Just a quick trail report from Friday July 2, I’ll post more comments about my hike in later posts.
On July 1, the day we arrived at Lone Pine we saw a few clouds along the ridges, North and South of Whitney. At 4:30pm more clouds. At 6pm the peaks were enshrouded by clouds. At 11:30 pm we stepped outside and saw only a sparkling full moon, stars and no clouds.
At the portal it was cool but not cold. At Trail camp at 5am just before sunrise, it was icy cold. Gloves were barely able to keep our fingers protected. My fingers were numb and I had to pack my poles for a while as I kept my hands warm in my pockets. All the runoff was frozen over, and the switchbacks were a bit tricky in this early morning freeze.
The switchbacks had a couple of minor patches of snow, but it was merely annoying. As the sun came up our bodies warmed a little but was offset by the constant chill wind. At trail crest we huddled below the crest but in the sun to warm up and eat. The wind followed us along the crest. On the back side of Whitney there were more snow fields, again they were more annoying than a problem. They were frozen and the trail was single track making it a little challenging for balance. At the top at 11 am the wind was solid and cool, there were some puffy clouds around but the sun was in full view. On the way back the little snow was slushy, and no ice on the trail. I almost took my wind jacket off along the crest. Took it off just below trail camp. It was very pleasant the rest of the way down, very warm at the Portal.
Talking with campers from Trail camp and Guitar lake they experienced quite a snow and ice storm on Thursday. There were signs of some fresh snow left on the plants and wildflowers, but not on the ground. No one mentioned lightning or thunder.
Today July 3, there appeared to be few clouds, and looked like it was another beautiful day on the hill. It was very warm in Lone Pine, has been for some days now.
Summary. We were chilled in the early morning, the wind was a constant irritant in the early day, the snow was minimal and easily passed through without any equipment. However, the variability of the weather required flexibility in clothing. This was the challenge for a day hike.
