Mount Whitney-The Trip (Part 1)

Mount Whitney Summit Trip

Pat and I and three friends did a three-day backpacking trip last weekend to climb Mount Whitney, the tallest peak in the continental United States (14, 495 feet). The trip went really well: we all summited easily and had just a great time.

This is a view of the Sierra Mountain range as we drove up the Whitney Portal Road. Whitney is actually one of the peaks on the right.

We spent the night before our hike at Cottonwood Campground (10,000 feet) in order to acclimate to the elevation.

We did a little hike from Cottonwood to keep loose. Pat wore a garbage bag just in case it rained.

At the trailhead, we all packed our gear up and prepared for the hike.

Here is our hiking crew: Raul, Pat, Audra, Rose and Katie

There was a scale at the trailhead, and we all weighed our packs. Mine weighed in at 28 pounds and Pat's was at 35. The scale makes lying about how heavy one's pack is a little trickier.

The trail went up right from the start and never stopped.

One of the many alpine lakes.

Looking back into the valley.

Our Trail Camp site at 12,000 feet. We were very lucky that no one in our group felt the altitude at all.

There was a very nice lake at trail camp. I promised to buy dinner for anyone brave enough to take a swim in this lake that was created from melting snow. Both Raul and Rose expressed interest but then chickened out.

Pat right above our campsite.

Pat and I at our campsite.

On summit day, Raul and Audra got up at the break of dawn and headed up. Pat and I took a more leisurely approach, starting out at 8 a.m. Pat and I saw Audra and Raul coming back down when we were about 30 minutes from the summit.

We made it to the summit in 2 hours 20 minutes from Trail Camp (4.7 miles). The trail was great, and we felt good.

However, it was a little chilly up there.

Rose arrived a little later. There were some guys up there who gave us their extra champagne.

There was also a hut on top.

A view from the summit.

Pat toasts our summit.

Pat and I standing in one of the "windows" on the trail.

The trail goes right around these crazy formations.

We felt so good after the summit that we decided to head to Outpost Camp, two miles lower than Trail Camp in order to have a shorter final day. On Sunday, we had just a quick 3.8 miles down to the Portal. Then it was back to Long Beach!

Mount Whitney Wildlife--bears, deer and attack Marmots

Whitney Wildlife

Bears are definitely the most talked about wildlife around Mount Whitney. There were warnings everywhere suggesting that the bears are lurking behind every tree, just waiting for campers to leave food unattended. In this picture, Audra is practicing her defensive moves, in case a bear does attack.

The Forest Service (the same people who came up with the Wag Bag) require all hikers to carry bear canisters in which to store all food and items with a distinctive scent. The canisters are heavy and unwieldy and, in general, a pain to carry.

We tried our best to follow all the rules, and we left all our extra food in bear-proof lockers at the trailhead. Even so, when Rose returned to her car, she found a giant rebuke threatening fines and imprisonment for leaving a bear-worthy item in her car. The item? That old bear favorite: contact solution!

If you look very carefully, you can see a deer in these pictures. She wandered by as we ate our lunch on the first day of the trip.

When we got to Trail Camp, we quickly realized that our bear canisters should have been called Marmot canisters. These pesky creatures were very interested in eating any food we would share. They constantly circled our tents looking for a treat.

The Marmots were chubby and well-fed.

Audra was afraid the Marmies (as she called them) would carry her off into the night so Pat and I played a little joke on her and Raul after they went to bed. We snuck up on them and started scratching at their tent. However, when they jumped back in shock, we started giggling hysterically and the ruse was over.

Mount Whitney--The Unsavory Details (answers to your burning questions)

Bears poop in the woods. But, what about humans?

Usually, backpackers bury their solid human waste while in the woods. However, since most of the Mount Whitney trip was above treeline in an environmentally fragile area, each of us was issued ONE (the Forest Service expected us to use one bag for multiple trips to the restroom because the bags are so expensive) Wag Bag--a wonderful invention in which we could collect our solid waste and carry it out with us. As you can see in this picture, we were very excited to use our Wag Bags.

Here is a Wag Bag, ready for use.

Audra Smith--Wag Bag model extraordinaire. Don't worry--this is only a demonstration!

At the trailhead, there is a receptacle to collect the Wag Bags. Here Rose deposes of her Wag Bag. I think our Wag Bag experience really made us all appreciate modern conveniences such as indoor plumbing!

Mom (Alice) Visits!

My mom visted Southern California over the July 4th holiday. Alice is one of my most loyal visitors, and she never complains about our various misadventures.

Just about every visit to Long Beach starts with breakfast atRiver's End, a great little cafe on the beach where the San Gabriel river meets the Pacific Ocean.

We went to Laguna Beach on the 4th and did a 10K Volksmarch. My mom travels all over the world doing Volksmarches, non-competitive walks for which members get mileage and event credits. My mom has walked something like 17,000 Kilometers in several countries and all 50 states. She is a real Bad Ass! The above picture is at the Volksmarch checkpoint--where mom has to write down the answer to a provided question to prove that she didn't cheat!

Here are a few pictures of Pat and I overlooking the beach. These are the pictures in which my mom didn't manage to cut our heads off.

There were lots of neat little coves, cliffs and secluded swimming areas.

Here are Pat and Alice walking the last portion of the Volksmarch along the beach. The beach was really crowded. I wasn't able to get a good picture but we also saw a group of four or five dolphins frolicking in the surf.

My main California complaint illustrated! This for those of you considering a Laguna Beach vacation next July 4th. Too many people...

We also went up to the San Gabriel Mountains Saturday and did a portion of the Boy Scout build Silver Mocassin Trail. It was really HOT, and the trail went up, up, up. Alice was a good sport.

There were lots of really cool rocks.