This sounds like a really cool adventure, and the interest from so many other people tells me that they agree. I just want to chime in with a few points I didn’t see anyone else mention.
Last summer, the Rough Fire burned a huge portion of California, including both sides of the road to Cedar Grove. I believe that the fire got near, but did not burn, the facilities around Cedar Grove and Roads End. Any trip into that area will be much less scenic than it used to be. This may or may not affect competition for wilderness permits. The wilderness east of Roads End wasn’t burned.
Steve mentioned nausea and headache as common altitude symptoms. Cheyne Stokes breathing is another common symptom. With Cheyne Stokes, you simply don’t breathe enough, especially when sleeping. You’ll repeatedly wake up gasping for breath. After catching your breath, you can get back to sleep, only to repeat the process. Diamox, a prescription drug available as a cheap generic, can help. Diamox has been discussed and debated on this and other sites.
Most people do OK at altitude with a couple of nights to acclimatize. Fitness, acclimatization, and taking care of yourself help. You sound as if you’re fit and active enough to tag Whitney with no problem. However, I would plan this so that the all-important ceremony can still happen, even if one of you doesn’t tolerate altitude well. Better to settle for a ceremony at Trail Camp than not be able rendezvous with your officiant on the summit.
Enjoy your lives together!
Thanks bobpickering,
I wasn't aware of the fire in the Cedar Grove area - I guess that might affect the availability of campsites locally - we were thinking we might fly in a couple days early and do some local hikes to try to acclimatize a bit, and also to pick up anything last minute we need from the REI in Fresno, so hopefully the campsites will reopen this year.
Thanks for the info too about altitude sickness - I had heard the suggestion of Diamox before, but have concerns about taking any diuretics since I tend to fall behind on hydration already on hiking trips - I guess it wouldn't hurt to bring some just in case one of us is more affected than we thought.
We like to think we are fairly fit, and we have been able to do hiking trips in the past involving 5000 - 6500 feet of ascent per day, but altitude was never a major factor for us before, so we don't really know how we will handle it... We will train up by doing lots of stairs in the condo with weighted packs (nothing to climb around here, unfortunately!)
Thanks again for the congrats and your advice!
Jennifer
