Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Why we hike Mt Whitney

And by "we", I mean all of you.

Every time I get on this site, I am taken back by the friendships many of you have formed, from just a couple of you taking the Main Trial once a year or so, to the much larger and planned group hikes. I just wanted to share what my best friend of 40 years e-mailed me today on why, after I did not summit with him one month ago, he would attempt to reach the summit of Mt Whitney with me on October 11th. I am lucky to have a friend like this and know that many of you on this site have as crazy, as nutty and as loving friends as this to push, to experience and to enjoy your time. Hopefully, I will get to do this again next Summer and to meet some of you from this site.


Mt. WHITNEY 10/11/2009

Everyone is telling me what a good friend I was for climbing ‘The Mountain’ a second time so that my friend, Joe could summit. Truth be known, and please blog or communicate however you do to your contacts, that without you, Joe, I would never have had the opportunity or chance to reach a dream and take on such an exciting and exhilarating challenge as Mt. Whitney!

Throughout my life, and most of that is the 40 years that I’ve known you, we have spurred each other to live life as an adventure and reach for the loftiest, if not the craziest of dreams! From my first hunting and fishing experiences, to prodding me to get my first kiss (from a real girl!), to us riding bikes 90 miles away from home alone (at the age of 14), to my first marathon (at 41 years old) and my first mountain bike race; none of this would I have experienced if it weren’t for my buddy, Joe. So, I am grateful that he gave me the opportunity to make that first climb with him… and “Hell, Yes!” I was ecstatic, fortunate and honored to join him for his second attempt and to be with him on his first summit of ‘The Mountain!’

On the switchbacks above Trail Camp, that turned him back once before, I was privy to witness the incredible fortitude and inner strength that this man pulled for the very center and depths of his soul. I have seen many Olympic and Ironman Triathlete’s push themselves to the extreme, but Joe went even beyond that! I never saw anyone reach so deep, to totally expend himself mentally, emotionally and physically, to will himself to the top, as I experienced with him that day! He would tell you that he would have been satisfied just to reach Trail Crest, because by his own admission, he was completely and absolutely spent. But as he describes it, something beyond himself lifted him up from nothingness and willed him on. He couldn’t explain it, but I say now that the Hand of God reached out and touched him on the shoulder to lift him up.

The next two miles to the summit might have felt like the longest two miles that we ever experienced in our lives (they were!), but it was the most awe-inspiring; to walk along the ‘crest of the world’ with the full expanse of the Western Sierras to the left and the Eastern Sierras through its windows to the right, one could not imagine a greater high! But, then we reached the hallowed grounds of the Summit; out loud, I recited the Lord’s Prayer and Joe looked like Moses finally reaching the Promised Land with tears streaming from his eyes; it was one of the greatest and most unforgettable moments of my life! One year ago, almost to the date, Joe had undergone surgery for a hip replacement; how incredibly awesome was his feat?!

So let’s see… where would I rather be on a cool Autumn Sunday? Where would you rather be?! Climbing the highest, most grueling and challenging Mountain in the contiguous United States with a best friend or sitting at home and clipping toe nails on the couch?! I shared another life time experience with Joe,.. And I tell you this; there is no better way to live and experience the very essence of life! And best of all, I’m one up on him now! Love you....DJ

Why we (my wife and I) hike:

To:

See old friends...
Make new friends...
Train...
Camp...
Hike...
Endure...
Tolerate...
Sweat...
Swear...
Complain...
Summit...
Marvel...
Enjoy...
Hike back down...
Gloat, "We were up there!!!"...
Eat pancakes at the WPS...
Eat burgers and fries at the WPS...

Most importantly:

Have fun.

Joe the story just keeps getting better and better. What a great friend that you have.Again congratulations on making not only the Mt. Whitney Summit but overcoming and conquering the summit of life.

Love your post!

Nobody ever drowned in sweat.

Joe here is a link to a cancerclimber association.
I happened to catch aprogram on TV today about this kid Sean who is a cancer survivor from two cases of terminal cancer and went on to climb Everest and all 7 summits with only one functional lung. Thought you might appreciate it.
http://cancerclimber.org/sean.php

Thanks DocRodneydog,
I'm going to check this out. I've had quite a few people contact me from this site who have either had cancer or work with cancer patients. You, ClimbSTRONG and Melville1955 are the three that come to mind right off the bat that have had to go through the "cancer thing". Of course I know of stories of other atheletes who have gotten past cancer.......I think some guy named Lance Armstrong. I can't tell you how much it touched me to see you go through the exact same thing as me when you touched the hut. I'm not sure why Mt Whitney became my goal after all the crap, but I think it's something like, hey, what's the biggest and hardest mountain I can hike to the top of, and Mt Whitney comes to mind, not knowing anything about it.
In reading + @ti2d's post.......I think the "gloating" thing is pretty cool as I remember walking around Alabama Hills the day after my September hike, where my stepson Kaleb made it and I didn't. I looked at Mt Whitney and told Kaleb, "hey, you were at the top of that mountain". And then I looked and tried to figure how I would tell people where I made it....."hey, see that area about four peaks over from the large peak? Well, I made it to that area below it!" That didn't sound to good, so I figured I needed to make it easy and summit, so I could "gloat" :-)

That was exactly my thought also.I knew that I needed to overcome a really difficult but doable obstacle. I made summiting Whitney my metaphor for overcoming cancer.I never allowed not succeeding to be an option.

Just outstanding Joe! It's been a week and I'm still marveling at your accomplishment. I couldn't get past 13,200 feet with two good hips and ten full fingers! That "mental" part of the climb that you told me you were so concerned about prior to deciding to make the 2nd attempt - well, it turned out to be your greatest strength, huh? Somehow, after our correspondence the past two months, I thought it might.

I'll be back next year for another shot. I'll now have to book you as my guide from switchback # 75 to the summit!

Hmmmmmmmmmm #75 to the summit. I better get back to workouts soon.
If # 75 to the summit doesn't work, I can guarantee you that I can guide you from the backpackers campground to Dougs for a burger.
Get me some dates! It's never too early.

Nice post. You are (both) lucky to have such a good friend for such a long time.

Joe,
Thanks for sharing another perspective of your ongoing adventure. Friendship is such an important aspect of survivorship and life in general!


Doc,
Wow, this kid has really taken survivorship to another level. 29,000 feet to be exact. Thanks for the link.