Nine months ago my friend Rob Bond and I climbed
Half Dome in Yosemite. It was as much as an adventure as a challenge, both of
which are appealing to us. He is an inspiration to us all, as he plans to visit
his 73rd country (no fooling), listens to more podcasts of college
classes (take Ackerman’s class on Geography at Cal, of course), and dreaming up
new pranks. Let it be? No way. As soon as the pain in our feet and joints
subsided we started looking for the redux of that weekend. It didn’t take long
to decide on the sequel.
Early this spring, we discussed attempting to
climb Mt. Whitney, as pictured below.
 |
| Whitney in snow |
 |
| Our goal |
Simply put, it is the highest mountain in the
continental United States. Only Denali in Alaska is a higher US peak. Prior to
1982 most acknowledged Whitney’s height as 14,494. However with the advent of
better technology, Whitney is now 10 feet higher. (Frankly, one of our
motivations was to go now before it got even higher).
Our original plan to hike on June 15th
took a severe hit when a freak snow storm in early June made that date
impossible. Unfortunately for us, the rest of the summer was already booked by
then. Only by Rob’s dogged determination did we hit on a rare cancellation for
Sunday August 1. He snapped it up, and thus our date was set by late June. No
backing out.
After and easy 7 hour drive, we arrived in Lone
Pine (population 1,655) late Saturday afternoon. Lone Pine is the metropolis 13 miles east of Whitney
and about 10,000 feet below its summit. It is situated in the Owens River
Valley. It is a town whose “main street” (Highway 395) features 80% of its
commerce and “action”. We headed to our hotel, the Dow Villa. The Dow was first
built in 1843. While it now features a newer motel (with pool and the like), we
stayed in the old hotel. It is an institution known to movie buffs, because it
was home away from home for many stars in the 30-40’s when westerns were made
in the valley. Pictures of John Wayne, Gene Autry, Roy Rodgers, Richard
Farnsworth, and even Tom Mix adored the walls. They all stayed there, and by
the way my bed felt, some of them might have shared the mattress. Our room well
earned its “half star rating” awarded by Rob & me, since, among other
things the bathroom was down the hall. However, how can you complain for $52.50
per night for two.
 |
| The Dow's Best |
As a lark we asked the desk clerk for dinner
recommendations. We expected a comparison of the Big Mac and Burger King’s
best. He surprised us and just said “go to
the Seasons”, which was a short walk away. That was great since it was 90
degrees when we headed out a bit after 6PM. When we opened the restaurant’s door,
we were surprised. The lighting and color scheme were very appealing (our wives
have trained us well to appreciate ecru walls over red). The menu offered salads
with fancy lettuces, Medallions of Cevena Elk, “new” potatoes, and even a
vegetarian option. Some would be interested in their offering of several premium single malt scotches. We were
not disappointed: warm bread, pasta aldente with a subtle tomato basil sauce, mine
with juicy, plump shrimp. (We subsequently spoke with the owner who has been
serving this fare for 12 years. All her daily delivery of fish and the like
comes from LA, 300 miles away). Quite a find.
Back to the room, we made our first big
decision: we would wake up at 3:30 AM, early even for the two of us early
birds. We did so to avoid the heat, and have some time in case things took
longer than expected. That was a very good choice, as we came to see. However,
that meant trying to go to sleep around 8:30PM in the bright, hot evening. We
showed them! Soon we were snoring.
When we woke up, we officially joined a steady
stream of people who have made this trek since 1863. Most start at Whitney
Portal (on the east side of the mountain) and hike 11 miles, and 6,000 feet of
elevation gain, to the summit. Then they go back. Some break the hike into two
days from this side, generally staying at Trail Camp (12,000 feet and 6 miles
up). Consider poor Clarence King who tried twice to be the first to climb this
mountain named after Josiah Whitney, the state’s geologist in the 1860s. He
failed both times. The first ascent is credited to three Lone Pine residents
who made it in 1873. Not much has changed in the last in the last 140 years.
After the Second World War, some suggested re-naming it after Sir Winston
Churchill, but that failed to gain consensus. However, recently the US Forest
Service has started restricting the access to the trail to 160 people per day
from June to October. (Snow is the limiter in the other months).
We reached Whitney Portal (elevation 8,500 feet)
at 4AM. It was buzzing with activity, and its skimpy parking lots were already
full. We started our hike at 4:15 AM. We had light packs with 2 liters of water
(each), food, and emergency supplies. We fell into an easy rhythm of the early,
gradual ascent. We, like most of the others, had Petzl headlamps. These are strong
LED lights, which are lightweight and ideally suited for situations like this.
Petzl is the “gold standard” of such lights, and they were invaluable. Looking up
the mountain we saw clumps of such lights slowly progressing upwards, weaving
north and south as they traversed the switchbacks. Later, we looked over our
shoulder, and saw the first glimpses of the sun, yet didn’t feel its heat. By 7:30AM
we had been underway for over 3 hours and were both panting heavily. We would
come to understand the fun was just starting. We were 10,000 feet or so which
meant we had another 4,500 or so to go. Unfortunately, as you look up the
mountain you can’t see any way to attain that summit. It seems impenetrable, as
shown below.
 |
| Peaks to the South |
 |
| Target Destination |
Hikers are a friendly bunch, always offering each other encouragement, or an assessment of location and remaining time. The problem is that advice isn’t always right. Here we came on one of the differences in our approach to trips like ours. One of us is a planner; he tries to figure out what’s ahead, while the other prefers experiential learning. (I am confident all readers will know who is who in that description.) We had read a couple of the on line reports about the hike, and in fact copied some altitudes and distances from one. Unfortunately, they weren’t reliable. This led us (a couple of times) to the worst experience of hikers: thinking you have less distance or altitude remaining than is the case. It’s just two more miles….
As you climb you pass a couple of snow fed
lakes, Lone Pine Lake, Mirror Lake, and the lake at Trail Camp. All are
beautiful remnants of last winter’s snow, and are such a contrast to the
granite which surrounds you.
 |
| Mirror Lake, 4 miles up |
In the final 3 miles (about 2,000 feet
elevation) before reaching Trail Crest (a false summit) one starts a cable
protected staircase and then the series of over 100 switchbacks. Those
switchbacks allow you to gradually gain altitude which was a God send.
 |
| The Granite Stairway |
We reached Trail Crest (13,600’) at 10:30 which
meant we were only two miles and less than 1,000 feet from the summit.
Unfortunately, both of us bonked around there. As I understand it, one can bonk
(run out of energy) for three reasons: lack of water, air, or fuel. In our case
I believe we didn’t have enough water, even though we each had 2 liters. In
addition the thinner air also made breathing tougher. (Lower pressure at higher
elevations makes breathing harder. I think we were getting something like
60-80% of “sea level” oxygen, for much of the hike). I wish we had brought some
cocoa leaves as used in the Andes to mitigate “thin air”. The trail didn’t help
either. Essentially the final assault involves climbing behind the needles seen
to the left of Whitney from the east. The “trail” is full of loose rock, is
uneven, and has some very steep parts. Just exactly what you don’t want. We
each struggled to gain altitude 6” to 20” at a step.
 |
| Heded up, behind the Needles |
 |
| Further Up the Trail |
The final few hundred yards to the summit are a gradual climb on the granite face, no trail. No matter, one can see the prize. We reached our goal after 8 hours of climbing. The first thing you see when you summit is the Smithsonian Institution shelter, a stone hut built in 1909. This offers protection from the common summer showers. Unfortunately, some have died being hit by summer lightening. (We had previously checked and saw there was no such activity expected for days.) The peak is also littered with various medallions which were placed by various geologic survey parties. None was noteworthy. However, the unobstructed 360 degree panorama was incredible. We could identify Yosemite, 200 miles north, and the start of the John Muir trail, which ends at Whitney. Summit also meant lunch, which consisted of one PB&J sandwich. (Despite over 8 hours of fairly hard work, neither of us felt famished, and had only snacked on trail mix twice or so.) However, that mangled sandwich pictured below tasted great.
 |
| Never a Doubt |
 |
| A Meal Fit for a King |
 |
| Looked like a Ritz Carlton |
Why the jackets? Well it is fairly windy most of
the time on the summit. It was only 50 degrees on the top, despite the blazing
sun which made Lone Pine over ninety. We rested for 15-30 minutes or so, and
then decided it was time to start down before those sore legs turned to cement.
Coming down is less energy, but much harder on your joints and feet. This is a
problem, since we have two good knees and about 15 good toes between us. It was
clear early, than descending was going to be very tough for us: bonked, sores
knees and toes, and less than usual balance. Rob was good enough to lend me his
hiking poles, which reduced the shock of each step down. (Shock seems so
strong, but believe me it is not an overstatement.)
The descent was as tedious as some Giant’s
games, and just as painful. The rest of the afternoon was filled with gingerly
taken steps as we gave back the altitude we worked so hard to gain only hours before.
Neither of us moved quickly, but for that matter no one was passing us. We
estimate there were 60 or so people on the trail that day, which is hard to
understand. The ranger had told us the day before there were no more spaces for
Sunday. This was a time of quiet endurance, as the afternoon sun gave way to
dusk. We could not remember how much farther we had for most of those last
hours. It seemed like the question from the back seat of young family vacations
“Are we there yet?”
The “insult to injury” of our slow descent meant
we were swarmed by mosquitoes the final hour or so of hiking. Those #@*&
insects come out at dusk. We were easy targets as we were hot, sweaty, and our
veins were bulging. Both of us soon became covered with bites. Just before the
sun set, I wanted to take one final picture of the mountain. I pulled out my
point & shoot digital camera and the screen announced “Battery Exhausted”.
I thought to myself, that makes three of us. Out came the headlights for the
final 30 minutes of hiking, since we didn’t want to risk falling at dusk. We
finished our trip a bit after 8PM, or not quite 16 hours after we started.
Neither of us had “much left in the tank”. However, we were both thankful for
the safe ending of a long day.
We were fortunate. Rob will probably lose a toe
nail or two, but no severe blisters as last time. Just bone tired. After a
light dinner and lots of fluid, a shower and 8 solid hours of sleep, we
revived. We concluded it took us longer to hike up and down the mountain than
to drive to and from the bay area. And, it was harder.
Would we do it again? Speaking for Rob, I would
say unequivently “Hell Yes”.
That is as soon as gas is under $1.00 a gallon, the
Chicago Cubs win the World Series, and Printed Affair takes over CBS.
Will we find another adventure? Stay tuned.
August 10, 2010
