I finally got back from my adventure! Here's how the last few days went:
Wednesday night - Drove up to Mammoth after work, ate dinner in Bishop, and checked into my hotel at 11:30 PM. I saw some wildfire smoke near Owens Lake, but fortunately, it was a non-issue during the hike.
Thursday - Drove up the epic dirt road to Patriarch Grove (11,000') for some sightseeing and a warmup hike. Due to forecasted clear skies and a new moon, there were quite a few people car camping there for the night and hoping to get a clear view of the sky. I stayed there long enough to see the Milky Way and then headed back to Mammoth.
Friday - Picked up my permit, hiked the first two miles of the trail, and went back down to camp in Whitney Portal. I chatted with some folks there to get an idea of the weather (excellent) and trail conditions (also excellent). I got some tips on finding my way in the dark, which pretty much boiled down to scanning the perimeter and looking for anything man-made (steps carved into the granite, rock cairns, tree notches, wet footprints near water crossings, etc.). As a sidenote, there were quite a few military jets flying over the area that day. I wonder whether that's common.
Friday night - This is when things started going downhill. I tried to sleep right at sunset but couldn't, probably because I slept late the previous nights and wasn't used to going to bed that early. I tossed and turned for the next few hours and started hiking at 2 AM. I don't know whether I got any sleep that night.
The first 2-3 miles were uneventful, and I had no difficulties in finding the trail in the dark. I got passed by a few people but didn't follow them since they were going too fast for me to keep up. The water crossings were low enough where you could step on the rocks and not get your feet wet.
A few minutes after Outpost Camp, I met a couple who were going about the same speed as me, and I followed them for the next mile and a half. We got lost near Trailside Meadows but found the trail after checking the GPS on our phones. Soon after, I saw the alpenglow near Trail Camp in the distance and noticed a line of headlamps heading up the switchbacks.
I reached Trail Camp at 6:25, just in time to catch the sunrise. I left at 7 AM after filtering water and getting some snacks. From then on, it was one long slog up the switchbacks. I had to stop every 100 yards to take a rest, which soon turned into a stop every 50 yards. I started counting the switchbacks to gauge my progress but soon gave up and judged my progress by seeing how far above/below I was from the top of Wotan's Throne. After reaching the cables, it seemed that I asked every hiker on their way down how far it was until Trail Crest. I was also worried after seeing all of the snow in the area, but fortunately, none of it was on the trail.
The Whitney hut was soon visible to the north, and I could see people walking on the summit when I zoomed in with my phone's camera. To the west, I heard the sounds of people cheering at around 10:30 AM, and I knew that the switchbacks were almost over. I reached Trail Crest at 10:43, nearly 4 hours after I left Trail Camp. Those 2.2 miles up the switchbacks were the longest 2.2 miles I've done in my life, but the views there made the whole thing worth the effort.
I took a snack and water break there and soaked in the views. But here I was faced with a critical decision - keep going on, or turn back? It was still relatively early in the day, the weather and trail conditions were great, and I had no AMS symptoms aside from some minor tingling and swelling in my hands. But it had taken me a considerable amount of time to get through those switchbacks, and I was almost completely drained out from the lack of sleep, the altitude, and the amount of effort needed to reach that point. I did not know whether my legs and body could hold up for another few hours, as I had never done any hikes or runs that had anywhere near that distance, duration, or elevation gain. And then I saw the trail going down to the JMT junction. I thought (and still think) that I could make it to the summit. But would it end up being a one-way trip?
It was a tough decision to make, but I reluctantly took those few steps back down the switchbacks at 11:13 and headed to the Portal. It was cool to see all of the scenery I missed while going up in the dark, and I took quite a few pictures on the way down.
Fortunately, I didn't get lost, but things started getting miserable the further down I went. I was too exhausted to take the short detour to Lone Pine Lake on the way back, and I was a hallucinating zombie the last 1.5 miles or so with no thoughts other than getting back to the parking lot. I saw animals and man-made structures further down the trail, which turned out to be tree branches and rocks when I got closer. On one occasion, I thought I heard someone say "the trail turns right after this" (which it did), but there was no one around me when I looked around. I finally got back at 6:30 PM and was as excited to see the parking lot as I was to see the view at Trail Crest.
So, should I have turned back at that point? I've spent some time questioning that decision given the great weather and my lack of significant AMS symptoms, but I also remember how brutal that last mile and a half was. My whole body is sore today, and I don't know if/when I'll be back. But I do know that you can make it a long way up the Whitney Trail without much training if the conditions are good, and there are some incredible views along the way even if you don't make it to the top.
