True confessions. I like the Whitney hike. Okay, I prefer approaching from the West. But I also like the hike up from the East. And I like staying at Trail Camp, where you are guaranteed a fantastic alpenglow morning. And it can be very social at Trail Camp if you want it to be, which is fun. And there are ways to minimize the, shall we say, sanitation challenged aspects of Trail Camp. It is not like I lack options -- I have scoped out a whole host of campsites up and down the trail, including a few fantastic sites that I have found through exploration way off the trail. I know, that must be some form of heresy to admit to finding something to like about Trail Camp.
I also like the Langley hike. That point at which you enter the basin area about 5 miles in is superb. There is the massif in profile, reflected in the lake. The weather always seems to be doing something beautiful and dramatic when that view opens up.
Langley does have a trail all the way to the top. Actually, it has about 50 trails to the top, once you get to, say, 13,000 feet. Sure, you can find class 3 and 4 if you want on Langley. You can also find class 3 and 4 on Whitney if you want. You can also do Langley entirely on class 1, with maybe 50 feet of class 2 or 3 with virtually no exposure. Though you have to poke around a little to find the best route for those 50 feet. And ignore the megacairns for a few seconds.
It's not either/or for me. The mountains are not competing with each other. They are both fun to climb.
