My son and I recently completed a fantastic dayhike to Mt Whitney. We did not acclimate the conventional way by camping at the Portal or Horseshoe Meadow, but, chose to stay in a hotel. We live at sea level in Mobile, AL so were were very concerned about properly acclimating. We arrived 5 days prior to our summit day and drove to the Mammoth area. We stayed the first four nights at the Mammoth Mountain Inn at 9000 feet. (This is in the ski area above Mammoth Lakes). Admittedly, we were 100 + miles from Lone Pine and the Portal, but were in the midst of some amazing places to acclimatize. The first day we drove 45 minutes to the east gate of Yosemite and hiked up Gaylor Peak and all around that area--approximately 5 - 6 miles. That allowed us to spend a fair amount of time between 9950 - 11,000 feet. On day two, we drove to the Mosquito Flats trailhead, approximately 30 minutes away, and hiked to Mono Pass and back--somewhere around 8 - 9 miles and between 10,300 and 12,000 feet. On day three, we drove to White Mountain, about an hour and 45 minutes away, and went to the Barcroft Research Facility gate where we then proceeded to the Observatory and back--approximately 7 miles and between 11,700 and 12,700 feet. Also managed to see the ancient bristlecone pine trees. All three of these hikes were beautiful. The drive to the White Mountains was long, however the hiking and the landscape were worth it. On day 4, we took our time packing up and proceeded down to the Interagency Center in Lone Pine, picked up our permits and then checked out the parking and trailhead logistics at the Portal. We stayed down in Lone Pine that night, set the alarm for 11:00 PM and hit the trail at 12:30 AM. We had an amazing hike and had absolutely no problems with the altitude...no headaches, no nausea and no loss of appetite. We even ate at the top!
As for the hike, we were pretty lucky. The weather was perfect. A virtually clear full moon night with no wind. The breeze at Trail Crest to the Summit was about 5 mph and the sun was warm. On the way down, once we reached Trail Camp, the wind picked up a little and compensated nicely for the increasing temperature on the way down.
I realize that our method of acclimation is not for everyone, but for those that don't want to camp, this plan worked perfectly for us. I hope that it is helpful to some of you.
