Given that I lurked on here soaking up everything I could before my trip last week, I felt I owed it to the community to report back on my trip.
Our group of five headed down from Sacramento on 7-13-11. We were mostly in mid to upper 20s in age. Got to Lone Pine late afternoon and picked up permits. Weather looked perfect the whole drive down. I was surprised at the amount of snow still on the mountains just to the north of Whitney and how much had melted in the Whitney region. After a bite to eat, we headed up to the Portal. We got there around 7/7:30pm. We wandered around the area to make sure we knew where the trailhead was and got everything packed and ready for the morning.
We car camped in the lot, and figured we'd be best served by putting hiking clothes on before sleeping and being completely ready to jump up and take off. We made sure as well to keep all scented and food items in bear lockers at all times during our trip unless they were directly on our persons. We were advised picking up our permits that even boxes and packages should not be left in vehicles, as bears were aggressive with anything they thought MIGHT have food related to it. I was surprised at just how many warning tags I saw on cars in the parking lots from people that left bottles or other items in their vehicles.
We hit the trail at 3:15am. We made great time in the dark. It was quite chilly (upper 30s/lower 40s), but the walk went fast in the dark. I'd realize coming down later in the day just how much ground we covered before sunrise. We were near Mirror Lake when the sun arose and we grabbed a quick bite there. Though the moon was a day off from full, and as such the trail quite light during the dark portion of the hike, we still used headlamps. None of the water crossings were bad and trail down there was in great shape.
From Mirror Lake to Trail Camp, things slowed down a bit. The trail was still in fine shape, but the steps and increasing altitude made the going slower. We all made sure to stay well hydrated during the trip. It had been recommended to me to shoot for 8oz every 20 minutes. I tried to make sure I had a good long drink from the Camelbak every 15-20 minutes throughout the day, and I think it really helped.
Along Trailside Meadow, we started seeing snow. There was quite a bit, and some snow traveling on the trail. The snow re-froze overnight, so it was rather slick in some places. Moving carefully and using the trekking poles helped.
Consultation Lake was frozen, as was most of Trail Camp. The paths were ice and snow, though starting to get slushy as the sun rose (we got to Trail Camp at 8am). We stopped and filtered some water there and headed for the switchbacks.
The first several switchbacks were virtual streams. The runoff made them very wet and a little slick. As we moved up, there were some snow crossings and water crossings on the switchbacks, but nothing too bad. Taking it slow and using the poles was plenty safe.
The climb up the switchbacks seemed easier to me than the trail from Mirror Lake to Trail Camp...until the last 20 switchbacks or so. It got quite slow.
From Trail Crest to the Summit, there were a few more snow crossings, but mostly just rocks and wind to contend with. It was quite chilly all day and long pants, sleeves and gloves stayed on all day.
The last of our group reached the summit at 1:04pm. We stayed until about 1:50 and headed down. We were all sucking air, but no one had any ill effects to the altitude. It was warmest right at the summit, where the wind didn't seem to really blow much. By the hut it was quite chilly. The view was breathtaking, and looking at all the snow in Sequoia, I was not envious of the few JMTers I saw that day. That said, the sun was shining and the sky completely clear near Whitney. There were clouds north and south, but our weather was perfect. Winds were light, though constant from the switchbacks and up.
The way back down was naturally faster, though somewhat more tricky in spots. The snow crossing were more slushy and the water crossings were harder as the snowmelt had the water running much faster than in the morning. Trail Camp, which was icy in the morning, was muddy that afternoon. The lower trail crossings were rather challenging at points with the water.
The last of our group made it back to the trail head shortly after 8pm. We were all exhausted but very, very satisfied. Five first-timers and we all summited and returned in good shape.
There was a bit of sunburn to go around. Though we had all reapplied sunscreen throughout the day, the snow made it difficult to prevent all burning. Nothing severe, though. We all stayed hydrated, and no one had any real AMS symptoms at the summit. Two or three of us had never reached 10,000 feet before, let alone 14.5, so I was really happy we all felt well.
I would certainly recommend more sunscreen than I used, and working harder to stay hydrated on the way down. I drank about 7 liters of water that day (about 3 mixed with Vitalyte), but only one of those liters was on the trip down the hill. By the time I got back to the Portal, I was a little dehydrated. My haste to get back down after an exhausting day shouldn't have been an excuse not to drink.
No one in the group used Diamox. We all had trekking poles, which were very useful. None of us brought crampons. There were two with ice axes, though they got little to no use. Three of the five got the full experience including Wag Bags (please pack them out with you if you use them. It was sad to see how many were left up there by hikers. Kinda defeats the purpose of using them if you're going to leave them there).
It is my understanding that the weather warmed up over the weekend, and I'd think everyone should be in great shape headed up now, weather permitting.
Take heed of the warnings regarding bears. The bears at the Portal especially are very smart. If you leave your car open and go the lockers, the bears will get into your car. If you leave a locker open and run to the car, the bears will get into the lockers. Hikers don't believe it, but it happened to others while were there, both at the Portal and at Outpost Camp. Listen and believe!
Best wishes to all getting ready to climb, and thank you to all contributors who helped me in our great hike!
