Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Post of general excitedness and prep plans

Very pumped for our late July summit attempt and so glad to have found this forum to share excitement and get great tips so far.

Did I mention y'all have already saved us thousands of dollars? We thought we would have to go with an expensive guided trip since we didn't win the lottery, but your tips here led us to finding out about the good chance for walk-ins. THANK YOU!

This will be our second 14er as a family (two young teens and two 50-year-olds). The first serious overnighter for the other 3; I've done quite a few years before and we've all done some minor ones. We've done some long days(14+ miles) and we've done some multi-day trips (Paria Canyon and an 8-day bike trip DC to Pittsburgh.)


Putting together our lists and taking a jog around the block each morning (though I had to take almost a week off as my knee was swollen and hurting. Doc said slight osteoarthritis and gave me an Rx NSAID, it feels almost 100% now, but I think I will hike instead of jogging.) The block is 2.2 miles and includes about 300' of elevation in a steep section. It's not huge, but it's enough so I get a chance to get the heart moving.

We're going to do a laden hike this weekend in the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, then more longer hikes when the kids are finally done with school next week.

We've bought our backpacking 4-tent - the hogback - to supplement our car-camping tent. I need to dig out my backpacker stoves to make sure they still work.

I actually don't have much time left. Whitney is near the end of our month-long car-camping trip (this is our 5th one of those,) so I need to be ready in 2 weeks, really. Then we will drive and hike our way from NY to CA via OK, NM and AZ, land in Cali at Joshua Tree, up the Pacific Coast Highway, to Big Sur, Yosemite (half dome warm-up?) then down to Horseshoe Meadows then Whitney. Last stop is Death Valley then home by way of UT, WY, WI, and a cousin's wedding in Washington DC.

So - planning in full swing!

I am still taking ideas about gear.
I had decided on a BearVault, but now I am seeing that maybe the ursack is approved? true? Would love to have the lighter weight and space-fexible design. Sounds like people are using liners for it?

Planning to make some freezer-bag dinners. We had contemplated not cooking, just taking cold food. But I'm thinking a cold evening might really enjoyed the heated stuffs. Thoughts?

Decided to go ahead and buy rain pants. We've never used them before, but it seems that almost everyone considers them really useful.

I'm buying backpacks - the ones we've used so far are very old and would probably lack comfort on a very long heavy hike. They worked okay in Paria where they were heavy with gallons of water, but we needed practically nothing for overnight warmth gear, including no stove, since it was over 100°. This made the packs very light on the way back.

Shoes - I'm going to use my well broken in trail shoes. I know the footbeds compress over time, but I think they will remain comfy for yet another year. This kids' feet have grown and they totally resist wearing hikers to school so they haven't broken in as much.

Well, that's my start. I'm pumped.

Hello. Just one comment re your tent. Depending where you camp on Whitney, you may be able to stake some but not all corners, and may need to use tieouts to rocks. With a non-freestanding tent, you can still get a taught pitch, but some practice with that type of pitch may be advisable before you get to Whitney.

Thank you! We shall make a practice run using rocks instead of stakes. Are you thinking rocks that one would carry/shove into place or much larger ones? My first picture from your comment was soccer-ball or smaller sized rocks we'd grab and carry to our corners. or were you meaning something different?

brholler I just sent you a PM.

I dont' have much experience cooking on trips, but over the last month I used these bags on two separate occasions, for ramen noodles and hot cereal:

http://www.packitgourmet.com/CookIn-Bags.html

Not the easiest to eat out of, but they get the job done.


I just bought my first non free-standing tent. It's going to take some practice setting it up in places like Whitney. It has 6 stakes. We were only able to drive 3 into the ground.

I've never used one, but I don't really understand how the Ursack is a helpful solution. It may prevent the bear from actually eating your food, but it won't prevent it from crushing and destroying your food. Your trip will be over.

Bears are only a problem at the trail head. It's the marmots you are keeping out on the trail.

I'm leaving tomorrow for Whitney. I am going cold food also and will let you know how it goes either in my trip report or as a reply to this thread.

The bear canister rule...and I will paraphrase, any container manufactured to keep food safe from bears. An Ursack meet that criteria. If you search the Inyo website you will find the exact wording or a link to another government website that will send to you to another government website that will send you back to the Inyo. This why Mt. Whitney can be so frustrating.

I've always attempted a warm meal. The thoughts of not having something hot is anathema to me.

I have used rain pants at Mt. Whitney for wind protection twice in seven summit trips.

Make sure you use the Ursack White model; the other models are not bear resistant. Tie the closure per Ursack instructions and then tie the bag to something heavy...like a large tree or boulder.

Use the aluminum liner if you carry things like apples or eggs, because Mr/Mrs Ursa might jump up and down on the Ursack...LOL.

I use the Ursack White all the time now.

Re pitching a tent with rocks: you just look for decent sized rocks that you can tie out your tent to. Bigger than a softball, smaller than a bowling ball, should do it.

Your tent should have loops around its base. Attach lengths of ropes to these loops. Then wrap the other end of each rope around rock or a bush, etc. For a really good tie out, you can wrap some of the loose end of the rope around a tent stake, and then wrap the whole thing around a rock, using the tent stake to wedge the whole thing solidly.

If it really windy, you can also place rocks in the corners inside your tent (maybe weighing 6-10 lbs each) to prevent it from blowing away.

If you camp at Trail Camp, you may want to do all this. Usually, you can get some stakes in the ground but need to supplement with the rock method. Plus it can be windy there. If you camp at Outpost Camp, you'll probably be able to stake out the tent in a traditional way, and wind will be less of an issue.

Re bear canisters. I have an Ursack (white), a Bearikade, and a Bear Vault, and use them all, choosing among them depending on where I am traveling and for how long -- so I am an Ursack fan (and an even bigger Bearikade fan). And yet, if you are new to Ursacks and traveling in a bear intensive area like Whitney, it is not the device that I personally would recommend (assuming they are indeed legal). I don't want to wade into this debate again (it reappears ad nauseum on this and other boards) so I am just going to say that Ursacks are prone to user error which leads to a lot of problems.

I'm done debating wag bags and bear canisters (the same issues just keep recycling), but if you have any other questions I am happy to weigh in.

Thanks, I appreciate the point of view, despite the historical tension! You provide some food for thought.