wow....i never forgot to reply here but unfortunately forgot my password. I did email the webmaster but fortunately as i am cleaning up my desk right now, i remember the password, and i dont have to wait for the webmaster's reply on how to reset my password. hence, my reply now
first of all, i would love to thanked my hiking buddy, ABHIJIT for a wonderful time and opportunity of knowing and hiking with him, secondly to this site and fellow users that gave very valuable info and tips on how to prepare myself to hike this mountain and hike "other mountain".
*pls note for other hikers to learn from the mistake i made out of this trip: Overestimating myself!Initially, i intended to "acclimatize" myself by arriving 2 days prior to the "big one" but with very hectic schedule/itinerary i have to modify Mt Whitney trip. Our hike was july 23,2014 and it was on Wed. my intended plan was to arrive Monday but i arrived Tues instead, leaving me with only hours to adapt to high altitude. I did the Mt Tallac (lake Tahoe region) sat before and i thought i am ready to Mt Whitney as i never felt anything in that elevation (my first highest @ 9735 ft) and told myself, i would change my plan and settle in the camp the day before.
Oh boy, i was wrong, i felt headache just past trail camp all the way to the summit, i believe was @ 12k feet and up. and almost backed out 300 ft shy of the summit because of the headache. i was not dizzy but i have a moderate headache. I would rate it from 0 - 10 (10 as worst that i have to go to an emergency) to 7-8! I did a calculated risk, i don't have dizziness, i am not vomiting, i am still ambulatory without disorientation or any "tremor" in my finger movements. just a moderate to near severe headache! so i endured the pain for the last 300 ft to the summit and felt i spent almost an hour to reached the summit hut! we arrived about 11 am, ate a bunch of food (i was hungry!!!) and took a nap for about 20 min and left the summit @ 11:30.
Abhijit was there to help me assess my "headache" and even offered that we could back out and head back down WITH ME. I am glad i knew him. I was ready to back out as soon as i felt my pain would increase from 8 to 8.5 (if headache persists even with rests of 15 min or so) but i will not let him spoil his dream of summiting mt whitney because of me. Thanks my friend! i appreciate it a lot!
Thank you folks and Mt Whitney for the experience. A month after this trip, Aug 23,2014 i did the GREAT RANGE TRAVERSE in one day. no headache. just sore legs
on to next trip, winter presedential traverse
