Another great trip to the Sierra's, to hike the JMT to Whitney. I went with my 3 sons, ages 12,14 and 16.
Picked up our permit and drove to the Portal to do an afternoon hike. My kids wanted to get a look at the lower portion of the mountaineers route so we hiked up to the Ledges. They want to do that route in the future. I've done it once and look forward to doing it with them someday. We hiked back down and spent Wednesday night at the Whitney Portal campground. Camped right next to some other friendly hikers we had run into at Kelly's Camp in Mt. Baldy months before. Small world.
Started our trip Thursday morning and hiked to Outpost camp and setup our tents. On the way, we took a long break at Lone Pine Lake and enjoyed the entire hike up. Friday morning we loaded up and started on our hike to Trail Camp. Since we weren't in a hurry we stopped and enjoyed Mirror Lake. Arrived at Trail Camp, setup our tents, ate lunch, I relaxed and my kids explored the pond, and the entire area. They also were in charge of getting water and helping with the cooking. That day we met a hiker who was on day 17, coming from Yosemite. He had picked up several pounds of trash along the way, including a boot. My kids are well trained in leave no trace, but he inspired them to go further. We ended up bringing down to the Portal a bunch of trash that we found, including a large bowl, pieces of trekking poles and plastic and paper.
On Saturday we woke up to one of the most beautiful sunrises I've ever seen. Awesome day to climb a mountain with your family! Took our time getting ready, and ate some oatmeal. Left after 8 am. Took a short break at Trail Crest to add a layer and eat some snacks. It was the first time climbing Whitney for my youngest son, and he really enjoyed the views on that side of the trail, particularly the lakes. Clear skies and great visibility, and perfect weather. Got to the summit before 11. Ate lunch, signed register, went into the shelter, took a bunch of pictures, talked with other hikers and watched the marmots walking around. Stayed at the top for almost 3 hours.
When we left to go back to Trail Camp, I took a detour to show my sons the last section of the mountaineers route. My middle son says lets do it next week. Fortunately I had a great reason to say no, it's called got to go to work. Someday, I said. The hike down to our tents was fun. "It's all downhill". Got to our tents, had an early dinner and played cards with my youngest son in our tent. My other 2 kids just relaxed in their tent and called it an early night.
Woke up to another brilliant sunrise. My camera only captured about 1% of its awesomeness! Broke down camp, ate breakfast, and loaded the trash and wag bags on my backpack. I had negotiated badly. Got down to the Portal a bit before 10 am. We were too early for burgers(11am), but we were not disappointed in having a 2nd breakfast. Pancakes that were bigger than the plate, eggs, bacon and hash browns. All gone!
Bottom line, 5 of the best days a dad can have with his kids. Very proud that my kids appreciate nature, respect it and respect the other people we cross paths with. Looking forward to our next trip.
