Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Our ten year old daughter made the summit!

and she had fun too! She was danicing and singing on the switchbacks on the way down after 9 miles and summiting that day.
She loved having some alone time with Mom and Dad and her favorite uncle, when asked if she would do it again she states "YES!"
She started crying in the car on the way home saying that she wished she were still on the mtn.
The only problem she had was going number two in a hole, twice this made her break down, but we got past it and she enjoyed almost every step.
She received kudos from almost every hiker up there,(thank you if you were one of them) I think she inspired a few, she sure inspired us and we are so proud!

i call BS.

Huh? Please elaborate?

The first time my father took me up I was about 10 years old. The last 2000 feet were very tough and slow. On the way down I felt pretty good about the whole thing...I could even have been doing a little singing. Well done.

Thanks Andrew, and how many times have you been since? How vivid is your memory of it? I am not sure she understands what an accomplishment it is, did you?

Maybe I need to elaborate a bit myself.
She trained hard for this, running three times a week, mulitple day hikes over 8 miles each.
We acclimated for two days/nights at Horseshoe Meadows and did a day hike from Onion Valley. I pushed fluids and food on her constantly during the three day two night stay on Whitney. All of these helped her and us to have an enjoyable trip, it does not have to be HE double L for every one, if you do it right, it can actually be fun.

My son and I did the day hike when he was 11. He was well prepared and he had a great time. We met other kids of similar age. It seemed to me that the fun they were having was directly correlated with how well-prepared they were.

My son was planning his return trip before we got back to the Portal (and the burgers). We were back this year (he is 13) and had an even better time.

There is absolutely nothing unbelievable about a well-prepared 10 year old enjoying Whitney. (In other words, there is no reason to call Paige's reporg bs.) It's fantastic that there are kids doing that rather than sitting around getting fat.

Sorry for the extra post...

I forgot to add that Paige is right in saying that Whitney should be fun for a kid. There is no reason for a trip up Whitney to be hell. There is no reason to ever drag a kid up there. Parents -- let him/her drag you!

Paige: Congratulations to your daughter. She should be proud of her accomplishment . . . that's no easy hike up that trail.

I, too, was ten years old when I first summitted Whitney. Back then (1970) there was no quota system. My Dad just told my older brother and I one summer day that we were going to climb the highest peak in the contiguous United States. My brother and I had no idea what that meant, but it sounded like fun. We had a great experience, and felt quite proud when we made it. Looking back, we were pretty unprepared, as we took minimal cold weather gear and food and did no formal training. I've climbed Whitney twice since, including a reunion hike 23 years later with my brother and Dad (when he was 65), and have hiked quite frequently in the Sierra these past few years. Summitting Whitney instilled in me a love of the Sierra and gave me a feeling of accomplishment. Sounds like it did the same for your daughter.

Congrats to your daughter. My son was 12-1/2 when we did Whitney in 2001. He has been backpacking with me since he was 5, so we had no particular problems with Whitney. We won't be back to Whitney until we've finished the rest of the state highpoints (trip reports under "highpointing" on my <a href="http://www.mtirtter.org">WWW site</a>), and with ten of the western states left to do, that'll take a little while. (However, after that, I'd like to do the Mountaineers' Route for a change of scenery.)

Now that he's almost 15, he's taller than I am and is now my pack horse instead of the other way around! Gotta get our trips in before he's out of high school and no longer willing to hike along with ol' Dad...

Paige: I actually haven't been back up to the top of Whitney since then. I day hiked Thor Peak from the portal recently with my brother and Father. Most of our time lately has been climbing local LA Mountains. We have also camped and hiked out of Horseshoe meadows this summer. I hear a lot about the area because my Father is up there a lot and hikes all around the Whitney area.

As far as appreciating it, I think it means more over time. Many of my friends can't believe I went that young. Next year we will be going up the Mountaineers route with my two younger brothers and younger sister...their first time. It was hard enough that I told my father I would just tag along on easier hikes....I have been reluctant to go back until just recently.

Paige: Years ago I had plans on taking my energetic 8 year old son and 10 year old daughter with me on a 3 day backpack up the Mountaineers route. Earlier in the summer I did the route with the Scouts on a one day hike, only to come home and say "I can't take my children up there." A few days latter I changed my mind. We went slow and they enjoyed playing in every river and lake and climbing around on the boulder rocks. It may have been a blessing there is not an endless trail over there. We went slow and tried to have fun....in the end it worked out OK. This same son summited his 4th time this year (at 15 years old) My daughter has not gone back yet and doesn't hike much...teenage girl kind of thing.

I think kids over all do well on the mountain. Their parents have to carry much of the stuff and worry about them etc. But it can be a nice place to hang out if you don't drive them to hard and you let them enjoy the area. What a great thing for kids to experience.

Paige, congatulations to you and your daughter. Kashcraft got it right, take it easy and don't push too hard and the kids will have fun. This past weekend my 5 year old made her first higher altitude hike, up to about 10,800 ft. on the side of Sonora Peak. She is pretty proud and so am I.

This is the time for kids to hike. In the Star-Progress yesterday, Ryan Descanio from St Angela's school in Brea age 11 is featured as a kid who made the trip in one day

When I was 11, 11 years ago I went to the summit in one day with my uncle. It was very hard. I tried in july and didnt make it to the top I got to the crest in 5 hours but it was getting too late and we had to head back down before it got dark we didnt have flashlights or we would have kept going. In August I went again we went at night I got to the portal at about 5 pm and left at 10 pm. There was a full moon which we had planned ahead of time so it would be cooler(temp) and a little different. This time we brought my other uncle who made it extremely difficult he never had been hiking and went very slow we didnt get to the summit until about 10 am the next day and on the way down I started to halleucinate. I didnt know where I was and wanted to get the hell off the mountain. I finally did at about 5 or 6pm. On the way home I still was seeing things. It took a good 2 hours to stop. I have not been back since. Although I want to go again but acclimate.

Doing a three day backpack to Whitney is just about right for pre teen age children. Most I have hiked with can not take the one day hike....too much commitment and too long.

Remember how growed up you felt when you first entered high school as a freshman?