I guess it depends on whether you are well-seasoned or succulent...
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Mount Whitney—The Early Climbs.
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Many years later Muir wrote, "For climbers there is a canyon which comes down from the north shoulder of the Whitney peak. Well-seasoned limbs will enjoy the climb of 9000 feet required for this direct route, but soft, succulent people should go the mule way." Should someone of the present generation of mountain climbers feel inclined to make light of John Muir’s exploit, let him endeavor to duplicate it, starting from Independence (not Lone Pine) on foot, with or without sleeping bag and modern concentrated foods — Muir had neither."
