This is a significantly late entry, but possibly helpful to any solo hikers out there. I started my journey as a solo overnight female hiker on the MT 5/27. I encountered snow starting at around 9.5K, I'm sure much of that is melting now. I made it to trail camp but did not get to attempt the summit due to one of my crampons slipping on my regular hiking boots. But I did have a fantastic time though! Watched the morning alpine glow, the sun rise (I camped just left of the outskirts of trail camp- I had a 360* view of no other campers in site) which made it totally worth it! It was the adventure, peace, and solitude I was hoping for despite not making it to the summit.

Here is my list of things that were helpful for me. I have done many trekking trips, a 16.5K & 19.5K, but this was my 1st overnight solo hike. So naturally I was an overly prepared girl scout.

Mistakes I made

*Blk Diamond Crampons w/ regular Lowa hiking boots. Unfortunately the pair I rented- one of the metal beads that holds the size in place would slip out when my boot flexed when walking on ice. UGH!!Obviously NOT a recognizable problem until I got to TC and did a practice run on icy snow. Therefore, it was a NO GO and I was scratched from attempting the morning summit. BUMMER! Hard plastic Mnt boots (the kind that don't flex w/ walking) are a MUCH BETTER guarantee despite many others having similar hiking boots/crampons.

*Stove- don't take it. Plenty of available H20 and you'll only be noshing on snacks. I would take an MRE next time if I really thought I would want a hot meal (which I did not).

* Too much of everything for that matter. Stick to your instincts, if you are a solo hiker and don't have group members sherpa-ing your stuff around. ** I carried 47LBS to TC. That is 2 more LBS than a 1/3 of my body weight btw. It was tough and I was tired when reaching trail camp.

Helpful tips

*Mount Whitney Trail Samsung phone app w/ Version service + extra battery charger. Very accurate when I lost the trail twice buried in snow and followed footsteps of other hikes making the same mistake. Once at Mirror Lake and once after passing Trail Side Meadow.

* Carrying 47lbs as a solo hiker was exhausting. I started at 6:30am, after getting lost twice adding 1 hr to my time, made it to TC at 1:45pm. This gave me plenty of time to talk to other hikers and recover from being a bit tired. I was very fresh the next morning after going to bed at 7:30pm the night before. I was the 2nd hikers to make it into TC, all other hikers started rolling in at 5:30-7pm. In my opinion getting to bed early for an early summit would have worked in my favor.

Info from other hikers

Inventory from the 22 other hikers coming off the Mnt- on my acclimation hike ( 5/26) and actual hike (5/27). Only 5 ppl made it to summit. 3 ppl started the summit from TC at 7am and returned to TC at 5pm. The other two successful ppl started at 3:30am (not sure of their finish times). Many ppl stated they froze in the night.