Mt Whitney Zone
Posted By: HE_i Summited 10/1/17 - 10/02/17 11:23 PM
10/1/17
Finally summited last Oct 1, after 2 DNS. Mt. Whitney, you are not an easy task to accomplish!

I started this journey 3 years ago when I set it as my goal to summit Mt. Whitney before I turn 50 this year (Dec) and added as another incentive just recently, to celebrate my 8th year being sober (Nov), free from alcohol and drug use after years of abusing them.

To prepare for her wasnt easy.
-Fall season Day hike Pyramid Peak at Desolation Wilderness (9,984’ and 22 miles r/t)
-Summer Back pack Half Dome at Yosemite National Park (8,839’ and 16 miles r/t)
-Spring Day Hike Cloud Rest at Yosemite National Park (9,931’ and 17 miles r/t)
-Winter Day Hike Dewey Point at Yosemite National Park (7200’ and 10.5 miles r/t)
-Summer Backpack Gem Lake at Stanislau National Forest (9109’ and 20 miles r/t)
-Summer Day Hike Mount Dana at Yosemite National Park (13,061’ and 5 miles r/t
-Not including all the regular trail runs I did during the weekdays and on weekends.

And twice, backpack Summer and Fall season Mt.Whitney and twice DNS!

But this time, I set a goal to do it as day hike!

As I plan my day hike, theres a lot of you and from Mt. Whitney fb page, who chime in for tips and encouragement and I can’t thank you enough and theres a lot of you to name it individually. You know who you are but a special shout out to Scott @goldscott (Whitney Zone Forum) who secured a day hike permit for me a total complete stranger when I reached out to him!

I drove 7 hours, arrived at the WP parking lot at 9:30pm, slept for a bit and woke up at 11:45 to get start the summit. I end up not doing solo coz when I asked the first group that I saw and told them the reason why, they end up including me on their trip. At first I was hesitant to be part of the group as they might not have the same drive as I was but I was totally wrong...they have become my encourager and it encouraged me to see that these young people are happy to hear my story and my family as we all hiked together! I hope that my story made an impact on them, that no matter how hard you fall, you could always get up and make a better version of yourself!

After eating at the local Lone Pine Restaurant, I drove 25 miles to the rest stop to sleep at the back of my Outback, as they run out of bed at the Whitney Portal Hostel.

And now, here I am, typing away my journey to Mt. Whitney, land of never ending switchbacks from parking lot to top 😂

Once again, thank you to all of you who have patiently listen and supported me on this journey!

https://instagram.com/p/BZwytk6jO2Y/
https://instagram.com/p/BZwoh3YDo31/
Posted By: Steve C Re: Summited 10/1/17 - 10/03/17 03:34 AM
Congratulations, Gerry! On your summit, and on your 8-year anniversary! Keep on hiking -- there are a lot of miles of trails out there!
Posted By: + @ti2d Re: Summited 10/1/17 - 10/03/17 02:47 PM
HE_i

Congratulations on your 8 years and your summit. What a way to celebrate life!

Here's to 50...you have plenty of mountains to climb!
Posted By: Panorama Paul Re: Summited 10/1/17 - 10/15/17 05:23 AM
Remember the great scenery you saw from the top…check out: http://www.summitpost.org/labeled-mount-whitney-panorama/1002719/c-841725
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