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In July of 2002, I went on a one-day hiking trip to Mt. Whitney. With many years of experience and many miles on my boots, I was ready to face Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous US at 14,496 feet.

The trip encompasses my days acclimatizing and the experience on Whitney in a diary style to give you an idea what it was like to put the whole thing together to have a successful trip. The measure of my success is being the first ETHIOPIAN to ever scale Mt. Whitney.

July 24th, 2002

Two days prior to hiking Whitney, my partner, Dave and I left our home in the Bay Area and headed out to Yosemite National Park to begin the acclimatization process by ascending Parker Pass at 11,000ft. We arrived at Touolumne Meadows ranger station at 8:30am and picked up a map and also got a lead from young and enthusiastic ranger on an off-trail hike. The ranger suggested following a creek, which feeds into Spillway lake back to the trailhead and onto the summit. At the trailhead, we parked our car, stored our food in bear containers, and started off the hike at 9000ft on Parker/Mono Pass trail. We definitely felt the thin air at the beginning of the hike, which noticeably affected our breathing. We were able to get our breathing pattern back to normal approximately 10mins into the hike. We picked this hike for a couple of reasons, the trail is well graded (at 2000ft gain with a total of 8.5 miles round trip), no heavy traffic, and it had a lot of source to draw water from. We ran into a total of 10 hikers along the trail giving us the much-anticipated solitude we were looking for. Touolumne Meadows is a high country. The sky is bluer and the meadows are greener with awesome scenery. It's the perfect place to lose oneself. We finally reached Spillway Lake, had lunch, and gazed at the beauty and serenity of the place with the view of Mt. Dana and Mt. Gibbs Looking East From Spillway Lake. We started on the off-trail hike when we realized that the trail we've been on is no longer visible from where we were. We didn't panic since we had already decided to do an off-trail hike. We ascended by following the main creek feeding into Spillway toward what we thought to be the only creek that would take us back to the trailhead leading to the summit. We later realized that the creek split into two, then three streams and by the time we reached the top, there were at least 6 separate creeks and no sign of trailhead. Panic stricken and yet excited by the idea of off-trail hike and ignoring the previous warning by ranger that the weather can change very quickly there, we used our instinct to try and find the location of the trailhead by ascending higher (close to 12,000') in hope to spot the trail. After about an hour of frantic search and with the help of my binoculars, we were able to see part of the upper trail. We got excited not only because we were able to locate the trail but also because we didn't get the big afternoon storm that we had been warned about. We finally reached Parker Pass at 11k ft dividing Yosemite with Ansel Adam National Park. We took the upper trail past the upper Sardine Lake back to the parking lot. The acclimation hike was quite successful and we promised to come back on an extended backpacking trip in the near future.

We arrived in Mammoth Lakes to join up with the rest of the hiking crew. Because of the exciting day of hiking that Dave and I had, we were overwhelmed with burst of energy, we decided to end the day with a nighttime swim at the apartment complex swimming pool and enjoyed the company of a flock of bats flying over the pool.

July 25th, 2002

In the morning, we headed south to Lone Pine via HWY 395. The day was pretty uneventful and I was a bit anxious about completing the hike to the summit.

July 26th, 2002

The morning, we woke up at 4 A.M. (actually, we were already up and really didn't sleep all that much due to the anticipation of what was to come). We arrived at the trailhead at 5am sharp. The trail leading to the summit is well maintained and every year thousands of people make the trip. So many in fact that there is a daily quota for overnight permits…once the quota is filled you are out of luck for that day. Needless to say, we LUCKED OUT with just a day hike permit. It is possible to go up to the top and back in one day (it's about 22mi round trip and a 6000ft elevation gain/loss), but most people do it in three days…camping at Trail Camp half way up. Well, that wasn't the case with our crew. We were determined to go up and come back down in just one day.

The Trailhead to Lone Pine Lake

When we left the trailhead at 5:30 the temperature was in the low 40's. We all scaled back our expectations, Harv's (the trip organizer & leader) was to make it to Lone Pine Lake in less than an hour. A 1/2 mile out we made the first of many water crossings at the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek. Beyond the creek the trail became a series of exposed switchbacks up through the chaparral. When looking back you could see the sun coming up over the Inyo Mountains, the Alabama Hills, and the expanse of the Owens Valley 5,000' below. Up ahead we could see fellow hikers making their way through the switchbacks. We took our first snack break of the day as the trail leveled out just short of Lone Pine Creek. We were surprised this section of the trail was so difficult, in retrospect, I'm sure it was because of the way we felt when we started hiking.

Lone Pine Lake to Mirror Lake

The trail worked its way around Lone Pine Lake to another series of switchbacks. We completed the switchbacks and entered Bighorn Park, the larger of the two meadows on the Whitney Trail. After the relatively flat hike through Bighorn Park the trail started to climb again, passing a waterfall to another series of switchbacks to Mirror Lake. We agreed the lake with Thor's Peak above it would have been a great place for a picnic but not on this day.

Mirror Lake to Trail Camp

Leaving Mirror Lake the trail climbed up to a rocky cirque (French name for a corrie, a steep-sided hollow in a mountainside) in the shadows of Mt. Irvine. Looking back down and saw all that we had left behind Bighorn Park, Lone Pine Lake and the Alabama Hills, a definite Kodak moment. This is where the tree line ends. We were now totally exposed to the sun and wind. The balance of the ascent would be on a punishing rocky trail. When we reached Trailside Meadow we took another short break before heading up to Trail Camp.

We arrived at Trail Camp at about 10, 6.3 miles and 3,640' of elevation gain in 4 1/2 hours. As planned, we had lunch here and enjoyed watching the Trail Camp marmots and tried to share our food with them but they are very shy animals--not aggressive at all. After lunch and short rest, we decided we would go on to summit.

The Infamous 96 Switchbacks

The only way to describe the 96 switchbacks to Trail Crest is brutal. Our last training hike was Mono/Parker Pass in Touolumne Meadows, which climbs 2500', so our confidence was very high as we started to traverse the switchbacks but it's one thing starting at 7,700' and quite another in the rarefied Sierra Nevada air of 12,000'. We were surprised to discover the availability of water on the switchbacks, everything we had read about the Mt. Whitney Trail said there are no reliable water sources above Trail Camp, they may not be reliable but they were there, at about 12,400' to 12,600'. It took us (Dave & myself) an hour and a half to reach Trail Crest. As we crested the ridge at Trail Crest the view of Mt. Hitchcock and The Great Western Divide was truly spectacular.

Trail Crest to the Summit

The most difficult part of the hike was behind us. After completing the switchbacks we needed to take a short break to catch our breath and mentally prepare ourselves for our final push to the top. Dave and I were feeling a little weak and complaining of headaches but were quite vocal about going forward to the peak. The trail between Trail Crest and the Whitney summit offers more stunning views and sheer drop-offs, especially at the "windows" between Mt. Muir and the various needles, this area is not for the faint of heart or those with vertigo. Our biggest problem now were hikers returning from the summit, the trail is not wide enough to accommodate two way traffic, so we were stopping every couple of minutes to allow the descending hikers to pass. Although this part of the hike was not as steep as the switchbacks, we were now at 14,000'+ and every step required extra effort.

As we neared the summit the trail disappeared and we had to scramble the rest of the way. We ended up going through the only snowfield on the mountain. Once through the snowfield it was mostly boulder hopping the rest of the way. Dave at this point was ahead of me while I struggled to catch up but he occasionally turned to me and gave me a shout of moral support. I looked up occasionally searching for the building at the summit; then like a mirage it appeared and so did my teammates, and its appearance energized me for the last push. I reached the summit at 2:50, nine hours and twenty minutes after we started.

We made the summit much later than expected and now had 30 minutes to sign the peak register, take pictures, eat, make our acquaintances with the other accomplished hikers, explore, and rest up for the trip back. However, we didn't have the pleasure of using the highest outhouse in the continental United States, maybe next time. We used this time to assess our condition; I had a slight headache and my knees were throbbing; Dave and I were both very tired. We (Harv, Dave, and myself--the others were stated ahead of us on the decent) left the summit by 3:25pm, we were certain we would not reach the trailhead in daylight. Thank God, we brought flashlights.

Now, Where's the Tram!

Unfortunately, since this ain't Mt. San Jacinto and the Palm Springs Tram does not run at Mt. Whitney the only way down is the way you came. So, we started back down using the hikers ahead of us as a guide to the trail. Once we found the trail, the going was slow because of the trail's poor condition, especially in the area of the windows where the trail dropped off on both sides. We made it back to Trail Crest a little before 5

.

The trail on the switchbacks was a vast improvement over the last section of trail so our pace quickened considerably. We had run out of our water supply and thank goodness, we ran into a man, who earlier that day had assisted some Bad Water Marathon Runners to the summit, gave us his filter so that we can fill up our camelpacks with fresh water. I will have to say that water was the best water I've ever had in my entire life. By the time we reached Trail Camp, it was packed with campers that we decided to push on rather then taking a break there.

The thicker atmosphere of 11,000' and the warmer temperature were quite evident. As we entered Outpost Camp, our hope was to make all the remaining water crossings without falling in, neither of us felt confident about accomplishing this because of the fatigue and weakness in our legs. We made it through Bighorn Park (actually ran after Harv trying to catch up), down through the switchbacks to Lone Pine Lake and across Lone Pine Creek for the last time without getting wet.

It was now 7:30; we had about an hour of daylight left and 3 miles to go forget the Forest Service fairy tale about the trailhead being only 2.5 miles from Lone Pine Lake. After a while it felt like this section of trail would never end. We were blown away by the revelation because we thought we only had another 10 to 15 minutes more to go tops. This was about the time we lost daylight and got the flashlight out. The loss of light caused us to slow our pace considerably but when we got to the last water crossings at the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek we knew it was just a matter of minutes to the trailhead. As we turned the last switchback we were a 1/4-mile from the finish line.

We finished up around 8:30pm, 15 1/2 hours from the time we started.

Climbing Mt. Whitney has been an incredible experience for me. It's very very strenous, and can be dangerous if you go unprepared for bad weather or underestimate the physical difficulty, but once done the feeling of accomplishment can be very rewarding.

Sound Advice

Call 1-800-280-CAMP. and get your campsite reservation at Whitney Portal for the summer, which is the best time with very little snow on the trails. Due to the government's infinite wisdom campsite permits are available 240 days prior arrival and Whitney Zone permits are 180 days prior to entry.

If you want a closer look without the commitment required to climb it you can drive up to Whitney Portal (about 10 miles out of Lone Pine), and hike up the trail as far as you want to. A good day hike is to go all the way to Trail Camp (about 6 miles) have lunch, then come down. You won't have a 'wilderness' experience, the trails can be very busy during the summer, and there is even a solar bathroom at trail camp, but if you want to see America's highest point up close...go ahead. A real hardman / hardwoman exercise is the one day Whitney Adventure. Start very early in the morning (5 am is good), and head up. You will reach the summit around noon, eat lunch if you can, then head down. You'll reach your car around dark. This is not for the weak hearted. It's only 11 miles to the summit, (and 11 back down of course) but the altitude gain of 6000 feet will get you. You must be in extremely good shape to do this, and a little crazy. But the rewards are the looks you'll get from those trudging up the trail with heavy packs (they will think you are nuts to do this in one day), and the accomplishment of doing the ONE-DAY WHITNEY THING.

Happy Trailing.

Lydia Hailu