Hi Goose,
Thanks for the advice!
For acclimation: I’m hoping the Tuesday, Wed, and Thursday hikes and the sleeping at altitude for several nights will acclimate us for Mt. Whitney. The reason I chose a multi-day hike versus a one-day or two-day hike up to Mt. Whitney was for the acclimation benefits (extra time at elevation). Also, we have Diamox.
I wanted to walk through the scenic route with more lakes – whether through Old Army Pass or New Army Pass. I thought it would be a better than Cottonwood Pass (PCT route).
I’m hoping the head start on Tuesday would be enough extra time. I will definitely consider taking another extra day, if needed. We may camp at Trail Camp or Outpost camp if we are exhausted after summitting Whitney.
I got the weather predictions for the top of Mt. Whitney here:
https://www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks/Mount-Whitney/forecasts/4418 and
https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=36.6&lon=-118.28#.W7GD9WhKiHs. The snow on the summit on Wednesday is what worried me, but I assume the snow will have cleared out by the time we summit on Friday.
I’m in ok shape. We did a couple of day hikes up to 14 miles a day with about a 1000 to 2000 ft elevation gain. However, we didn’t have a full pack and we were below 5000 feet (no higher peaks that I know if in Northern California). I think we will be okay moving at a slower pace and taking frequent breaks – every 2.5 miles or so.
