Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion First Timer

Will be hiking Whitney with a group of four next week. We will be doing a three day hike. Any info would be helpful. How are the water sources? If I carry three liters of water in my water bladder, it makes my pack 33 lbs.... would like to lighten the load. Any tips on that? Also a little nervous about the narrow area's on the trail, where exactly are they and how bad are they...? Thanks in advance :-)

I went in from Onion Valley and was at elevation for 5 days prior to going up from 12,200 feet. It really was pretty easy from Guitar Lake to Trail Crest. The last 2 miles are not very scary at all, at least to me. But seeing the amount of people day hiking and coming in from the east, I would try to avoid the crowds if at all possible. Water up from the portal is very easy to get. But from the last camp up you may find it on the lower part of the switchbacks. Lots and lots of tents at the last camp prior to the switchbacks. Biggest and hardest thing is that the 11 mile trail to the summit is 8 mile of walking on rocks. Going over Forrester Pass was much tougher then getting up Whitney.

My plan next time is to take 3 one liter disposable bottles, one full. I'll only fill up the second & third at Trail Camp/the switchbacks for the final push for the summit.

Hi Campgirl64! You'll need all of that water to cook the 7lbs of dehydrated food that you are packing in. 33lbs is not too heavy of a pack for a woman of your height and weight (just guessing here). If steep drop offs bother you, just close your eyes while hiking on those sections - piece of cake!

Mom. I know this is you. Stop tripping. We are going have so much fun.

Thanks for replying Abrock. I am still trying to figure out the wisdom of carrying 6.6 lbs in a water bladder if there is ample water available on the trail.... Easily accessible with a mini sawyer and a water bottle (w/ extra pouches to fill at trail camp for the hike to the summit).
As far as the steep drop offs go... I will be holding onto you with my eyes closed...so we should do just fine.
PS.. Only 4 lbs in food :-)
5 Days and counting. It will be a great time!

100 ounces of water is about right for the section from Trail Camp to the summit and back. Carrying 3 liters is not necessary for the section from the trail head to Trail Camp. There are a number of good places to take water from along this route. At high altitudes, you should be sipping water quite frequently to avoid dehydration but you do not need to carry that much. Just stop and filter along the way.

There are some steep drop offs on the upper part of the switchbacks, but the trail is wide, so just stay close to the wall side of the trail.

The section from Trail Crest to the summit has some exposure, but nothing that would qualify as narrow and precarious. Just keep looking forward and walk straight through and you will be fine. I believe the entire main trail is on you tube. Check out some videos if you are concerned about it.

Others please correct me if I am wrong, but the only time you need to carry the full 3L of water is between trail camp and the summit. The rest of the hike (from the portal to trail camp) has plenty of opportunities to get water.

I hiked a couple of weeks ago with my wife, and since she has a bad back, I carried 6L of water the entire way... would totally not do this if I went back.

People, it is darned foolish to load up on lots of water before you start up the trail!!! There is water at regular points along the trail.

I realize most don't care to do what I do, but this works for some: I dip and drink at just about every stream we come to along the way. If you don't feel comfortable doing that, take a break every hour or so and stop and filter (and drink as much as you possibly can (almost a pint) each filter stop. Then carry no more than a pint more, so it will get you to the next water stop. Only at Trail Camp should you fill up 3 liters. You can drink one on the way up, stash(hide) one at Trail Crest, and only carry the full one toward the summit.

TB40: No wonder you had such a hard day hike. 6L of water is 12 pounds!! Doing that nearly guarantees you won't complete the trip!

For more info on the water sources, go to this: Links to important Whitney information, and look at the "Reliable Water..." links. The "Links..." post is the first thread in the "Reference" forum.

Regarding the "dip and drink" idea, I do that every where but the Trail Camp pond. There, I walk over to the inlet stream. I came back from a day hike last Sunday where 3 of us all did the same, and nobody had suffered any hint of trouble from doing that. My buddy even dipped handfuls of water from that spring on the switchbacks (I would have used only the top one, but he dipped from a few switchbacks below.) Bottom line is that the water is pure enough for anyone up there.

Couldn't agree more. Last year my wife and I left the portal with full bladders in our backpacks. Too much weight! Live and learn I guess but this year we'll pack the bladders but they'll be empty and then we'll fill them at Trail Camp for our trip to the summit. From portal to trail camp, I agree....dip and drink and carry a small container to hold you over till the next water stop.

Thank you everyone for the responses. That took a huge weight off my shoulders (literally...) knowing I do not have to pack in 6 lbs of water, but can filter and drink along the way.
Here is to summiting!

What I did earlier this week was carry a full 1L Smart Water bottle, 2 full 700ml Smart Water bottles, and an empty 2L Platypus reservoir from the trailhead to Trailside Meadow.

The 700ml bottles were empty by Trailside Meadow, where I collected water in the empty reservoir, filtered enough water to refill the 700ml bottles, filled the 2L reservoir, then carried the 4.4 liters of water (some filtered, some not) to the summit. At the summit I did some more filtering and refilling of the 700ml bottles.

I don't think I ever drank from the 1L bottle during this hike, but on my first hike a couple years ago I drank 4 liters of water from Trail Camp to the summit and back and had run out before hitting the switchback water sources on the way down.

I like refilling at Trailside Meadow because it's right off the trail, and the water is flowing well so it's easy to fill up your reservoir.

I didn't check the inlet at the Trail Camp pond (which is a bit of a detour from the main trail), and while there was water at the switchback sources, it would not have been as easy to collect water there.

Anyway, there is no need to carry a ton of water from the trail head to Trail Camp. Have a great trip!

Campgirl64,

If you're nervous about your trip, I'd suggest to build in some days to acclimatize (though coming from Utah, you might not have any issue with altitude)and familiarize yourself with the route from maps and books and chatting with those who have climbed it.

Go slow and steady.

Minimize unessentials in your pack. As others have said, you could probably do lighter, especially if you're sharing a tent. My pack only weighs 35+lbs when I carry a tent/20*F bag/DSLR and camera gear, cold weather gear and 3+days of food.
ON Shasta where there was NO water, was one of the few places I carried all my water.

If you have any other concerns/questions, ask specific questions, happy to help out.

Good luck!