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What to pack for a day hike to Whitney
#53610 06/20/18 12:58 PM
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Hi everyone,
Preparing for my hike I am mentally laying out the items I will need in my pack for a day summit on Whitney.
I'd love some advice from those who have submitted on what was useful or a waste of space!

These are the items I am planning to take. (does not include what I will be wearing that day)

- 28 Liter pack
- 1.5 liter camel pak
- 1 liter water bottle
- Food
- Hat & Sunglasses
- Change of clothes (socks, underwear, pants, shirt)
- Puffy outer layer
- Rain shell
- Water filter
- Head lamp
- Trekking poles
- Sun screen
- Lip balm
- Diamox
- first aid kit
- emergency bivy
- handheld GPS
- Phone
- Map and compass
- Microspikes (depending on July conditions)

Re: What to pack for a day hike to Whitney
OChikers8073 #53626 06/21/18 05:06 AM
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Seems like a pretty solid list. If you have the water filter, you may not need the extra bottle, there are typically plenty of places to filter water. Other folks may disagree, but both times I went, 1.5 liters got me comfortably between water stops.

The change of clothes and bivy seem excessive to me for a day hike. I've been up there twice and both times I would have cursed the extra weight of those items since I would not have used them. I'd fill their space with more food. Bring plenty of calories. Eat early and often.

With the phone, map, compass, and gps, it seems like you're a little worried about going off trail. It's a very well marked trail. If you leave at a standard time, you'll have plenty of company up there to keep you on track as well.

Re: What to pack for a day hike to Whitney
Delkan1066 #53638 06/21/18 03:41 PM
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Thanks for the advice, I wasn't sure about water sources so that's good to know!
re: the change of clothes, bivy, and navigation tools... I guess I've been reading a lot of threads on this site about people getting lost, or stranded. We are leaving the portal 2:30am so I was thinking navigating in the dark may be a little challenging.

Good points about the food, I'll take the advice of an earlier poster and bring something I actually like to eat rather than a bunch of cliff bars which is what I usually pack.

Re: What to pack for a day hike to Whitney
OChikers8073 #53663 06/23/18 01:17 PM
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My suggestion would be to carry at least 4 liters of water from Trail Camp to the summit. I think that having plenty of water is critical on this part of the trail; you don't want to be rationing water here because you've only brought 1 or 2 liters. There may or may not be a water source near one of the lower switchbacks, and there will certainly be no water source after that. On 4 past trips on the main trail I either drank all of the 4 liters I brought or came close to it by the time I descended to trail camp. Last year what worked for me for carrying water was a Hydrapak 2L seeker reservoir, a BeFree filter, and 2 Smart Water bottles; I filled up at Trailside Meadow just off the trail rather than at Trail Camp or the switchbacks. My plan is to do the same this year. YMMV!

Edited to add: here is a good list of water sources:

http://www.whitneyzone.com/docs/BobR/Whitney_water_trail.pdf

Last edited by eje67; 06/23/18 01:18 PM.
Re: What to pack for a day hike to Whitney
eje67 #53667 06/24/18 12:46 AM
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Bob R and others would drink straight from the streams. I fill up at the inlet to the Trail Camp pond, or at switchback 25 -- unfiltered. But treating or filtering is a personal choice.

I've always seen it recommended to take at least 3 liters of water from Trail Camp. If you add a little snow to your water as you climb, you can extend those liters. Bob R would tuck one away at Trail Crest for the return trip.

As for food: My rule of thumb is no more than 2 lbs per day. I just can't eat more than that while hiking. And eat a lot on the lower section. Many people's appetite leaves about the time they reach Trail Camp, due to the altitude. So fill up early. Take shot blocs and Gu, etc, for the higher altitudes.

Re: What to pack for a day hike to Whitney
Steve C #53677 06/25/18 09:37 AM
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You just confirmed some hunches that I had. This weekend we hiked San Gorgonio and learned an important lesson...
I had 3.5 liters of water with me, of which, I finished 1.5 of before even reaching the half way point to the summit. Last time i hiked it I never even finished the water which made me think this was the right amount. After my camel pak was empty, I began drinking the remaining water (2 one liter Smart water bottles) much more slowly and dehydration began kicking in. On the way back down I ran out of water completely by the time we hit the creek side camp (still 5 miles to go). I filled the Smart water bottles at the spring and began sipping water all the way down. I didn't want to just chug it because i wasn't sure of the source I just assumed it was a spring because there is no snow left higher up. I never suffer AMS and this time I felt like a zombie the last few miles because i was seriously dehydrated and stopped eating because it was making me thirsty. The two gels I had were the only thing that gave me energy to finish. For Whitney I will most definitely bring 4 liters from Trail Crest, and plenty of gels. I appreciate the advice!!

Re: What to pack for a day hike to Whitney
OChikers8073 #53710 06/27/18 12:45 PM
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Thinking a lot about doing the 'crazy' (to me) one day hike. I consider myself a slow hiker, whatever you want that to mean. My question is, what would be considered reasonable times to cover this hike, broken down by sections (portal to Outpost Camp, Outpost to Trail Camp, TC to summit, summit to TC, TC to portal)

Re: What to pack for a day hike to Whitney
Mauricio #53711 06/27/18 01:05 PM
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My husband and I are not the fastest hikers, mostly because he is very affected by altitude. My pace trends around 3 miles per hour, he is closer to 2. We set our time line to leave Whitney portal at 2:00am with our turn around time goal at 11 am. That should give us ample time. We've noticed we roughly have the same pace on the way down surprisingly. I think it's because by that point we are exhausted and walking a little slower. So give or take, that puts us back at camp by 7:00pm. Definitely a long day no matter what.

Re: What to pack for a day hike to Whitney
Mauricio #53712 06/27/18 04:46 PM
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In this link there is a table with approximate timepoints.

http://www.dayhiker.com/directory/MtWhitney.htm

Re: What to pack for a day hike to Whitney
OChikers8073 #53713 06/27/18 04:56 PM
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Hello,
Thank you for the list, it's helpful! Your remarks about the water were helpful too. I've been going back and forth about how much to carry. Since I'm always thirsty, more is better for me. I think I'm going to start with 4 liters and carry a filter. Please let us know how your hike goes. We are hiking it on July 15th. Best of luck!

Re: What to pack for a day hike to Whitney
l82leki #53714 06/27/18 05:25 PM
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This is super helpful thank you.

Re: What to pack for a day hike to Whitney
Kimmy #53715 06/27/18 05:26 PM
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Thank you! Same to you, we are there July 12th. Will definitely post a trip report.

Re: What to pack for a day hike to Whitney
l82leki #53717 06/27/18 06:43 PM
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Originally Posted By: l82leki
In this link there is a table with approximate timepoints.

http://www.dayhiker.com/directory/MtWhitney.htm


What a helpful link! Thank you so very much!


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