Finally, our trip report one month after our summit.
It wasn't easy writing a trip report about a trip where everything was perfect. My friends and I have hiked many times with each other....day hikes and over night backpacks. We've encountered many situations and made our share of mistakes, we've learned a lot from our mistakes, so this year's trip to Mt. Whitney was rather uneventful as far as any mishaps occuring. Our backpack trip went off without a hitch over four days and three nights on the trail plus an additional night at the onset in Lone Pine at the Dow Villa. Following is our trip report:
Friday, 9/17/10
Gorgeous day for a drive to Lone Pine, CA -- the drive went quickly.
Quick rest stop at Olancha for refreshments and homemade cookies (yum). Stopped at the new Ranger Station to pick up our permits, it's a lovely facility.
Arrived in Lone Pine at 1:00 p.m.
Headed for the Portal Store to see Doug Thompson and buy souvenirs.
Added Bonus: Earlene was at the Portal Store, this is our first time meeting her.
Photos with Doug and Earlene and then a quick trek around the Portal for more photos at the waterfall and lake.
Drove through the Alabama Hills on our way back to Lone Pine. Stopped at a turnout with a bulletin board about the area and saw a picture and directions to the arched rock. We hiked through the hills and searched endlessly for the arch but never found it. Gave up and drove to the Dow Villa. We wanted to stay at the hostel, but it was full. Hostel looks very nice inside & out & those working in the lobby were friendly).
Checked-in to the Dow Villa and found the room to be clean, spacious, comfortable and nicely decorated. We are very pleased with the Dow Villa and will return.
Double-checked our packs again before dinner to ensure no duplication of items carried.
Crossed the street for dinner at the Pizza Factory. Good pizza...hot and fresh. Met a guy at the table adjacent to ours browsing the internet on his laptop. He said he could access the WiFi from the hostel when he sat on the patio at the Pizza Factory...nice!
Back at the Dow Villa, we headed for the spa. We met a man and his daughter who had a one day MW hiking pass for themselves and three others beginning the next morning.
Saturday, 9/18/10 Didn't awake early.....WE'RE ON VACATION!!!
Headed across the street for breakfast at the Mt. Whitney Cafe. Delicious food and great service...very friendly.
Departed for the Portal later than we anticipated due to a flat tire. Ended up being just low on air.
Arrived at the Portal and discovered why it's probably a good idea to have one of the great pancake breakfasts at the Portal Store. By the time we arrived, day visitors had already arrived; therefore, parking was scarce.
By 10:30 a.m. we were on the trail.
My pack felt great. I was using my own pack which fits perfectly. I couldn't feel the bear canister on my back like I could in 2005 when I borrowed a friend's pack. I was careful to distribute the weight in my pack evenly by following instructions that came with my backpack. Plus, my pack is made for women, so maybe that helped too.
Our first day of hiking was thoroughly enjoyable. Final stop for the evening was Outpost Camp. Can't remember what time we arrived; however, it was still light out and we had several hours before sunset.
Saw many one-day hikers passing through Outpost Camp on their way back to the Portal. Some looked strong like they just started their hike and some looked extremely tired and one was limping from sore feet. We greeted all the hikers passing through camp asking them if they needed water, food or blister blocks. One guy asked for filtered water so we filled up his camelback.
Windy night. Thank goodness we had two, two-man tents. The temperature was perfect (for me), I never got cold.
Sunday, 9/19/10 We slept until we woke up naturally, ate breakfast, broke camp, and put on our packs and started up the mountain probably about 9 to 10 am.
Another day of enjoyable hiking. We all felt great. The scenery was a lot different from our 2005 trek. We hardly knew where we were without snow. We had lots of fun trying to remember what each area was like with snow.
Arrived at Trail Camp with plenty of daylight left to set up our tents, filter water for the next day and make dinner. Saw a lot of hikers coming down the switch backs after dark. Seeing only their headlamps on the mountain and knowing they must be cold if they didn't prepare properly which brought back bad memories of getting lost in the snow in 2005. I vowed that if any hiker came to my tent asking for shelter, they would have it, even if just to rest before heading down the mountain. It was another windy night so we all hit the sack early to stay warm and broke out reading material and headlamps.
Monday, 9/20/10 Ooops, we woke later than we had planned. Darn alarm clock I bought from Big 5 didn't go off. We must have woke up around 6:30a.m. to 7:00 a.m. We got ready and got on the trail about one hour later. (my memory of times is vague on this day). In my research while preparing for our trip I had read that in mid-September it's a good idea to plan on being back at Trail Camp by noon to 1:00 p.m. because afternoon storms can roll in and bring lightning. The switchbacks were nice, we all enjoyed this portion of the trail, especially after having to climb the chute in deep snow with crampons during our prior Whitney trip. We all made a pact with each other that if we weren't at the summit by 1:30 p.m. that we should turn around wherever we were (out of fear of repeating the mishaps of our last trip). Tammy and Virginia made it to the summit first with Sandy and I arriving approx. 45 min. to an hour later. Sandy and I are slower and Sandy likes to take lots of photos so we do a lot stopping. Our summit went well and we all arrived back at camp safely. A Ranger came by and visited with us while we were making dinner, he was a very friendly guy. We talked about the hikers that were coming down late the night before. He said he woke up several times during the night to look up at the switchbacks and said he saw people coming down all hours of the night. I asked if he ever worries about the hikers coming down late and he says that it's expected that hikers will prepare well so that they're responsible for themselves and shouldn't expect someone to come to their rescue unless it's a dire emergency. We had a nice conversation, ate dinner and jumped into our sleeping bags.
Tuesday, 9/21/10 Woke late again after another good night's sleep (at least I slept well, I love sleeping outdoors). Packed up and headed down the mountain. Virginia had suggested I buy some boot sole inserts like she had, WOW, what a difference the inserts made. Normally, I'm in pain hiking downhill, but not this time. The inserts gave me so much padding under the balls of my feet. I had bought Sof Sole Athletic inserts....they're awesome. We met a girl on the trail who was in pain from her boots, so she switched to her Teva's. We learned from our marathons that we have to wear shoes that are at least a half size to a full size larger and much wider than we would normally wear because our feet swell as we work out. I think hikers who have sore feet or blisters might want to think about switching to larger boots for their hikes to allow for swelling; however, socks should be snug so feet don't slip in the socks causing blisters. We also saw what I call a Wild Turkey on the trail just above the Portal. This bird was so docile, it even walked with us. I would wager to say that someone must feed this bird see every day. We made it back to the Portal mid-afternoon and ordered burgers (veggie for me)and fries (and beer for me - my reward). Earlene was working in the store so we got to see her again. She told me she'd tell Doug we made it down safely, not like last time.
We had a wonderful trip and plan to do it again in 2011. Next year I will take our potty chair with us. I really missed not having it. When I found out the solar toilets had been taken out and that not even the potty chair and wooden screen would be available at Outpost Camp, I decided to buy my own potty chair and bungee cord it to the back of my pack. The receptionist at work painted flowers all over the seat and wrote the letters P.Y.O.P on the seat too (pack your own poop). At the last moment at the Portal before hitting the trail, we decided it was just extra weight and left it in the car (bad decision). Never again, it's going with me next time. By the way, like Tom Dietz, I too carried down from Trail Camp someone else's wagbag they had left hidden in the rocks. Maybe they were coming back for it, but I wasn't going to take a chance that they wouldn't be back to pick it up. Somewhere on the trail, someday, someone might find my permit, it detached from my backpack when the wind blew extremely hard before arriving at Trail Camp. That's All Folks!
