I’ll begin with the advice you don’t want to hear: If it took you 18½ hours and you were crawling at the end, you didn’t do enough preparation. How many peaks over 13,000’ or even 12,000’ did you climb in preparation for Whitney? It shouldn’t take 18½ hours, and your mind and body should both be functional when you finish. Otherwise, you’re asking to get your name on the evening news. Yes, I know that lots of people do exactly what you did. But you need to do more homework first. OK. Lecture over.
The best way to minimize soreness after a monster day is to do SOMETHING the day after. Take an EASY run, hike, walk, bike ride, swim, or whatever you like. Force yourself to get your legs moving and the blood flowing. Otherwise, the second day you take off will be the one when you can’t move.
Everybody knows we need food, water, and sleep. Be sure to catch up on all three if you’ve abused yourself. I don’t know how much it helps, but I always down 24 ounces of Hammer Recoverite when I get back to the car. 24 ounces of almost anything should help, and Recoverite supposedly has all the right stuff to help you recover. I’m sure there are other products worth considering. Take your pick.
