Went up on Saturday to get some altitude and to see if I've retained any of my post-JMT/HST fitness threshold.
Not much.
Trail: Trail is totally snow free. There is about 30 lateral feet of ice by the cables, easily bypassed.
Weather: The weather was actually pretty warm for mid-Oct. The portal was high fifties, I didn't see any frozen streams at all. Even Trail Camp tarn wasn't frozen when I reached her at dawn.
The Sierra winds on the summit are coming from the north. Cold and dry, bring a bandanna or mask to keep your face warm and trap some moisture, I got a little dry-hack. My neoprene mask made it hard to breathe so I ditched it for the ascent.
Water: As mentioned, it was a little warm, no frozen streams. The stream flowing over the switchbacks is bone-dry. The stream that crosses the trail about 150' below TC was bone dry too. Some puddles at Trailside Meadow. Water was flowing at the Mirror Lake outlet, Outpost Camp, Lone Pine Creek, N. Fork, and Carillon Creek. Trail Camp tarn* (*=read "cesspool") is the last chance for water (or Lake Consultation if you are camping).
Trip: I'm not a fast hiker. I've set a goal: I won't stop dayhiking Whitney until I can do it 10h car-to-car. I didn't seriously expect to make it, but I wanted to give 'er a go. I didn't bring trekking poles, and the altitude got me. I made it to TC in 3h17m (my best time by far), I usually take about 80%-100% of my Portal to Trail Camp time to get from TC to the Summit. It looked like my goal was feasible, but then the altitude murdered me. I haven't gotten high since late August, and I felt it. I made it to the summit in 7h33m, RT: 12h10m.
I'll get it someday.
In other news: The fall colors are lovely. Though I don't like the jarring, the descent from TC to Mirror Lake is BEAUTIFUL in the early afternoon: the yellows around Mirror, the green lake, the gray north face of Thor Pk. and the red Inyos to the east.
Hit me up if you have more q's.
@jjoshuagregory (Instagram) for mainly landscape and mountain pics
