Trip Report 9/19 - 9/20/2012 - 09/22/12 07:22 PM
First of all - thanks to everyone on this message board for all the information, insight, motivation, photos, suggestions, comments, etc.
It was our first Whitney summit and it was FABULOUS!
We arrived in Lone Pine on Tuesday afternoon - went to pick up our permit and bear canister. The Ranger station is very nice and has some beautiful photos to view. We then drove up to Horseshoe Meadow and walked around for about two hours to help with acclimatization.
Wednesday we headed up to the portal for the requisite pancake breakfast and hit the trail around 9:30 am. The weather was beautiful, sunny, warm and very little wind.
We arrived Trail Camp at around 4:00 pm - a lot longer than we expected, but I am very slow!
As soon as the sun goes behind the mountain, it gets cold! We ate our yummy Mountain Home dinner and hit the sack. I, unfortunately/fortunately had to get up three times in the middle of the night to pee! This was a sign I was well hydrated, but not fun when it's 28 degrees outside. It did bode well for me the next day, as I did not experience much in the way of altitude sickness.
We left Trail Camp around 7:30 am and arrived at the summit around 11:45 am. Again, longer than I had hoped, but met our goal of arriving before noon. My friend started to get a headache and some nausea right around 14,000 feet. The best words she heard from me the whole trip were "I see the hut! I see the hut!" The weather cooperated and the views were amazing! We met some lovely people and had some more water and a snack. We left the summit at 12:30 pm and arrived Trail Camp at 3:30 pm.
Back at Trail Camp we were hoping for a 4pm departure, but after re-filling water and packing up camp, we didn't leave until 4:30 pm. While it was nice to see the sunset on the way down, enjoying the peace and quiet and the sights and sounds and smells of the meadows, it was not much fun coming down that last hour in the dark! We had one headlamp between the two of us (the other ran out of juice) and a very nice man sort of lead us out with his headlamp that last hour.
We arrived the portal about 8:20 that night - too late to get pizza and beer at the portal
But we did make it back to Lone Pine to pick up pizza and wine to celebrate our accomplishment!
Overall, a GREAT trip - slow and steady....that's me!
A big kudos to my friend for being patient with me!
I hope to post a few photos when I get a chance.....
Kat123
It was our first Whitney summit and it was FABULOUS!
We arrived in Lone Pine on Tuesday afternoon - went to pick up our permit and bear canister. The Ranger station is very nice and has some beautiful photos to view. We then drove up to Horseshoe Meadow and walked around for about two hours to help with acclimatization.
Wednesday we headed up to the portal for the requisite pancake breakfast and hit the trail around 9:30 am. The weather was beautiful, sunny, warm and very little wind.
We arrived Trail Camp at around 4:00 pm - a lot longer than we expected, but I am very slow!
As soon as the sun goes behind the mountain, it gets cold! We ate our yummy Mountain Home dinner and hit the sack. I, unfortunately/fortunately had to get up three times in the middle of the night to pee! This was a sign I was well hydrated, but not fun when it's 28 degrees outside. It did bode well for me the next day, as I did not experience much in the way of altitude sickness.
We left Trail Camp around 7:30 am and arrived at the summit around 11:45 am. Again, longer than I had hoped, but met our goal of arriving before noon. My friend started to get a headache and some nausea right around 14,000 feet. The best words she heard from me the whole trip were "I see the hut! I see the hut!" The weather cooperated and the views were amazing! We met some lovely people and had some more water and a snack. We left the summit at 12:30 pm and arrived Trail Camp at 3:30 pm.
Back at Trail Camp we were hoping for a 4pm departure, but after re-filling water and packing up camp, we didn't leave until 4:30 pm. While it was nice to see the sunset on the way down, enjoying the peace and quiet and the sights and sounds and smells of the meadows, it was not much fun coming down that last hour in the dark! We had one headlamp between the two of us (the other ran out of juice) and a very nice man sort of lead us out with his headlamp that last hour.
We arrived the portal about 8:20 that night - too late to get pizza and beer at the portal
But we did make it back to Lone Pine to pick up pizza and wine to celebrate our accomplishment!
Overall, a GREAT trip - slow and steady....that's me!
A big kudos to my friend for being patient with me!
I hope to post a few photos when I get a chance.....
Kat123