The Holy City where our journey begins...
I love this picture of the woman I love.
From l to r: Chris, Josh, my wife, me, Jessica (Josh's wife), Sandra, John (Sandra's son).
Chris, Josh, Jessica, and John were all first-timers.
The following is our trip report:
Our 07-25-12 hike was dedicated to the memory of my father, my wife’s father who passed away 03-28-12, and BruinDave’s father who also passed away earlier this year.
We planned this hike in July 2011 for my wife's co-workers who wanted to do this hike. My wife, Chris, Josh and Sandra work for the same government agency. For my wife and me, it had been four years since we climbed Mt. Whitney.
Section 1: TH to WZ
Section 2: WZ to TCa
Section 3: TCa to TCr
Section 4: TCr to summit
Sunday, July 22: We arrive in Lone Pine around 3 pm and head up to the Portal to set up camp at site 21. On our way up, we noticed it had rained. As we set up out tents, it began to sprinkle with a few boomers going off. We spot a bear about 30 yards from our camp being chased out by other campers. We head up the the Store. Doug and a crew of kids are laying down pavers around the pond. Looks great.
Monday, July 23: We have breakfast at the Alabama Hills Café. As we dined, the rain began to fall. Let it rain. Afterwards, we went to the IAVC to obtain our eight permits. No color tags. We hiked a mile down and up the NPNRT to see how much the altitude at 8300 will affect us. We met the first member of our party, Chris, at the Portal around 1:40pm. We gave him a tour of the area, and hiked a mile down and up the NPNRT. Four miles for both of us. No issues. We check into the Hostel. Room 8 has a microwave and a flat-screen. Marvelous. I locate The Weather Channel and watch the "Local on the Eights." The three of us have dinner at Pizza Factory. Two more members of our crew arrive later in the evening. After texting, we decided to meet at AHC for breakfast and then head up to Horseshoe Meadows for some acclimatization.
Tuesday, July 24: After eating, we head up to HSM. We walk around for about 3 hours around the meadow. Afterwards, we head to the Portal area to give our two new arrivals, Josh and Jessica (husband and wife) a tour. Josh was born in Lone Pine. On our way to WP from HSM, I play "My Town" by Montgomery Gentry and dedicated it to Josh. He is an Air Force heavy metal guy and does not like country music. He liked the song. Converted another one! At the Portal we receive word that two other members, Sandra and her son John, would be arriving around 11:30 pm due to John' flight woes out of Phoenix (t-storms) to Fresno. All five of us dine at the Mt. Whitney Cafe. I order a tuna melt and fries. We later head to Joseph's Bi-Rite so I could get some Gatorade. My wife and I hit the rack at 6:00 p.m. So do the others.
Wednesday, July 25: We hit the road at 1:00 am. I take my wife, Chris, Josh and Jessica. Sandra and John ride separately. On the drive up I played "Made in America" by Toby Keith to give me a "jumpstart." Don't know if the others appreciated it or not. We start at 1:40 a.m. from the TH sign. I wanted to start at midnight, but the consensus of the group wanted a later start time due to the arrival of Sandra and John.
I was the lead. Slow pace even by my standards.
We stop at the Whitney Zone sign. My wife says her siphon tube does not work. She had no water. I remembered that she told me her pack felt wet when we set up camp on Sunday night. I had filled her Osprey bladder with one liter and I guess I did not secure the lid tightly. Luckily, the spring was less than a mile away.
We stop at the spring in Bighorn Park. Water tasted good and it was cold. Members of the party were hesitant to try the water. I told them it was the purest water on the face of the earth. None of us brought a filter.
Around Outpost Camp, I started feeling the effects of altitude. Mountaineer's breaths. Still feeling whoozy. No headaches. More sips of water. Kept pushing. Above Mirror Lake more of the same for me.
There is no wind although it was chilly. I had packed gloves, a fleece vest, and a shell. I did not have to wear them.
We stop just short of what I call the "Badlands" just below Trail Camp. It is here we make head calls (nature calls).
We proceed on to Trail Camp. Just short of the switchbacks, I point out Mt. Whitney. We go there.
The SBs posed a bit of a problem for all except me. I am not an "eater" on the trail. I eat only during the descent. The others snacked on their concoctions of trail food. I told them in missives that foods taste different at altitude. They were finding that out. The blood went from their heads to their bellies to digest. No complaintes of nausea although I could see it in their eyes.
I get my water from SB 23. It is flowing good. Two liters should be enough. There was some ice on the lower SBs before getting to it. There is some significant rockfall along the upper SBs but no difficulties.
We reach Trail Crest and it is a traffic jam of people. Pictures here and there. Will you take ours. Let me take yours.
I had no problems for the next 2.5 miles to the summit. Yes, I took my time and counted 200 steps. If I felt good, I kept on. If not, I stopped and sipped.
Jessica decides to make a head call. She goes down along a steep portion and almost didn't make it back up on the scree. She was safe.
I was sweep to the summit. My wife stayed with me. The others had made it up to the summit 10 minutes ahead of us.
We summit at 11:00 am. It is an emotional moment for me and my wife. Pops passed away on March 28, 2012, and I had asked permission of my mother in law to take his edding band to the summit. In all of their 56 years of marriage, he never took it off. I said hi to my father and to BruinDave's father. I am not a religious person, but they were there with us.
On July 14, we celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. Not a bad way to celebrate 11 days later.
There must be 35-40 people on the summit. Never had I seen this many people. Usually, we are at the summit between 8-9 am with a 12:00 am start.
After numerous photos, we head back down at 11:45 am.
At one of the windows, Jessica "freezes" due to panic. After gaining her composure she proceeded.
Again, I am sweep making sure everyone is okay.
John and Chris take off way ahead of us. My thought is that they know their way back once they get to Trail Camp.
The main body arrives. Chris and John are at TC waiting for us. I tell them that was a wise decision to wait.
Stopped at Trailside Meadow for a breather and to check the “hot spot” on the right ball of my foot. No blisters. I changed socks at this point.
We make our way down. At this point, my knees ache, but it is not a problem. At the WZ sign, the others wait for me, but I keep going. I want off this trail just as much as they do. The other five take off ahead. My wife and I stay together. Another 2.8 miles to go...and the longest 2.8 miles.
We encounter three men who were coming up just on the other side of the log crossing. One of them has a plastic bag filled with Pabst Blue Ribbon and by the smell of their breaths they had been drinking a while. They were headed to Lone Pine Lake. I was waiting for one of them to do something stupid (other than getting tanked and deciding to hike in the early evening). I had my Gerber knife ready to flip in case one of them decided to get too friendly with my wife. All three were not carrying packs nor water. Odds were in my favor. We pass without incident.
I run out of water around SB 11 of Section 1. Fortunately, my wife had extra water. I am counting the SBs on the way down. We reach the NFLPC crossing. Just another 0.8 miles to go.
My wife and I reach the TH sign. Time on deck is 7:10 p.m. Yes, those final 2.8 miles are the longest. We dine on "froth and fries" (burger, too). We are tired. One member of our party comments, "I have the utmost respect for those who hike this trail. I cannot imagine what it would be like to do this twice or three times in a day." I had told all of Crazy Jack and some people wanting to do this three times in one day.
We did not see a mountain lion nor did we see a single ranger.
We had fun.
We did it!
After shot. We have installed a metal roof with a weathered copper color. There are four solar tubes we installed for the kitchen (right), laundry/mudroom (center), and bathroom (left). We were going to place a tube in the hallway, but due to the amount of light from all of the rooms, we placed the last tube in the garage. My wife was adamant about the solar tubes, but I persuaded her since we were opting for "natural." She loves it.
