Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board HST Complete!

Now for that double bacon cheeseburger and beer.

Hopefully down before closing.

Congratulations!!!!
Your order has been placed already. It's on me if you come down before closing. Doug said he would stay open till midnight for you.

Congrats Richard
After your burger. Would love to hear the details.
Where did u end up starting from. Water etc.
best regards. Rick

I've got lots of comments to make...
More later...after I recover and sort gear...

Big Bummer...the grill had closed by the time the order was placed...but BIG thanks Shin.

Hey Doug, Nemo has a Lifetime Warranty, so I submitted a request for RMA. We'll see how they respond...

I'm also disappointed that they don't seem to sell single wall tents anymore...

The Start.



The End.


Random comments:

I actually started hiking up at the Giant Forest Museum. I didn't want to wait for the Shuttle, but the first Shuttle arrived at Crescent Meadow just as I was coming out of the trees.

Bugs!!! The one critical piece of gear I failed to pack was a head net. (If I hadn't encountered the calming effect of walking among the Giant Trees, I probably would have gone back to the truck within a few miles...putting on a mask resolved some of the problem.)

The only desperation I felt regarding water was my own fault...I left my vehicle without any water in my bladder, or Nalgene.

One piece of gear I was happy I purchased prior to the trip was a Cooling Skull Cap. It made those west-facing climbs much more tolerable (in what I considered to be HOT).

The scenery just kept coming...

No bear sightings...

Doe and fawns though...

A group who were heading to Cottonwood Lakes gave me the name Rocket Man...I have no idea why...speed never went beyond 2+ mph...I think it may be related to the sounds I was making...

I must have been sub-consciously bothered because I did put the hammer down (at least in my mind) to get away from them calling me that on day 2...

Which brings me to: Why do people think crossing the Gap is Some Big Deal...I didn't think it was any harder than Kearsarge Pass...Acclimatize...

I was thinking the Big Arroyo was going to be hell...it wasn't...it was a rather pleasant walk. (Water was never more than a few minutes away...)

The only crowds I saw were at Moraine Lake...but it wasn't difficult to set up in an alternate location.

The walk up the Kern Canyon could have ended a few miles earlier...Damn, it was hot.

Met Jess (Solo Woman) at Wallace Creek...we BS'ed about hiking and climbing until she started to freeze (only place I thought it was cold - I was already in a puffy). She likes J-Tree...I told her about Tina...

I met 3 guys that I thought were fast-packers from Onion Valley near Crabtree...turns out they were finishing up the JMT...I couldn't believe it and asked how...their response: very little food and cold nights...I told them I was going up-and-out...they changed plans too.

I ran into (NPS) Chris on the climb up Whitney...(making dangerous assumption in this era...) man, there's some lucky guy out there...

Only 3 Indians on the summit (Asia, not natives)

Made it down in about 4:10, but not quite fast enough to get a burger...Real Food is Motivation...

I could tell you about the "Stomach" problems that I had on morning 4, but it would be gross...finally did resolve just before I hit the Whitney Zone at Crabtree...

My feet hurt...

I'm going back again on a slower schedule...this was s shake-out for the JMT...GoLite Pack (which I used to love) sucked...shorty foam pad wasn't plush enough...Nemo Elite Racing Tent is coming apart...wife is going to kill me...ordered Gregory Baltoro 65 (Thru Amazon, so I can return it if I don't like it...) it's heavy in this day-and-age, but I want the support that a UL can't give...Ordered a Mountain Hardware Nimbus UL 2 (still have my Pro Deal Connections for this...) since I don't think I'll get my Nemo repaired soon enough...ordered some UL inflatable sleeping pad...Finished ordering food...Need a bucket to ship to MTR...

Oh, and 15 miles is easy...20 is exponentially harder...I'm pretty sure I'll need to limit the JMT days to no more than 17.

Day 1 camping spot: Bearpaw Meadow
Day 2 camping spot: Moraine Lake
Day 3 camping spot: Wallace Creek
Day 4 up-and-out.

Photo Album: https://piotrowski.smugmug.com/Whats-New-1/High-Sierra-Trail-August-25-28-2022/


(Should I admit I took a header on the Shortcut from Trail Crest?)

Richard,

Thanks for the TR and photos of the HST (From the Biggest Trees to the Tallest Mountain).

I agree with your assessment that the challenge of crossing the Kaweah Gap is actually just moderate. As I see it, the following two are essentially equivalent: Four miles from the Upper Hamilton Lake (el 8,235') to the Kaweah Gap (el 10,700') and four miles from the TH at the Whitney Portal Store (el 8,360") to Mirror Lake (el 10,670").

It appears from the photos that your GoLite pack might be The Gust. In both my GoLite Gust (19 oz) and Jam2 (21 oz) I have inserted a foam pad (from my neighbor's trash) to beef up the scant padding which typically separates my back from a bear canister. This has made a difference.

Indeed, "there's some lucky guy out there." In early July 2020, I was tramping about in the area and noticed some commotion near the popular camping site on the north shore of Guitar Lake. After assessing a medical problem in a hiker, Christine summoned a helo. There was no medic on the helo when it arrived. After the hiker was packaged, Christine jumped on board and became the medic on the flight back over the crest to the Owens Valley. The helo soon transported her back to her "real job" at Crabtree. (She told me the hiker had a potentially serious GI problem.)

Your final day from Wallace Creek to Mt Whitney and then down to the Portal was a long haul. To descend from the Mountain in 4:10 exits great conditioning AND a strong motivation for a double bacon cheeseburger. I completely understand!

Jim

PS: Please do not hesitate to share any more thoughts about your recent hike on this epic trail.

Congratz Richard! Thanks for the report & photos...

Thanks Jim and David.

Jim, I was stuffing things between the can and my back. I like your idea more.

Up on Whitney again checking recovery…fell good.

Definitely getting that Double Bacon Cheeseburger today.

OMG! I rode around to retrieve my truck this morning...I knew it was probably a mistake (Big Weekend), but it was CROWDED...Took about 15-20 minutes to get past the Entrance Station and then at least an hour to get up to the Museum.

Inflation: Lost my Senior Pass...replacing it this morning cost $80 vs. the original $60 I paid a few years ago...

At least all the people resulted in several offers of help to get my (motorcycle loaded and my) @$$ out of my prime parking space...

The queue was at least a mile out past the Entrance Station on the way out...

It was really hot, even up in the Forest...

Not sure if this video on the HST history has been posted before, but it offers some pretty cool history & photos on this amazing NP accomplishment.
Enjoy,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jgiU6Kq1nI