Maybe that's what you have in the photo, and it's distorted? It's hard to tell, but the placement of the trail seems off - it would be on the other side of that ridge.
If by 'placement of the trail' you mean the red and blue lines, those were placed there automatically by Google Earth. Their placement is based on the coordinates that my GPS recorded... of course there is a margin of error with any GPS. Google Earth distorts things also. They're basically taking a 2D satellite photo and stretching it over a 3D model.
Comparing the picture above to what I see in GE, this looks like it could be the area. Once again though, this is just a guess...
The topic of abandonment and sticking together on hikes has me thinking about my next Whitney hike, coming up in September.
A little background info...
In the spring on 2011, I did not hike and really had no interest. My good friend, JP, got Whitney permits and spent a couple of months convincing me to go. If Whitney wasn't the highest peak in the lower 48, I don't think he would have convinced me. Fast forward to 2014. I'm the one that's organizing and planning all of the hikes. We go back to Whitney together every year, but JP has not hiked above Trail Camp since 2011. He has known issues with AMS, and since he has already summited, the struggle is not worth it to him. However, he does enjoy the hike up to Trail Camp and the acclimation hikes I plan before Whitney. I enjoy having him along for the hike; he's a good friend and I enjoy his company. He knows the trail. If someone has AMS issues in the group, we have someone that is ready to descend with them. If we need to drive home after the hike, we have someone to drive who didn't just finish a 20+ mile hike.
Now, my question is, going into the hike and knowing there's a 75% or greater chance that JP will turn around at Trail Camp...
What would the perception be if he descended alone and something happened to him. Would we be accused of abandoning him or being irresponsible?
Under what circumstances should someone descend with him? There are obvious circumstances (vomiting, mountaineer's foot, etc). But what if he says, 'I have a bad headache?' What if we make it to Trailside Meadow and he decides to turn around b/c the 'AMS headache' hits earlier and harder than normal?
