Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion 1st Timer Questions....

Hi all,

I've got a dayhike pass for this Friday. A couple quick questions to help me better prepare...

1) Expected calorie burn? Want to get a gauge as to how much food I need to bring to feel good the whole 22 miles.

2) Expected water consumption? I haven't heard how much water people consume, in total, making a day hike. I understand many fill 'er up as they go (and either filter or use iodine tablets.) Sounds like people will typically carry a MAX of 3 liters on them at any given time. How many liters TOTAL do people typically consume making this trek?

3) I understand there may be bears in the area (and I plan to have bear spray with me.) I haven't heard of anyone having had an encounter yet....are they pretty sparse on the trail? Any particular area along the trail they might most LIKELY be present?

4) Bugs typically a problem? I've got insect repellent along...but haven't heard of bugs being too big an issue.

Many thanks for any tidbits of info!!!

1. Don't have any numbers. Don't carry more than 2 lbs of food--you won't eat it all. But eat often, at least every hour. Eat more down low--the higher you go, the altitude may wipe out your appetite.

2. Don't carry 3 liters until you leave Trail Camp. Below that, drink at the streams (I dip and drink, no treatment), and carry less than a liter.

3. The only bears are at Whitney Portal. They steal packs from day hikers getting ready to hike--in the early morning hours while it is dark. Leave the bear spray home! You will not see any bears.

4. Bugs in the lower areas, until you get above Mirror Lake.

Much appreciate the tips, Steve!

In terms of water, I'd PREFER to just dip and drink instead of worrying about any sort of filtration or treatment options. Do a lot of others just dip and drink too? Curious to know if the water quality is generally considered by MOST people to be good enough that having to filter or treat it is unnecessary.

Well, if you do what most people do, you will be filtering or treating. But its still a personal choice.

The Forest Service advises people to filter or treat, but there are only a few places in the Sierra that scientists have actually found enough contamination to be harmful. They are in drainage from cattle grazing areas, and areas below livestock holding sites (pack stations, etc.)

You can choose what to do yourself; the choice is yours.

Here are links to some discussions and studies in the past:
Water discussions (Drink untreated, or filter/treat/boil/etc.)
  Water and Giardia around Mt. Whitney
  60,000 Liters of Water Consumed -- Untreated
  Filter question (links to studies, etc.)

Great info -- thanks Steve. I was going to carry too much water to Trail Camp cause I have a filter on a bladder and I didn't want to keep refilling it.

I wouldn't drink untreated or unfiltered water up there. Just the conversations on this board about the irresponsibly discarded WAG bags is enough for me to want to treat carefully. Who knows how many of those things wind up in the water at any one of various points along the trail.

What about bringing water shoes for stream crossings? How many stream crossings are there? Could I just get by with bare feet? I'd PREFER not to have to lug an extra pair of shoes around.

Bare feet? Ouch! Hang a pair of Crocs (securely) from your pack; that's what I carry.

Food: ymmv, but I went thru a cup or so of sour gummy bears, two hb eggs, 1oz cheese, 1oz jerky, 4oz butterfinger bites, a Clif shot and 4 shot blok chews. Had only a bottle of frappucino at 2:30 am and the portal dbl cheeseburger + fries the evening before. I'm a big guy, and I didn't touch the 3 energy bars or the packet of nuts or the rest of the gel shots & other crap...probably brought 2x as much as I needed and I was trying to go light.

FWIW, I stashed my water shoes in a broken-off dead tree where the trail turns uphill past the final water crossing beyond outpost campsites. There are a few more wet spots between there and Trail Camp, but nothing you can't rock-hop or climb around.

If you take light trail shoes or hikers and spend much time on slushy snow, your footwear will be pretty soaked. I brought a 2nd pair of dry socks to put on for the last 3+ miles of descent after wading Outpost Camp/Bighorn Park again. I highly recommend it.

Try neoprene water socks, 3 oz/pair.

They do not soak up water.

Can you give us a link to those?

Appreciate all your insight here! I did the Whitney day hike yesterday successfully thanks to much of your advice. I took water shoes, packed roughly 2 lbs of food, and got most of my water along the trail (with iodine tablets in them....just in case.)

It was a wonderful day to hike yesterday! Great weather and many friendly folks along the trail.

The vendor no longer stocks those water socks.

They are very similar to short-cut neoprene diver's socks.

Surprisingly, it seems in the trip reports that people frequently and inadvertently go off-trail. I say surprisingly because the impression I've gotten is that the mountain is a virtual highway of hikers.

If I'm planning to do the main trail, can I just eyeball it or do I have to do some path finding? Thanks.

I too am a first-timer, hoping to bite the bullet and go for a solo day hike next week. This has been on my wish list for the last few years. I finally have some time off, am in shape, and really want to go for it - while being smart, of course. The permit site's random availability is giving me hope that I'll be able to secure one.

I'm reading a lot of different things online about crampons/microspikes. Will I need them? Some of the snow crossing photos I've seen on this forum look tough, and I have no snow experience.

Also, I've been reading online that some seem to prefer a trail shoe, and some prefer a hiking boot (with a higher ankle). What's the consensus here? I hike on the coast, in Yosemite, and have done Half Dome in the shoes I use for trail marathons (Brooks Cascadia), and they were fine.

Thanks in advance for the advice - I'd rather be cautious than rush into it, and have an enjoyable, safe hike.

Yes and no.
On a pleasent sunny day, most of the trail is straightforward. The worst is between Mirror Lake and Trail Camp where the trail runs over areas of solid rock. Darkness, exhaustion or snow cover can greatly add to any confusion. Even when there are other hikers around they may not be close and they may be off trail for a variety of reasons and have different goals and skills than you do.

In a wilderness you are always responsible for path finding. Sometimes it's trivial, sometimes far less so. You should always have a map, knowledge of where the trail runs, where you are on the map and the ability to relate those things to what you see around you day or night. How much gear it takes to achieve that is a matter of personal preference and experience.


Odds are good.

You see different things when you look online because snow traval varies with slope angle, altitude, time of day, weather, weather history, equipment, experience with the equipment, social environment, judgement...
Snow and water are decreasing but not gone. Know where the trail is, think about why and don't leave it without good reason (in the right conditions, 'for fun' is a good enough reason).


There is no safe consensus on foot gear. Find out ahead of time what conditions may be and what -your- feet need. One year we were going up the chute in snow and were passed by a solo dayhiker in Tevas. His dayhike time was far less than mine but I still don't approach the Mt Whitney trail without my ankles covered. Your mileage might vary. Don't expect meaningful answers without very specific questions.



1)Plan on a safe return.
2)Have fun consistent with 1).

Dale B. Dalrymple

I think I answered my own question regarding path finding. I have a map and compass but as long as I have a GPS signal (this thread says I should) it should be pretty straightforward with a pre-downloaded map on the MotionX GPS app.