Day #18 Mount Whitney

High Sierra Trail Part 7/8 – from Guitar Lake to Trail Camp (8.6 Miles)

The air was still cold when I rose at 5.30am (a personal record so far) and got on to the trail at 6.50am. I noticed some headlamps way up on the steep track that wound itself up the mountain pass in many switchbacks.

I met a very nice group of hikers and we encouraged each other and joked around to make the ascent less painful. It was hard. Another guy couldn‘t believe the size of my backpack but I told him it‘s real and I can do it. However I was more than happy to put it down, when I reached Whitney Portal, the junction from where a narrow, rocky trail takes you up to the summit. I took the daypack and shot up the last 1.9 miles – it felt like I had a jetpack on.

Scrambling over jagged granite rocks and even crossing another ice field always makes me feel like I‘m really mountaineering ;-))

And there it was: the top of the highest mountain in (continental) Northern America – Mount Whitney. What a great feeling! Everyone was busy trying to catch reception with their phones and taking selfies from all angles. I had to sit down and take in the views – there was clear sky above us making it possible to see far – I spotted a forest fire right away but it seemed to be far from us.

I snacked on my remaining supplies, took photos and chatted other hikers up – so many sunburnt but happy faces and exciting stories to hear – there were groups with tshirts.

Then I made the dreaded way back down towards Outpost Camp, a place to spend the night before exiting the trail. Hundreds of switchbacks, just grey rocks and patches of ice. It felt like my knees and feet were going to burst again, so I crashed at the first camp, not dedicated to make more miles today.

I personally don‘t like these camps above treeline too much. The sun is brutal and reflects on every surface which makes it impossible to hang out at the lake without wearing three layers of clothes, sunglasses, a hat and a scarf. The air is thin which makes my nose run but at the same time I‘m not as thirsty as I should be after this exhaustion. It’s either too hot or too cold and never really comfortable. Altogether it makes me feel tired and slightly „off“.

I tried using the wag bag (you are not allowed to poop between the stones and bury it as usual in Mount Whitney zone to prevent it from becoming too littered) without success. I forced myself to eat and drink and fell on my sleeping pad, unable to move much more.