Thanks to earlier trip reports here we were able to make sound decisions (sort of) to make this trip possible in 4 days.
Camped at horseshoe meadow Friday night.
Day 1:Started walking Saturday at 630AM and made it to Rock Creek by 6PM. Some snow patches at Cottonwood pass, past Chicken springs lake...no big deal. Saw a huge black bear grazing by our campsite...we were too tired to notice if it came by at night.
Day 2: Saw some coyotes in the morning before breaking camp. Started walking by 8am and made it to Guitar Lake by 4pm. Easy going hike except it was VERY warm. Easy snow patches in the mile approaching Guitar lake. Not as cold as you would expect it at night. A few passing clouds, no wind, just a slight breeze. Temps at Guitar lake were about 30-32F but didn't really seem like it.
Day 3: Summit day. Slow, warm, and fantastic climb up to Trail junction. A few tricky snow patches on the switchbacks between Guitar lake and the junction. Dropped our packs at the junction, took our micro spikes for a few sketchy snow patches up to the summit. Got back to our packs, unfortunately a marmot tore up a couple of things but no big deal after hurling curses and rocks at it. Got to trailcrest and none of us had done this before. I could see the fear in everyone's eyes and I gotta say I was kinda terrified as well. Once I wrapped my mind around it, I glissaded down the chute with full pack by 5-6pm. Snow was still mushy and it was easy to slow down and stop yourself with your feet if you just kicked in the snow where people had been walking. I only had my micro spikes on and a hiking pole in my right hand. Relied mostly on my feet. Made it to trail camp all wet and cold but no one was injured. Only a slight breeze at trail camp.
Day 4: Trail camp to Whitney portal. Broke camp by 830am. Kind of difficult to keep track of trail with snow laying in different sections but kinda straightforward. First time any of us in the group had walked in this trail. From there it just got warmer and warmer. Reached salvation (the toilets) by 1pm.
First time attempting Whitney and first success. This trip was no less than BITCHIN' I must say, but the constant ups and downs are grueling on your body. My pack weighed at the most 35-38 lbs since i had to help one of our members but i was still able to hold up, being 125 lbs myself. I was the youngest at 25 of a group of 5 people over 50 years old. Thanks again for the invaluable info from this site I hope this post helps generations to come lol.
