Last Wednesday, June 12, I hiked up White Mountain with my friend Clint. This was my third 14-er and his first, and we had a blast!
We drove up from the Bay Area the day before, and spent the night at the Grandview Campground. It wasn't obvious to me at first, but Grandview is directly on the way to the trailhead. You pass it while you're still on the paved portion of White Mountain Road, about 21 miles before Barcroft Gate. Except for not having any water, Grandview is a really nice location among scattered trees at about 8400 ft. The sites are large, and most of them were empty, so we practically had the whole place to ourselves. I'm really glad we stayed at Grandview instead of camping at Barcroft Gate. We saw the "campsites" there the next day, and it looked completely exposed, windy, and miserable.
We took about 45 minutes to drive up the dirt road to the gate in a Subaru Outback. The road actually wasn't bad, and I've definitely driven dirt roads that were far worse. At the gate we saw a Civic and a Camry parked there, so it's definitely doable in a regular sedan if you're willing to drive slowly.
Even though I'd seen photos, I was taken aback by how barren and exposed the trail was. There are NO trees, NO cover, nothing. It is 7.5 miles of rocks and dirt to the summit. Forget about privacy if you need to relieve yourself! What the trail does have in abundance, however, is marmots.
We started hiking about 8:30 am, and the temperature was about 50 degrees, with moderate wind. I packed all kinds of cold weather gear that I didn't think I'd ever need, trying to set a good example for Clint, being prepared for a "freak blizzard". Before long, we reached the research lab. There was somebody working outside as we approached, but he disappeared inside when we got close, only to reappear after we'd passed by and gone further up the road. I guess they don't like chatting with hikers there. I was left wondering what they do all day at that research station. I mean it only takes so many hours per day to check your weather instruments and muck the sheep stalls, and there's nothing else around there but rocks for miles. Clint and I started chatting about Antarctic research stations, and it seemed like there would be a similar feeling of isolation.
The trail is generally not too steep, but it goes on for miles. There are a couple of sections where you have to descend a few hundred feet, which is didn't really bother me on the way up, but was a bit mentally draining on the way back down.
About half way there, as we gained altitude, the temperature grew colder, and the winder grew stronger. It was cold. Even standing in the sun, wearing long pants and several upper layers, I was uncomfortably cold. The true temperature was in the 40s, but with the wind chill, brrrr! I kept adding my "freak snowstorm" clothes until I was wearing long pants with a second capilene layer underneath, and up top a T-shirt, two capilene layers, a puff jacket, and a heavyweight shell, plus a ski hat and gloves.
At around 13,700 ft, the wind reached what I'd call "ludicrous speed". It was actually difficult to stand still without staggering around, and walking into the wind was substantially more difficult than walking downwind. It was crazy. I think the shape of the mountain at this point on the trail must funnel the wind somehow, because it actually slackened from that point until the top.
We reached the summit about 1:00pm, after 4 and a half hours of not very fast hiking. I signed the summit log, and took in the views. Unfortunately it seemed kind of hazy - I'm not sure if that's normal, but the Sierras to the west appeared like a gray silhouette whose features didn't really stand out. The best views were of the other White Mountain slopes, and the herd of Bighorn Sheep we passed just before the summit. Oh, and the marmots - can't forget those!
The way back down seemed twice as long as going up. Fortunately neither of us really had any altitude problems, but we were both tired, and the road just seemed to stretch on and on. I entered that zone where I don't want to talk, don't want to look around, don't want to stop, don't want to do anything but get back to the trailhead ASAP. After what seemed like forever, we finally made it back to the car. It took us about 3:45 to get back down, so not much faster than going up.
I realized afterwards that my face was pretty wind burnt, so if I do it again, I might bring a mask of some kind. Other than that, it all went just about perfectly! Now to start planning for a few more California 14-ers...
Trees at Grandview Campground
Moonscape on the trail to the summit
Looming in the distance Ridiculous winds at 13,700
Thanks for the detailed TR. I'm looking into WMP soon, and this was very helpful. My only question to add would be is it worth it to drive in Silver Canyon Road from Hwy 6, or is that not a good option?
I hiked White Mountain on Monday (6/24) in bad weather. Around 13,000 a horned sheep was on the trail going down while I was going up. He/she spotted me and continued to approach me and slowly veered off about fifty feet away. I don't know if they are aggressive but I slightly slowed my pace. The sheep had a red tag on its right ear and what looked like a yellowish collar attached at the neck. I thought the weather made this hike interesting enough but this encounter helped make it memorable.
I hiked White Mountain on Monday (6/24) in bad weather. Around 13,000 a horned sheep was on the trail going down while I was going up. He/she spotted me and continued to approach me and slowly veered off about fifty feet away. I don't know if they are aggressive but I slightly slowed my pace. The sheep had a red tag on its right ear and what looked like a yellowish collar attached at the neck. I thought the weather made this hike interesting enough but this encounter helped make it memorable.
Barcroft has a history of doing high altitude research. I recall reading the sheep are raised to determine the effects of altitude on their embryos. I've never seen them out grazing - just in their pen near the buidlings.
