Originally Posted By: RichardK
Since you are leaving at 3AM, I hope you bought a headlamp at REI. You may be too excited to sleep much the night before. Your permit allows you to leave at midnight. That gives you a better chance of getting back before sunset.

High mountains make their own weather. You need to carry a wind proof, water proof outer layer. Also, one warmer piece as well.

Take some aspirin (not Aleve or Advil) before starting as a preventative for altitude sickness.

Drink water on a schedule. If you wait until you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated. Add some sport drink powder as well.

You may not have much appetite. Take high carb foods and snacks that you like and will eat. The trail burns a ton of calories.

Whitney isn't going anywhere. If you start feeling the altitude or the distance, turn around and go back. Every step of the hike is beautiful. Your trip will not be wasted. If you are tempted to push for the summit, remember that it is only half way. It's still 11 miles back to your car.

Please report back on how you did. Good luck!

Yup, I also got a headlamp. Anyway, how hard is it to follow the trail in the dark? It seems that the first mile or two should be easy to follow, but I've heard stories of people getting lost between Outpost Camp and Trail Camp. My plan is to tag along with another hiking group but am concerned that it won't work if they're going too fast.

Also, how accurate are weather forecasts at this time of the year? Right now (fingers crossed), the forecast calls for clear skies, calm winds, and daytime summit temps in the 50s from Thursday through Sunday. I'll check it again the day before, and if it holds, I'm tempted to just wear a T shirt, pants, and a hoodie and not bring any other clothes to keep weight to a minimum.

Regarding the food and water, I'm planning on bringing 7-8 Cliff bars of varying flavors (~2000 calories; I'm pretty small and only weigh 125 lbs) and have the following schedule in mind:
Whitney Portal - Drink a bottle before going on the trail; leave camp with 3L of water.
Trail Camp - Fill up all of the water bottles (should be close to empty by now?), eat 3 Cliff bars, leave Trail Camp with 3L of water
Summit - Eat 2 Cliff bars, enjoy the views, and sign the summit register. Set a turnaround time of 1 PM?
Trail Camp - Fill up all of the water bottles again, eat the remaining Cliff bars, and head down
Whitney Portal - Grab a congratulatory burger; hope it's still open when I get back.