ATTENTION ALL HIKERS IN TRAINING FOR MT. WHITNEY: This is my opinion, if you want to summit Mt. Whitney a good training hike is San Gorgonio via the Vivian Creek Trail. The first mile of the trail is for a mountain goat, it's a killer. Between the first mile and High Camp, the trail is much like the main trail of Mt. Whitney. From High Camp to the summit is a lot like the backside of the Mt. Whitney Trail after Trail Crest, mainly because of the altitude. If you hike another trail to the summit of San G. you are not getting a good feel for Mt. Whitney. The Vivian Creek Trail is the most strenuous trail to the summit and it's the easiest permit to get because most hikers do not want to summit via Vivian Creek. Next, the Angels are in the desert on their way to Idyllwild.
Agreed 100%. I hiked Vivian Creek a couple months AFTER Whitney. The first part of the trail is the worst especially coming down. My calves and feet took a terrible beating navigating down that steep, loose, and rocky first part of the trail. Never had any problems with blisters on Whitney but did on Vivian Creek. Just goes to show that a mountain doesn't have be 14,000+ feet to be challenging!
