Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Hiking the mountain in 1 day

We have a trip planned in August to climb Mt. Whitney in 1 day. I guess maybe I should say attempt to climb it in 1 day. My aunt has always wanted to do it, and we were able to get a permit which is very exciting! Sooooooo, we have read a few stories of those who have been successful in one day, and would like to hear more stories (successful or not). We would love to hear about what you did before to prepare, water, food, time, etc. Thank you for any tips that you have on this adventure.

Did you check out the thread To Newbie Day Hikers, From The Whitney Veterans? It has a lot of discussion on what to keep in mind for your first hike on the main trail.

Just remember that the half-way point is the summit. On my first three day hikes to the summit, there were people who always wanted to hike Whitney who pushed themselves and had trouble coming back to the Portal (see previous trips). Remember, "The mountain will still be there next year."

You'll be fine. Bring headlamp, extra batteries and a good attitude. And don't be afraid to turn back if you don't feel right about it, the mountain only moves a little bit upward each year. I go day hiking up on July 16th this year, maybe I'll leave around 10 p.m. on the 15th, cya up there regardless.

Plenty of others can offer their ideas but after 5 summits, here are my suggestions. Bring layers and expect any type of weather. All my trips have been during the end of July. I have been snowed on while coming down the switchbacks, had beautiful weather all the way up and down, and been stuck in that serious storm two years ago where it rained, hailed,had thunderand lightening way back from the summit down to the Portal. Remember, enjoy the hike, know when to say "it is time to go back down to try another year. Remind each other to eat and drink regularly, and pace yourself. Have a great hike, and be safe! Bob

Kati, What day is your attempt? Where do you train?

LEAVE EARLY! This was the biggest advantage my group and i had. For starters, its hard to sleep the night before so why not leave early. Its cool to be one of the first day hike groups out of the portal, hiking at night makes it seem like more of an adventure, and its nice seeing all the headlamps behind you from the late(er) starters. On a dayhike permit, you have 24 hrs. to achieve your goal, utilize that time. We all had this in mind, if we need to rest for an hour, we can. If we need to soak our feet we can, take a nap, we can(we did on the summit). Our neighbor at the portal campground dayhiked the same day as us. He kinda laughed when we told him our start time. We kinda laughed when we crossed paths with him at the top of the swithbacks at 2pm. We were on our way down after a hour nap and lunch at the top, he was on his way up to touch the top and turn around. Go to bed Early and start EARLY, remember, you have 24 hrs, use it if you need it. These 2 things will really help for a succesful summit. Good Luck.

Carry everything you need, but not one thing more. A heavy pack has stalled many a day hiker. I had a friend recently that packed WAY,WAY too much. His pack was twice as heavy as mine and he was very tired by the time we reached Trail Camp…

With a medium to light pack, and early start and a moderate to slow pace, you should be able to arrive at Trail Camp feeling almost normal, not sweating and not winded. You will be a little tired and you will start to feel the altitude (12,000 feet), but by sitting down for a few minutes you should recover to near 100%. If at Trail Camp you are still feeling bad after resting(eating and drinking a little) for 15 minutes or so... well, you had better start to think long and hard about continuing or not because it starts to become a real hike after this…

2DTRAIL-

Out of curiosity, what time (i.e. how early) did you decide to start your hike from the trailhead?

When I was with the group last summer that interviewed over 1,000 people who had made attempts, the consistant refrain we heard from the one-day folks was they wished they'd started earlier, they wish they'd carried less weight, and they wished they'd drank more water.

If you haven't climbed the mountain before and dealt with the altitude involved, it is hard to know how one's body will react.

You should figure that you will not complete the hike in the hours available for daylight. So...you have the choice, upfront, of hiking at the beginning in the dark....but unless you AND EVERYONE IN YOUR PARTY are very strong hikers at altitude, unless you started early, you will NOT have a choice about descending in the dark.

I enjoy hiking in the dark, but I'll tell you that it is much easier to do when you are fresh, than when you are exhausted....particularly on an unfamiliar trail, and if you are not used to hiking in the dark.

I think that the folks that start at 2am have a real advantage. Stop and sit down and rest every hour....the trauma on the feet is cumulative, and try to drink 1/2-1 quart an hour. If you don't pee in three hours, you are dehydrated, and seriously threatening your success later, and increasing the risks of feeling awful as you go along.

Starting that early, you should be off the mountaintop by noon, avoiding weather issues, in all liklihood.

Ken,

When I was a newbie hiking Whitney for the first time, I left too late, carried too much of this and that including food but not enough water thus dehydrated up high.

I had not climbed over 10,834' not hiked longer than 14 miles or up more than +3,900. I was clueless to how my body would react above this elevation.

I figured I would be back by 6 PM but was back just after 9 PM. We did not plan on hiking in the dark with our 4 D cell flashlights. I kicked a lot of rocks that night as much from being tired as not seeing them. Stated emphatically I was never going to do Mt. Whitney again the second I arrived back at the Portal...too late to have one of Doug's Cheeseburgers I might add.

Our second trip two years later...

We left earlier, had lighter and the right gear, trained a lot harder including a trip to Horseshoe Meadows a couple weeks before going to Mt. Whitney (I'd most likely use White Mtn. today), stayed hydrated drinking close to 7 L of water and electrolytes on a very cool and windy August day, had headlamps and trekking poles and realized I'd be hiking in the dark both AM and PM and returned to Whitney Portal more refreshed than I was on my previous trip.

I would add make should you eat as you go. The only AMS symptom many will have over 12,000' is loss of appetite...even when taking Diamox. I would also stop at Trailside Meadow during the descent to soak your feet. This will reduce the size of your feet by a couple of widths and make the last half of the descent more enjoyable. Also dunk your head while you are at it. Plan on being back in time for the last food call at the WPS

Kati: I second what Adam R said above. When are you going, and where (and how much, I might add) is your training?

If you're a runner and have completed a marathon, plan on the trip up being about the same as your marathon time, then the trip down being only a little less time. Reasonably, double your marathon time and you've got a safe estimate. If you're not a runner, you'll get better estimates from others besides me. I would really recommend marathon type prep, if you don't mind doing it. It makes the whole thing a challenge that is fun, instead of turning into a death march at the end. I have only done Whitney a couple of times, but finished feeling fresh and having had a wonderful adventure. Seems like a good way to do it.

z

Me, personally, I live in Washington State and climbed to the summit of Mount Rainier a few weeks ago, unguided. I did not have any noticeable symptoms of altitude sickness, which was very comforting. There is no way that the Main Trail at Mount Whitney is a tougher hike/climb than Mount Rainier, with the exception that it is a longer route. I regularly hike in the North Cascades (Washington), but with that said I do not know if the California/Whitney climate will make altitude sickness more of a possibility, less of a possibility, or about the same.

However, my hiking partner in California, who will accompany me later this week for a day-hike on Mount Whitney, is generally concerned with the possibility of altitude sickness. But we figure that if we leave early enough (which is why we are curious when other hikers recommend what time to start during the morning hours), hydrate & eat often, and take regular breaks/rests, that we will probably be OK. And if not, the mountain will always be there.

2:30am. Best decision of the trip. Enjoy it!

wbtravis5152, thanks for sharing your first-time Whitney experience. I'm just curious about your 10,834 ft. comment. Since you state the elevation to the foot, it sounds like a peak elevation. Does it have a name?

Like I say, I am just curious. This past week I completed a long-term project, as a hobby of mine, of inputting all named peaks in the United States--about 70,000 of them. The database calculates distances, directions and other parameters from peak to peak, or any other location. Since I do not have that exact elevation, I'm wondering if I need to add another peak to my database. Again, thanks for sharing.

I realize peaks have different measurements over time. One of the latest for Mt. Whitney is 14,505 feet! It has been confirmed by scientific measurements to be over 14,500, and it is on the way up, albeit slowly.

10834' is the official elevation of Mt. San Jacinto, at least acording to a favorite Internet source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Jacinto_Peak

As others have said, it can be hard to sleep just before your summit day. Plan to leave whenever you wake up - for me it's always about 30 minutes before my alarm goes off anyway.
The first time is hard, I think the last section after you hit Trail Crest is the toughest. Plan on close to a two hours from there to the summit, I know it's less than two miles but that's what it takes.
Take food you really like, don't experiment up there. You're burning plenty of calories so don't worry about that part.
Most of all, take the time to look around, the scenery is great.

AdamR,
We will be at Whitney during the first week of August, and I do as much training as I can doing long hikes, cycling, and running. Can't do a whole lot for elevation around here, although Lassen and Shasta are great!!
Kati

To all of you,
Thank you for all of the ideas on hiking Whitney in one day! You've all been a great help!! We will start early, take our time, pack well, drink/eat lots, and enjoy the scenery!

Thanks again.

Kati-

If possible do a couple of practice runs up the trail before you go in for the BIG hike. You'll get familiar with the trail which goes from rockless sandy to rock blocks to negotiate over and loose talus and scree. No doubt you'll be doing some of the trail in the complete dark too.

In my experience doing one day hikes, there's always a place-or more than a few- on the trail where you completely bonk out. You need to find out where that is, analyze why it happened and prepare to work through it the next time.


Personally I bonk out about 1 half mile from the summit when my hiking partner, Big Q (quitter!) starts whispering in my ear that fast food and an icy diet Coke down in Lone Pine would taste a whole lot better than the warm smashed sandwich in my backpack. Yes he'll be hiking with YOU too. Be prepared to deal with HIM too.

Hi Kati!

My suggestions for a day hike...

Leave early (4am), take 2-way radios (and practice with them before the trip), have a backup plan (e.g., if someone gets sick or can't continue, who's staying with them?), take rope and hiking poles, have plenty of hard candy in your pocket(jolly ranchers are great)and use them... (suck, don't chew) they're great for taking the edge off altitude sickness. When you get to the switchbacks, go slow, take your time, make sure you are (and have been) hydrating and fueling your body (e.g., sucking on those jolly ranchers, nibbling on cliff bars, trail mix or whatever, and possibly popping some advil). Switchbacks are killer but once you reach Trail Crest, WOW! You'll get your second wind! Don't forget to keep fueling & hydrating all the way, even if you don't feel like it. Remember, once you reach the summit, you still have to come back down. E.g., you're only half way. My friend got Gumby legs last year and I wasn't sure we would make it off the mountain after summitting. We did, but it was hairy. It took alot longer than we ever expected (7.5hrs up, 8 hrs down). Never underestimate the mountain. If your instinct says not to go any further, listen to it. But, it's fantastic on top and when you make it there and back, you'll have one of the best feelings in your life! Good luck, and have fun!! One other thing - are you taking a water filter? Much better to have that than hauling all the water you need for a day. You can filter all the way to Trail Camp and then fill up there (at Trail Camp)for the final summit. Also, if you're living at sea level (and even if your not), I would recommend at least one hike at altitude (12000ft) a few weeks prior to your climb, and definately training (hiking/walking/running) for the climb. I've met people on the trail who make it seem like a breeze (and it could be actually, if weather is good and the stars are aligned just right), and then I've met people who have really struggled (two years ago a hiker died within an hour of the time I turned around at the cables - snow/wind conditions were tough). It's anybody's guess which is what makes Whitney such a crap shoot. I have a 3-day permit in August and think it won't be a problem, yet I know better. Have a great time, and relax.... Enjoy....