Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Water/Weight dilemma to Summit

Hello. I have a dilemma. Next Sunday and Monday my friends and I are hiking the main trial up Mt. Whitney. We are camping at Trail Camp will summit the next morning. I will be using a day pack on the summit trip. My problem is I drink lots of water when I hike, almost 1 liter per hour of hiking, at least on the trip up. I plan to carry five liters of water from Trail Camp, but I might need six. This water weight, plus extra clothes for the cold, food, head light and so on will make my pack very heavy. I know there is a water source on the switchbacks, but beyond that I don't want to run out. Any advice on how to bring enough water without carrying too much weight?

Thanks,
Keith

The water source you mention is the only one above Trail Camp.

For the amount of water and overall weight you'll be carrying I'd suggest using your large overnight pack and leaving the daypack at home on this trip. The larger pack is designed to carry heavier loads more comfortably than a daypack won't handle as well. Leaving that daypack behind will save you a pound or two of weight getting to Trail Camp.

Water weighs approx 2.2 pounds per liter. With the 6 liters you plan to carry you're looking at 13+ pounds plus your other gear. The good news is if you are drinking a liter per hour or so you will have rid yourself of some of that weight by the time you are high up on the switchbacks.

One trick I use to save some weight is I tank up on water a lot before I leave for a summit climb. If I drink 1 to 1.5 liters of water before leaving (maybe a hot drink and one full bottle while I'm getting ready) that's a couple pounds I don't need to carry in my pack. I also count on rehydrating a lot after getting back to camp.

Have a great climb!

I don't needs as much liquid as you to get from the last water source to summit and back, but I do go on day hikes where I feel I should have six liters. For those, I like to have a decent sized fanny pack designed to hold a couple of accessible bottles, plus a daypack that I can wear at the same time. I currently have a fanny pack I got six or seven years ago by Ultimate that came with 2 20 oz bottles and spots on the sides to hold those, but when I really need a lot of water, I use two taller liter bottles in those spots instead. Then I put another liter or two inside the fanny pack, and then carry only a couple in the daypack, one in my outside bottle holder and another inside. The weight of the 4 liters being carried only by my hips is not so bad, and I can access the two bottles in the designed fanny pack slots very, very easily while I am hiking so that I am sure to stay hydrated. Extra clothes mostly go in the daypack, with food and other minor items distributed between both daypack and fanny pack to the extent there is room in the fanny pack. And, of course, when I drink adequately early in the hike, I start to decrease the amount of weight I carry. I have always been very comfortable carrying large amounts of liquid that way. Your results may vary.

I also believe in Kurt's trick of being well hydrated before starting out. It tends to mean you need to pee a little more, but it not only means a little less water is necessary, but (assuming you don't overhydrate to start), it means that your body is in better condition for the hike. Remember, if you are thirsty, you are already underhydrated.

One other option that could help a little is to drop some water at trail crest. A lot of people hiking in from the west will leave gear to be picked up on the way down to the portal. (If they're making the loop.) You'll still have to carry it up the switchbacks, but the last tough stretch from TC to the top will be a bit lighter.

Thanks for all of your advice. I will drink lots of water while getting ready for the summit trek. I will have two liters filtered for that purpose - yes I use a filter. I thought about leaving the day pack at home and summiting with my backpack. But it weighs 4 pounds more than my day pack. So I either carry one less pound up to Trail Camp or four less pounds to the summit and back. And yes, my backback could handle the extra weight better than my day pack. I'll have to think about it - see how I feel on Saturday night before. Now I'm getting mentally ready and thinking good thoughts so the weather will be nice and the fires will be out.

Drinking LOTS of water during the 2-3 days prior to the hike might help. It seems to work for me with cycling and running. Good luck and have fun!!

It is what it is! You drink a lot of water you need to bring a lot of water. This means, as Kurt said, use you backpack to carry the weight.

The water on this switchbacks is reached in the first fifteen minutes; therefore, this source is only good on the return. The only way to lower your water consumption is to start early, say 2 AM, when it is cold. The other advantage of this is you will get a summit sunrise.

One other tip I can suggest is to start earlier, when it is colder, and to dress less warmly so that you sweat less. Also, you can slow your pace down to reduce the amount that you sweat. If you are sweating less you should not need to drink as much unless you have an overactive kidney.

Might want to include some electrolytes in one or two of your liters. If you're using a hydration bladder stuffed in the pack, it's more convenient to sip, but also easier to lose track of how much is left. Though I don't rely exclusively on the collapsible nalgene "bottle", I might include one (or more in your case) to regain some space in a small daypack as water is consumed. I've found 2.5 to 3 liters to be plenty for each of 3 relatively slow-moving TC-to-summit round trips (and for longer days and mileage elsewhere,)but to each his own. I'd sweat more moving faster, but I prefer to maintain a moderate effort level with mostly regular breathing (i.e., through the nose, below the anaerobic threshold)and relaxing every 90 minutes (or sooner.) Spending the night at Trail Camp gives you more time for the summit leg. Definitely aim for early starts; when it's sunny the uphills can feel pretty warm. On the way up to Trail Camp, the luggage always seems heaviest between Mirror Lake and Consultation. There are several water sources, so keep the filter handy (since you indicated you prefer to use one) and carry less water weight on the approach to camp. -

Thanks again for all the good advice. My plan is to get an early start, but I'm hiking with six other people, and when we attempted this hike last year (sleeping at Outpost Camp), it took everybody two hours to get ready in the morning. I was ready to leave earlier but had to wait. Maybe this year I can get a few of my friends to start early with me. I'd like to see the sunrise as I'm hike up.

Well, dispite having to drink lots of water, I summited Whitney yesterday. I took about 6 liters of water from Trail Camp. I ran out of water about 20 minutes before returning to the camp. I think the heavy pack with the water took its toll on me (my knees, leg muscles ...), but since I summited I don't care. It was a great two days on the mountain.

While camping at Trail Camp on Sunday July 15th, there was a hiker that was suffering from just about everything. He tried to summit in one day, and for some reason he didn't bring anything, meaning no food, water or equipment. Some hikers camping next to us helped him down the switchbacks, which took 3 hours. At Trail Camp he rested on a rock for a while. Everybody was concerned about him and around 8:30 he headed down with a flashlight, food, water and an emergency blanket given to him. We talked to someone who saw him that night around 11PM at Outpost Camp and he slept there. I hope he made it out OK.

Also on Sunday night, I woke up at 11PM and smelled somke. I walked out of my tent and a fellow camper was watching some men standing around a fire that they started where the solar toilets were. The rangers had been there during the day doing work and left their tools. These men were burning something and using axes to chop up wood or something. Does anybody know anything about this?

"I ran out of water about 20 minutes before returning to the camp"

Congratulations, but, er, uh....that's NOT running out of water

What I'd like to know is....regarding the six ! liters is....

How many times did you urinate from TrailCamp to summit and back? I'd suggest that if it was more than say, twice, that you were overdrinking for the sake of keeping a moist mouth, rather than true needy hydration. Chewing gum or hard candies would be a lot lighter.

I always figured I was at proper hydration if peeing about once every 1.5 hours and if I went longer than 3 hours it was a sign of dehydration. I know us big heavy guys drink alot more water than average.

Yes, I think I was drinking just because my mouth was dry. I was also sucking on lemon drops both to keep my mouth moist and because I read they help with the altiude. I was taking a pee break every hour, and it was very clear, so I know I was never dehydrated. I'll work on drinking less water so I can get that pack weight down.

Folks, for those who have not been up there a lot during the busy season, this sort of thing is a DAILY occurrance! I mean, EVERY nite. I've always kind of enjoyed watching the string of lights coming off of trail crest, with some stopping for the nite, right on the trail. Each one is a story.

Congrats on the summit!

Bizarre fire story. Whitney Burning Man??

Not to get off-topic in my own thread, but on Monday (July 16th) as we were hiking up the switchbacks, a twin engine airplane flew over the peak and then made a hard bank turn into the valley and flew right over the trail and camps. At the bottom near the Portal, the plane released some smoke. Does anybody know anything about this? Was the pilot just hot-doggin' it or was he in trouble? Is it even legal to fly down the valley like that? I will admit, it look very cool and everybody was watching the event.

Maybe they were spraying for the few remaining mosquitoes?