Amen to all that. Even on a day hike, a person needs to carry whatever they might need to get through a night or two alone and injured or lost. What to carry?
My personal day-pack has: fleece jacket, gloves and cap, tights, rain jacket, emergency bivvy sack, first-aid kit, SPOT, cell-phone, whistle, lunch, energy bars, survival knife and flint (for starting emergency fires), and compass and map. Total weight is about 10 - 12 pounds. Too much to carry? No, and it helps keep me in shape for over-night loads.
Too many people hike Whitney unprepared. Hiking Whitney or elsewhere in the Sierras in running shorts and tee-shirt is a strong argument for Darwin being right. Don't be stupid...or a statistic.
As Sierra Angler said, we on SAR have recovered bodies of those who were not prepared. This is not a scare tactic, but stark reality.
