Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board This message board ROCKS!

I just wanted to throw out a big THANK YOU to all of you who contribute to this board. I just completed 7 months of training to be able to summit on July 31st! I was rewarded with a fantastic accomplishment, much in thanks to all the very helpful suggestions on this board! We left the trail head at Whitney Portal at 3 am (leaving behind 2 big bears attempting to break into some cars) and summited by noon! The weather was perfect and it was a moment that I am sure, changed my life.
Meeting Doug at the store the night before gave me such a boost. When he looked at me, the first thing he said was "You will make it"! He allayed some fears and worries and made me feel that this, middle aged, overweight but in shape gal could actually do it! Turtle Up was my mantra! At the top I burst into tears. It was such an overwhelming feeling. Some young stud said out loud, "Lady, if you are tough enough to get here....go ahead and cry!" Made us all laugh out loud!
Thanks again for this great board and keep on throwing out such great and encouraging suggestions.
ScubaSue

You ROCK ScubaSue. WAAAAAY to go. Great job.I was pretty emotional when I summited also.Didn't cry though. Men don't cry...lol

Big time congrats, ScubaSue. I didn't cry when I reached the summit of Whitney but I believe I did get a tear in my eye!!!

Congrats!
I will be hiking the HST in Sept. and I couldn't agree more. The people on this board are fantastic and have been a great aide in preparing for any hike around this area. I've read all the other comments under "INYO SAR" and you know if people would be like you and read and ask questions they will make it

Joe

ScubaSue,

Congrats!! Thanks for sharing. What an experience -- one you'll never forget!!

Just being in the mountains (particularly the Whitney area), and reaching a goal (whether or not the summit) each time I'm there (which is not often enough, since I live in Ohio) is an emotional experience. This is especially true since my home state is California, and I'm getting a "homesick fix" every time I come out there. I've cried briefly each time I've topped out at whatever point on the trail that occurred, esp. if it was a new personal best, but mostly just from the sheer joy of being out there and doing something I truly love.
Real men do cry...

CaT

ScubaSue:
Congrats!! Sounds like you've caught the same bug I have! Now I can't seem to get AWAY from the mountains! Not that that's a problem...
I cry on almost every summit, but especially Whitney. I think I didn't on Williamson, but only because I was too pooped!
Heading up this morning, and can't wait!!!
Congrats again, and many more!
-Laura

Congratulations on your accomplishment! And THANK YOU for your inspirational post.

I am exactly three weeks away from my first Whitney attempt, and am getting more anxious/nervous/excited with each passing day.

I have thought about hiking Mt. Whitney for years, but felt I was too overweight and out of shape. A year ago I decided to get myself in shape and finally do something other then thinking about the summit. After many miles of hiking and 75 pounds lighter, I feel ready. I'm sure I will be shedding some tears as well if/when I make it!

Beerdude you will do fine. Your story sounds a lot like mine where a year and a half ago I just decided to get in better shape by working out. Then "ding" a light went off saying why don't you climb Whitney.
2 things I learned here that helped me summit even though I am old and still overweight.
1) Keep hydrated by continous sipping water/fluids.
2) Slow steady pace. It is not a speed walk. You are not competing against anyone elses time. Remember tortoise and the haire.Walk at YOUR pace.

Beerdude - When are you going up? Depending on availability of walk-in/no-show permits, I may be going up as soon as Sept 2, but more likely one of the days shortly thereafter. Like you, I am in better shape this year than ever, and have the goal of summitting Whitney for years (have made several attempts so far, coming oh so close on my most recent try two years ago).

CaT

Doc: Thanks for the tips! I will be drinking (water!) often and maintaining a nice, slow, steady pace.

CA Trailwalker: Friday, August 24th is my Whitney Day.
Hope to see your post in the future celebrating your successful summit bid!

Beerdude,
I soooo know the feeling. I too, this last year, trained and lost 45 lbs. Hiking up was definitely slow but sure. Turtle Up!!!!! At the top, I yelled out loud to know one..."Who you calling fat chick now?!?" As a large gal all of my life....it was such a special moment to do stuff some "skinny" girls can't do. I sure wish you the best. I know you will be moved.
Report back when you are done!
Susie
PS. Cytomax, the carb drink, helped a lot, as I was really not that hungry going up!

ScubaSue - Congrats!!! Reaching the goal is an awesome feeling. especially after putting in the work beforehand.

Beerdude - My first summit I brought along plenty of liquids (water and cytomax) but still struggled on the backside of the mountain. It later hit me that I didn't eat enough along the way. The following year I made sure to eat along the way (Clif Bars for me...) and had a WAYYY easier time. Best of luck to you! And good luck sleeping the evening before your hike...I'm always too excited...

Rob

ScubaSue; Congrats. I know the feeling, and you'll find it's somewhat addictive. You'll want to go back.

BeerDude; I'm a big advocate of sipping Cytomax (diluted 1/2 strength) from hydration backpack as noted already. One comment regarding food, max sure you bring along several packs of "Goo" or similar products. I've found that after many hours on the trail at alltitude, you're ability to chew becomes somewhat impaired, and you can only tolerate so many Clif bars etc. The goo packs are easy to consume, require no chewing and provide a real quick boost, especially during the last few hours on the way down, when energy levels tend to be quite low.

Good luck and have fun.

Congratulations ScubaSue!!
I really can say that I know exactly how you feel. I also just completed my first attempt & summit of Mt. Whitney on August 1. I'm sure we passed along the trail. And, like many other "posters" on this message board, I used the goal of Mt. Whitney to kick my conditioning into a higher gear.

My friend and I took what we called "the middle-aged women's approach" to the mountain: there were no prizes for a death march trip--it truly was about the journey and the summit would be the icing on the cake.

We overnighted at Whitney Portal, then Outpost, then Trail Camp, did the Summit, Trail Camp again, and then packed out. It was a long trip requiring more gear (a 40 lb pack on my 120 lb frame was hard lifting up those steps into Trail Camp!) and food than a shorter one, but I had no altitude issues and felt strong the entire time.

The thing people must miss in the darkness and on a single day trip is the amazing vistas at every turn. I found myself constantly stopping and looking at the beautiful views--the prizes for each increase in altitude. I shot over 200 photos in four days! I reached the summit in the time goal I had set for myself and felt great, which is good since going down hill is tough on my short legs (especially with the drizzling rain that started around 1 PM).

This message board has been indispensible with help and advice for everything from permits to gear to water to wagbags to varmints. The link with the EXCEL file for the switchbacks was great--just to prepare psychologically for what can seem to be a tedious period. Believe it or not, I actually enjoyed those early morning hours on the switchbacks--watching the sun come up; noticing the beautiful alpine flowers and the multi-colored stones--it was (and is) absolutely beautiful.

I trained hard leading up to the trip: daily training, hiking with weight, hiking to altitude, hiking steep hills (the Vivian Creek trail to San Gorgornio Mountain was a great training spot--similar steep terrain, but not quite the alitude at 11,500). I felt the biggest "unknowns" were the weather and altitude effects. Mother Nature cooperated on the weather and my slow, steady ascent eliminated any altitude problems for me.

So many, many thanks to all you experienced "old heads" at the MWMT. Your generosity in sharing what you've learned went a long way to making this a major lifetime accomplishment for me. I found everyone I met along the trail to be kind, caring and generous. There is something about the wilderness that attracts a certain type of people: everyone I encountered was great, encouraging and sharing stories--all connected by our common goal.

Happy Hiking to all of you...now I'm off to plan my next adventure!

"Turtle up!"???

Beerdude - I leave for most of one week in Canada the evening of Aug 24. Will be thinking about you that day.

CaT

Congrats ScubaSue... I had a tear in my eye both times I made it up...which is funny..you'd think I'd have cried on my 3 failures instead since I invested so much time and money getting out there for those..

This message board is great indeed. For the obvious reasons that the information here is invaluable..but also for the people I've met in my travels out that way. Who'd have thought that my favorite hiking buddies would end up being nearly 2000 miles away instead of local to me..

Congrats again..

Chris

ScubaSue--Our group summitted the 31st as well. We were an hour ahead of you. Probably passed you as we were leaving the summit. Congratulations on your achievement!! This is definitely something that you have to work hard for. 2 of our group fell out before the hike so we will be back next year. Man were the fries at the Portal store good after the hike. I'll be back just for those.

Mike

Scuba Sue - Congrats! I teared up as I approached the summit. I thought about how God had used my friend and hiking-mate to inspire me to climb this mountain, several work friends that are experienced backpackers, and my wife who gave me so much time to train and prepare (she's the saint who gave extra care to our kids while I spent evenings at REI and Saturdays in the mountains).

Karen - I was in the group of three guys that you talked to at Outpost Camp your first night/morning in. I'm glad to hear that you and your friend made it all the way up. Congratulations!!! It was great talking to you on the trail. You were also part of the wonderful community that we met with on our time on the mountain.

I find it facinating that there are so many stories as to why people are so motivated to climb an incredibly hard mountain. There are weather and altitude difficuties. There are permits to obtain. It is a long walk into very high altitude with big decisions regarding backpacking vs day hiking. Equipment, shoes/boots, clothing, food, water,filters...It is not an easy trip to plan for or execute.
Yet here we all are gathering info about an upcoming trip or reliving the amazing euphoria we all got from our first and subsequent summits.Wow it really does become an addiction.It is wonderful to be in the club of Whitney successful summiters.

I agree about the mesg. board. I have been viewing the board since I reserved my permits back in May and have read alot of great advice that has helped prepare us for our August 7 hike.

Six years ago I hiked up to the top of halfdome with my then 10 and 12 year old boys, (I tethered them to me with ropes when we got to the cables at mom's request). My oldest is entering college this fall and this may be my last opportunity to keep the promise I made six years ago to attempt Mt. Whitney's summit.

Thanks Doug, hopefully I'll see you this Monday.