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!