Dear Bullet 777,
I loved your video. You have a great talent for making movies. This must be your profession because it's an exceptional piece of film.
Personally, I can't imagine hiking to the summit of Mt. Whitney in a day. I've never done it faster than three days.
I'm not an expert on how much time it should take to hike to Trail Camp, but in my opinion you were making seriously good time. I think even a person who hasn't had open heart surgery wouldn't have arrived at Trail Camp as quickly as you and your friend.
I don't think a 20 lb. pack is too heavy unless you were carrying too much water. There was an ample water supply when you were on the trail so you shouldn't have had to carry too much. You made this hike fairly soon after a major surgery so, in my opinion, you're Superman.
I don't know if Part 2 is still in the works or if you have already made another attempt and summited, but if you haven't summited yet then I would suggest for your next attempt you change up the gear in your pack, still keeping it around 20 lbs. or under, carry a lightweight bivy sack and bivy tent (approx. 3 lbs combined for both) and make the summit in two days. My goodness, you made it all the way to Trail Camp in good time....you were so close to making the summit. All you needed was a good night's rest at Trail Camp and an early start the next day would have been all you needed to summit.
You could have left most of the contents of your pack at Trail Camp so your load would have been light while hiking to the summit. Everyone leaves their gear at Trail Camp...I always do and so do my friends and we've never had anything stolen from us. On Summit day, we take only a light-weight day pack with water and snacks to the summit (and a few emergency items). Our day packs are made of rip-stop nylon, paper thin, made by either Marmot or a brand that starts with a "D", I can't remember the name of the brand right now. As you hike down from the summit, you can pick up your remaining gear you left at Trail Camp. Just a suggestion because I want you to reach your goal by reaching the summit of Mt. Whitney.
Best of luck to you, Bullet 777, on your next attempt to summit Mt. Whitney. Thank you for coming to America. I love your accent. It always amazes me when people from such beautiful countries as your home country come to ours. Because this country is my home, I love everything about it. I'm happy to know you found it beautiful too.
I'm looking forward to Part 2.
Sincerely,
Lynn
