Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Which MW hike is the "easiest"?

Is the "day hike" the easiest short term (1-3 day) way to hike MWhitney?

I realize there are a multitude of opinions, and when I use the word "easiest," I don't mean "EASY" by any means.

I completed a two-day summit hike yesterday. Day 1: Portal to Trail Camp. Day 2: Trail Camp to summit, summit to TC, TC to Portal.

Nine years ago I made my first summit via a three day hike.
Day 1: Portal to TC. Day 2: TC to summit, summit to TC. Day 3: TC to Portal.

The two day hike seemed just a tad tougher, most likely due to going sixteen miles the second day, versus six miles on the last day of the three day hike. What both trips had in common was carrying a loaded pack the first and last six miles. On both trips, the hike from the Portal to TC with a loaded pack, really kicked my butt. The hike from TC to the summit was a welcome relief, as the light daypack felt like I was floating.

It seemed like the majority of the day-hikers I passed along the trail seemed to be having an easier go of it, versus the overnighters who carried a heavier load part way.

If I do the MW hike one more time, I would like to do a day hike. All factors (physical condition, weather, etc.) being the same, from those of you who have made multiple summits, what is your opinion of which is the "easiest"?

I prefer doing day hikes since there is less gear to take and I am not a seasoned backpacker. Also, I am not good hiking on rock and the stretch from Mirror Lake to Trail Camp is challenging. You can read more of my thoughts on the subject at Decide what type of hike.

You always go the lighter pack method. My 1st trip to MW was Portal to Outpost with 56 lb pack and set basecamp, spent the night,slept well.Daypack to summit back to outpost,slept the night and put back on the heavy 56 lb pack back to portal.Tough trip.

Next year I lost 30 lbs and took a 26 lb pack to TC and spent the night there.Didn't sleep at all at 12K but a 26 lb pack to TC was a piece of cake.

Fred, thanks for that info. Pretty much answered my questions.

Rod, your trips sounded very similar to mine. My first trip, my pack was 53 lbs. This trip I trimmed it down to 27 lbs. I would have thought that would have made all the difference in the world, but for some reason it didn't. Maybe being nine years older was the culprit, although I'm in as good of shape as I was back then. Not sure exactly what the deal was, but as soon as I put on the daypack, it was all good.

I believe the heat may have played a big factor too. My first trip it was cooler. This trip my thermo showed 89 at the Portal Sunday afternoon (prior to the 60 minute thundershower), 83 at Trail Camp Monday afternoon, and 61 at the summit at 10AM Tuesday. These temps were quite a bit higher than the weather sites showed. I thought maybe my thermo was off, but it felt that hot those days. I believe the Portal showed 75 on the weather sites. Just another lesson to be prepared for all types of weather up there.

To me 22 miles in sixteen hours up 6,000' is not much fun. I did it twice. I am in much better shape today than when I did either of those hikes. My comfort zone for day hikes is about 16 miles, afterwhich things start to ache and boredom sets in. If I were to do the MMWT in prime time, I opt for 3 days basing somewhere near Consultation Lake.

But I don't go up the MMWT in prime time no 'mo. There are more interesting ways to reach the summit IMHO.