was a little snow around the banks, but very little given this 10,000′ elevation location.

We spent Thursday and Friday nights at the Horseshoe Meadow Campground. With an elevation around 10,000′ and overnight lows around freezing, it gave us an opportunity to acclimate to both as well as make final decisions about gear for the trip. On Friday, we hiked from the campground up toward Mulkey and Trail Passes.

My first steps into the Golden Trout Wilderness.

The motto of the trip might be “what happens on Whitney stays on Whitney” as my new friends mime “see no evil, hear no evil, say no evil.”

Not a bad way to spend the day as we meander our way up through Round Valley.

To be continued . . . .

Links to the rest of the story:

• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4

Link to 2 More Miles Related Posts:

• Prep Day 1 – Getting Acclimated
• Prep Day 2 – One More Day

Jan’s Tips:

• Showers are available for $5 at the Whitney Hostel in Lone Pine
• Parking is available in Lone Pine at the Dow Villa Motel overflow lot for $25/week with a motel reservation.
• Transportation and parking options (overnight parking at the Whitney Portal is not an option unless you have an entry or exit permit). Our group of 7 was able to successfully hitch from the Portal to Lone Pine.
• Kurt Power is a good private shuttle option to/from Horseshoe Meadow Campground.

Resources:

• Map – Tom Harrison Mount Whitney High Country
• Map – Halfmile (Section G, pages 14-16, and Section H, pages 1A-1B)
• Map – Printing by Yogi
• Book – Mount Whitney the Complete Trailhead-to-Summit Guide, by Paul Richins, Jr.
• Smartphone Apps – Halfmile, Trimble Outdoor Navigator, Guthook’s PCT Guide
• Emergency Communicator – InReach SE
• Lone Pine Campground
• Horseshoe Meadow Campground
• Mt Whitney Weather Forecast
• Mt Whitney Trail Conditions Forum
• Basic Trip Itinerary