Hello, this will be a quick post

This was my second time doing a Mt. Whitney day-hike. Last time I did it in late July, but I was worried that in late June there might still be snow.

There was exactly 0 snow on the ENTIRE trail. I did not put my foot in snow once on my ascent. There were a couple of stream crossings, and for now you can cross all of them without getting wet.

I carried no specialty hiking gear: No trekking poles (although these could be useful if you have bad knees), No ice axes, No crampons, No microspikes, No carabiners

Took me around 7.5 hours to get to the peak, and a 13.5hr round trip. Here is a timetable if you're interested:
11lb Pack
4:35am Start (Whitney Portal)
5:37 Lone Pine Lake
6:05 Outpost Camp
6:29 Mirror Lake
7:46 Trail Camp
9:56 Trail Crest
12:05 Peak
6:00pm End (Whitney Portal)

Did you take long enough on top to really take in the view? You might want to remember the names of the other peaks: https://www.summitpost.org/labeled-mount-whitney-panorama/1002719/c-841725 . FREE Download before your trek, go on-line while on top AND/OR buy a 2x3-foot fine print from https://www.panoramapaul.com/ .

Thank you! May I ask how old you are, your level of fitness and amount of training you did to prepare? I'm hiking Whitney on July 15th for the first time. I'm 51, in excellent shape and have done a lot of training, but as the day draws near, I'm getting apprehensive...mainly because of the altitude. I'll only have one day to acclimatize.

Given how soon you are leaving and with only one day to acclimatize, I would suggest asking your doctor for a prescription of acetazolamide ("diamox".) Many folks on this page use it. Take a dose before you start and carry some with you as it may forestall the onset of altitude sickness. And stay well hydrated. Good luck on your hike!

Hi Marty,
I called my doctor for the diamox and she didn't want to prescribe it and said there's side effects and she needs me to come in first. I don't have time to go in for the appt. I am hiking on July 12th.
I only had 3 weeks to train but have been hiking (8-11 miles- twice a month), running one day a week (6 miles) and doing weight classes. So really working out 3-4 times a week. I am not an avid hiker but to prepare for Whitney because we were lucky to get the permits, we have done an 18 mile hike with 4,179 elevation gain, Cloud's Rest 9,965 starting at 8,000 elevation, Mt. Dana starting at 9,900 and went up to 12,300 and didn't summit because the trail was very steep the last 500 feet and we didn't have enough time. So tested for altitude sickness and was fine so far but very worried we didn't train long enough. I know altitude sickness is something I can't control and will have to find out as I go above 12,500 but my concern is we are coming one day before so not enough time to acclimate. Will see if we can leave two days before versus one day. Any advice? I will take it slow but would love to summit like everyone that hikes Whitney. Also understand not everyone makes it up and I might be that person but will give it my best.

I take Motrin every 4 hours or so and sleep at 10k feet the day (or days) before to help with acclimatization.

Motrin is Ibuprophen, like Tylenol is Acetaminophen. Ibuprophen is great for muscle soreness, and it might help with headache from altitude. Just don't confuse Motrin 800 with regular Motrin. The "800" is 4x regular Motrin or Ibuprophen.

Evelyn, it sounds like you have done plenty of physical preparation. If you can get away a day early, and sleep overnight up at Horseshoe Meadows one night, and the second in the walk-in sites by the Whitney trail head, that will go a really long way toward acclimatization.

Both sites for overnight, you only need a mattress pad and sleeping bag. You don't even need a tent. So setup and breaking camp is quick. The car is always a short walk away.

Sorry for taking a while to reply Kimmy, so this is probably not relevant to you anymore, but I'll post for others. I'm 23, 185cm and about 180lbs. I'm a computer engineer, so my level of fitness is not great. However I've been hiking more times than I can count and from a very early age. Whitney is also the highest hike in altitude I've done, if that serves as a reference.

Cheers