Hi all,
I wanted to do something special on my 50th birthday, July 16th and decided about nine months ago to day hike Mt. Whitney. I left at 2:45 AM and finished at 3:15 PM. It was the hardest day hike I've done to date including three rim to rim hikes at the Grand Canyon.
Here is a link to my photos:
Mt. Whitney day hike photos Some observations:
1. Thanks to everyone who contributes to this page especially the orientation page for first timers. The information provided helped me tremendously.
2. I read on some message board, perhaps this one that Ginko Biloba helps with altitude sickness. I take a tablet a day for about two weeks prior to the hike. I've used it a couple times before on high altitude hikes and I can say that for me it does. I did not get sick and only had a slight headache despite coming from the alpine land of Rochester, NY. (Average altitude about 200 feet).
3. Fortunately I did not have to use the infamous WAG bag. I also discovered that the bag used here is about 1/4 the size of the one distributed by the Zion back country office. I don't know if that is good or bad.
4. I observed two people giving instructions about the trail. First was the ranger who gave me my permit. He talked to me like he had given the same instructions 1,000 times and he could be giving them to the wall. I also observed Doug at the Portal Store talking to potential hikers. He talked to them like this was the first time he had talked to anyone about the trail.
Thanks Doug for putting this all together!
John Ridge
Rochester, NY
