Jayne, just a wonderful story! I plan to share it with my daughter, who is currently 10 and professes a desire to climb Whitney with Dad next year. She's seen me head off to climb this mountain each of the past two summers and seems ready to be a doer, not just a watcher. Hopefully, your story will encourage her.
Looking at the photos, I began to think about the differences in hiking gear in the 50s versus now. Are those Keds you were wearing? Your clothing was mostly cotton and wool, I'm guessing, since there were no hi-tech, lightweight, wicking wallet-busters on the market yet. Looks like you wore denim capris? I'm betting the backpacks were heavy canvas, or something similar, and you and your family used larger hiking sticks versus svelte, telescoping trekking poles. In other words, as a couple of people I know would attest: "real" mountain climbers!
Thanks for sharing these memories with us!
