Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Whitney training hikes

Any suggestions for some non-technical high-altitude hikes to get ready for Whitney that are somewhat near the SF Bay Area (such as in Tahoe, or out near Yosemite)? I've been training here in the SF Bay area, but was hoping to do some higher altitude mountain hikes the next couple of weekends. Thanks!

It's hardly a "training" hike, but if I were you, I'd go to Shasta. Rent whatever gear you need at the 5th Season, and spend a few days hiking steep terrain at altitude. Go as high and as hard as you want, and who knows? If conditions are good and you're feeling up to it, you might even make the summit! If not, you'll have gotten a helluva workout and a taste of life at 10,000 plus...

Ooh, I just thought of a couple others...

You're not too far from Sequoia Park. You might try Alta Peak. It tops out at just over 11,000 and is a good, tough warm-up for Whitney. Absolutely beautiful scenery, too. Take a map, compass, and binoculars - if you know where to look, you can spot Whitney from the summit of Alta.

Also, you mentioned Yosemite. While there are no altitude hikes (at least not in the Valley), a good training hike is the "Four-mile trail" from the valley floor up to Glacier Point. It's one of the lesser-traveled trails in the Valley, and it's relatively short but fairly strenuous, gaining about 3,000 feet in just over four miles. When I'm getting ready for a big hike, I usually figure I'm ready if I can do the "Four-mile trail" up and down twice in a row without any serious fatigue.

I still think Shasta is your best option, though...

Have fun!

Alta Peak in Sequoia is a fabulous hike, but you won't get near the summit yet because of the remaining snowfall. I was at Alta Peak last Thursday and you could get to about 9,800 feet before the snow pack made it impassable. I guess if you had crampons you could precede to the summit, but it would be very slow going. Usually Alta Peak is passable by June 20-25 in previous years.

What about the Half Dome?

It's not at altitude, but yes: I'd consider Half Dome an excellent "training" hike for Whitney.

If you opt for Half Dome, there are two ways to summit via the Valley Floor- the mist trail is shorter, making a 14.5 mile roundtrip, or the standard way, which is about 17 miles roundtrip. However, the mist trail at this time of year would be VERY wet, you'd be drenched with water.

Half Dome is a great tune up for Whitney, but the summit has less elevation than Whitney Portal, so bear that in mind.

I got back from Shasta a couple weeks ago; if you can do that you'll stroll up Whitney. You're right, though, it's more than a training hike, usually requiring snowshoes, crampons and ice axe, in addition to a full big pack if you spend the night. But climbing Mt. Baldy (4mi/4000') a week after getting back had never been so easy. Shasta never levels off -- it's uphill all the way.

Shasta is a good one. You could also go up to Tahoe and hike up some of the steeper ski runs at Squaw or Alpine Meadows (multiple times). I suggest carrying a heavier pack that you plan to use for your actual climb, then it feels easy compared with your training.

When you live at sea level, anything above 5,000 ft is 'at altitude' -- don't feel like you have to be above 10,000+ ft to train well for Whitney. Best thing you could do is go out to the east side 2-3 days before your permit day, do some day hikes out there (white mtns, etc), and sleep at altitude. Beyond that, Half Dome is a good idea. There's also Cloud's Rest and Mt. Dana. All of which are great day hikes. Tuolumne Meadows is also a great starting point for overnighters -- easy access to the high country with well-maintained trails that you can really cruise on, plus some high passes and peaks to bag. E.g. Mt. Conness, the area around Koip/Kuna Crest, Donohue Pass.... For Tahoe, Echo Lake is a good starting point into Desolation, or you could do the maniacal day hike up Mt. Tallac from the Lake. Sonora Pass is also a nice area to get up high. Worst case scenario, you've always got 3,000 vertical feet at Mt. Diablo! I'm training for the JMT, so this sea-level person will be right there with ya. Good luck.

I will stick with my own ideas of all trails radiating out from Devils Postpile. And I can't wait to go back to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest and maybe even attempt White Mt. (but not this month).

If you are in Southern Cali, you can try San Gorgonio. It tops out at 11,502' and most trails to access it's summit are long with significant elevation gain. Vivian Creek Trail is 7.8mi one-way with ~5700' elevation gain, Fish Creek trail is 10.1 mi one way with ~3800' elevation gain, and the South Fork or Momyer will give you 20+ mile dayhikes. I just summited last weekend via the Fish Creek Trail and there are still some significant snow fields above 10K, but worth it to get the views and exercise. Make sure you get a permit ahead of time. Call the Mill Creek Ranger Station at 909-794-1123. Have fun!

Reiksgib, we're hiking the Vivian Creek Trail on 6/21. Probably hit the trailhead around 6 a.m. I hear that bear activities are up. Did you have any bear spottings?

icantiwont,
I personally had no bear spottings on my route to the summit via the Fish Creek trailhead, but have heard that others have been encountering them recently. Follow the messagebeard listed below or pose the question there. I'm SURE you will get many response since it is a hot topic. Be aware that last week a bear was killed by a motorist on Rt 38 so many people on the messageboard are quite hot on making sure that visitors are hangin food properly or using a canister. Good luck on your hike. Are you headed for the summit?

http://members.boardhost.com/sgva/

Shasta is over-kill for the Whitney Trail. Take a weekend before you do it, and drive up to Tioga Pass (now open). Mt. Dana (13,053') is a great test trial for altitude and your climbing muscles. It's 3,000' gain, so you should feel good on this before trying the 6,400' on Whitney. You can camp high, say at TM (8,700') and gain some conditioning that might carry over to your Whitney climb.

Of course, you can use trails on Diablo (I have a 4 peak, 5,400' gain hike there), but it's probably too hot now.

There's plenty of 10,000 foot peaks around Tahoe. You're welcome to peruse through my Northern Sierra Peaks Guide on my website at http://webs.lanset.com/pyamagata to get directions to do them quickly. But they'd mostly be a longer drive from SF, than Tioga Pass. But then, you won't have to pay the $20 park fee, and luxury conveniences abound at the Lake. You can camp near Echo Lakes (7,500'), too, for some acclimation.

Hiya. At the risk of being redundant (I haven't read all the responses), you might try the Tahoe Rim Trail. I hiked part of it last October, and there are some moderate heights (~8000 ft) that are easy to get to. There's a web site for the TRT that does a decent job of detailing the trail heads, etc., and the TRT office folks are helpful, too.

The Rim Trail goes up past 10,000 feet on Relay Peak. Please feel free to check my 2002 trip account, with pix, at my THOUSAND PEAKS website at http://webs.lanset.com/pyamagata. Click Latest Peak Adventures and scroll down to Mt Lola, Relay Peak.

I see most of the snow is now gone from the south slopes around Mt. Rose (10,776'). That's another good conditioner, with 12 miles and 2,500' gain round trip. Nice trail. I'd leave to hike Rose, for my 8 or 9X, now, if it weren't so nice in CA right now.

Freel Peak (10,881'), last I saw, has snow on the TRT up high. People are hiking at Carson Pass, though. Still some snow, but doable.

If you wish a 4,000' gain climb, Pyramid Peak (9,983') is only some 42 miles past Placerville. Check my online Peaks Guide for details. My 81 year old (young) pal has already been to the top this season. He reports good solid snow to hike over. I found mostly the same on Ralston Peak (9,235') last weekend.

Reiksgib, yes we are headed for the summit of San Gorgonio on 6/21. My group is planning on meeting at the Ranger Station at 5:30 a.m. and hopefully hitting the trailhead between 6 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. The goal is to summit, but we'll see how everyone feels. This is the first time this group of people will be hiking together. 5 out of the 6 will also be hiking Mt. Whitney in August.

We're camping at Whitney Portal Campsite (#7) on Friday, 8/15, and will begin our hike up to Trail Camp Saturday 8/16. If anyone is camping there, stop by and say hi. If you've hiked Whitney before, stop by and tell some stories.

Thanks for the great posts, very helpful. I did a day hike of Half Dome last weekend, will give Mt. Dana a shot this weekend, and will plan to bring crampons and an ice axe just in case. Then Whitney June 20th weekend!

toro, Please post a report on the trail conditions you find on Mt. Dana. We're headed there in 2 more weeks. Thanks.

Bill