I have had my sights on doing Whitney on 10/3 since June and have been training almost every weekend. Since the Sierra mountains are kind of in my backyard, I have been doing high elevation 10 mile hikes up to 11,000' (5 miles up, 3500' gain) and also 15 mile hikes with about 4,500' gain (but these 15 milers were pretty much starting at the ocean due to the heat in the valley sometimes is to much). I never had any effects (shortness of breath or AMS effects) at 11,000' and actually would do short spurt runs during the hike to see how far I could push my body before the normal effects would kick in. I know that AMS symptoms usually will start around the 12,000' mark and up (based on other postings) but would like some feedback on any additional training that I could do before the whitney hike or if im on the right track for training.
But my main concern is making sure I get enough of the right foods the days before the hike as this will be a one day hike to the summit and back. Since im not much of a big carb eater I know that some 2 day carb loading will be essential along with some substantial proteins and of course hydration, hydration. I don't want to come up short on food during the hike so any feedback on maybe what is good to bring up the mountain would be greatly appreciated but I don't want to pack the whole fridge. My plan is to bring jerky, pb&j sandwiches, Kind Bars and maybe some energy gel packs.
Last is acclimation. I will be staying at the portal campground (8,000') 3 days before the hike. I had to talk my girlfriend into staying at the campground and not staying in Lone Pine because I don't want to sleep at the much lower elevation in LP. Yes, there was a lot of discussion on this topic but I read that your body can and prob will reacclimate while sleeping. She disagreed with me and stated if we go back up and do small hikes around 10,000' we should be fine. Pls give feedback on this heated topic so it can be put to bed.
Overall any guidance on anything will be greatly appreciated as this is one thing that we can mark off our bucket list. If all goes well im hoping to do Yosemite, Half Dome next yr with her (she just has a fear of heights).
Good will hiking!!
