Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Message Board Group Hike 09/15/07 (Saturday)

Well, I just got back earlier this afternoon from an unforgettable weekend that started with the group hike on Saturday followed by my first summit on Sunday via the MR. I will post my TR regarding my MR adventure in the next couple of days, but suffice it to say it was an incredible experience. The day hike on Saturday was phenomenal, and although I purposefully cut it short at Clyde Meadows to save my legs for Sunday, I really enjoyed meeting some of the other members of the board.

I want to thank BeerBrewer again for letting me tag along on the way up and Mike for letting me crash at his campground on Friday night. Unfortunately, I missed the pizza dinner on Saturday night due to a family emergency that temporarily sidetracked me for the evening, but luckily everything panned out fine and I was able to tackle the MR route Sunday morning with the confidence and knowledge of knowing the route up to Upper Boy Scout.

when viewed in their orginal size you can see us on the summit of Russell - too bad noone was able to catch the signal mirror on camera - but you still got to keep the champagne

happy summiteers on Russell:

I'm one of the lucky ones who got to share a terrific experience this past Saturday hiking up Thor with an outstanding group of mostly heretofore strangers. Until now I haven't felt any irresistible urge to post to the message board, and instead have been mostly keeping up with the various goings-on as a world-class lurker.

But Saturday's Thor trip has finally flushed me out. First, the two most important points: 1) a giant thank-you to Paul, who dreamed up the idea, spent the time to pull it together, and also insisted on spending his own money to treat everyone to pizza and beer afterwards. If you haven't yet met him, keep an eye out: he is a first-rate, quality individual, and a person I am now honored to call a friend.

2) BobR is everything I imagined from his (and many others') posts on this board, and more. He is the epitome of a gentleman and a scholar.

Bob, thank you again for making the hike such a success. Your willingness to spend your time and effort (as well as your encyclopedic knowledge) with a wild card group of mostly strangers was greatly appreciated. I will long remember our trip back down the Secret Route. The nine that went traipsing down the SE Couloir will never know what all they missed, since you swore the remaining four of us to secrecy! Because Paul insisted on buying everything that evening, I won't forget that I still owe you at least a beer or two.

The rest of the group was also superb: we got to know each other quite well, imprecations were kept to a minimum, there were no serious nut jobs along (possibly present company excepted), and we actually all managed to avoid any serious fisticuffs for the whole day. Way cool!

I have finally posted some of my pictures of the hike at the following link: http://toffa.smugmug.com/Whitney%20Portal%20Store%20Message%20Board%20-%20Group%20Hike

Sorry Chris, that it has me taken so long to get them uploaded; I had some technical issues -- well, OK, it was mainly due to simple incompetence. I doubt there are many shots that are of any particular significance, other than to those on the hike. Oh wait: tomcat, MooseTracks, Snow Nymph, et al., you may want to take a close look at the last picture that I posted! (I guess I should have posted this for you an hour or two earlier, tomcat!)

Finally, one quick story from the hike that could pass as a little inside hiker humor: As we were climbing the slabs, we came upon a couple of guys who were looking a little lost. Bob was leading our group, and after exchanging greetings, one of them asked him, "Hey, any chance you know how to get to the Rockwell Variation?!"

Dude! It's your lucky day!!!

(But by the end of the day, I suspect our group probably felt even luckier! Thanks, everyone!)

Oh, good, now I'll have to just do it again! (Or someone PM me )



You got it! We have a winner!



The spontaneous laughter from a number of us was a special moment, as the guys had no idea who Bob was.

Thanks again to all, especially Bob for his knowledge and Paul for putting it all together.

yes we have a winner - congradulations on the timing.



looks like Paul picked the perfect weekend - early winter storm may be moving in - the times are changing

Moose, moose, moose. She's deadly with a bottle of champange in hand. Watch out..... the cork is flying. Great show at the pizza factory.

From Moose on top of Thor

Here's a clip from the full-size picture of the reflecting mirror on the top of Russell:

And here's a clip from the photo Richard took from there:

Amazing!

Hey, Gang!

From the looks of it, it was a wonderful day. Thanks, Paul for putting it together. It was a real treat to meet so many people and hang out at the Portal Friday night, then a bit at the PF. My hair was so silky smooth after the champagne shower!! Sorry we missed the bigger group. But I have a feeling this sort of thing will happen again.

Coolest pic of the signal mirror! I'm surprised you couldn't hear me: there are reports from Iceberg and Whitney that some sort of Moose-call was heard about the same time as the flashing. Hmmm... (Actually, I think Mike's comment was: 'Laura, they could hear you 20 miles away...yup, nothin' but love, I tell ya!).

Here's to many more adventures! Bring on the snow!

-L

Here are my pictures: a lot of them were taken with a 300mm lens. As for the trip, I was trying to think of special moments, conversations or locations that inspired me, but how do you pick one when all of them were memorable. I have never made so many friends in one day. Thank you all for allowing me into your lives.

Paul

http://toffa.smugmug.com/gallery/3493897#196921419

Howdy all,
Just got back last night and have hundreds of photos to sort through, but this one kind of popped out:



Great hiking and chatting with everyone. Sorry I couldn't make the Pizza Factory shindig, but next time beer's on me. (After a snow slog up the MR perhaps?)

Cheers,
Jeff

Jeff_M's picture needs a good caption. How about...

"Is that a moose over there?"

Any other suggestions?

"Just when you thought you got OUT of LA traffic..."

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but just wanted to report this: Today's Fresno Bee reported they found the guy alive and well yesterday (Monday). He's a city manager for a nearby town, and went up to take some sunset pictures near Glacier Point. He had some intestinal issues and left the trail, and then could not find the trail after that. He spent the nights trying to cover himself with bark and such.

Nice pictures Paul. In one of your pictures, you can see Richard (Sierra Snail) and I on the summit of Russell around 11:45...

GigaMike...... I keep forgeting that my SLR is 10.1 megapixels and that allows for zooming in, and with a 300mm lens. Wow!!!! I wonder about the rest of them..... of Whitney, etc.

Mike, great catch and thanks for pointing out.

By the way, I gave Bob the camera to shoot a few interesting shots and that is one of his.

Paul

Thank you Paul for organizing this rare and unforgettable day. It was a great hike, a pleasure to meet and get to know all the other hikers and be in the company of Bob R. Thanks again, for the pizza and beer at the PF afterwards.

Bob, thank you for being so gracious to such a large group, sharing your stories and information. It was a pleasure to share a trail with you.

A great day amongst a great group of hikers!


Norma R

GigaMike...you are the tech wiz. Very nice!!!

A climber friend who just got back from a successful expedition on K2 has a great quote:
"I live vicariously through myself." Don Bowie

I try to live by that quote but this past weekend I was definitely living vicariously through all of you on Thor, Russell and Whitney.

I wish I had known some of you when I lived in O.C. in the 80's and early 90's. I truly hope to get down there for the next "group" hike/climb. Thanks to all for sharing your experience and pix. Fantastic!

MC

Reading all this and seeing all these fantastic pictures almost makes me want to cry.I'm soooooo bummed I couldn't make this hike.If I only went to Vegas for my birthday instead of trying to be some kind of mountain bike rider I would have been there.I'll be there before the end of the month to enjoy the early fall season.I'm still envious of all who went and and all the rest of you that live your lives and get out there and have a blast.I'm right there with you.
Thor

Thanks for the pizza, Paul! The wait was 45 min by the time we got there, so pizza was great! Nice meeting the few that were still there. Sorry we missed the rest.

For a second I thought I was in Bob's group photo. My name is Corinne too, and I wear the blue pants and green jacket sometimes!

Thanks to everyone for the nice compliments. You have all reinforced what I learned years ago, about the joys of mountaineering: Partly it is the mountains and the routes and the weather and the conditions, and partly it is the people you are with. And the last is the most important.

As the climb progressed, I kept telling myself "You are talking way too much." I had a few more stories to tell, and more sights to point out, but maybe it was best this way. There will be other opportunities.

The day seemed near perfect, in all respects. I hope I get to share some mountain paths with each of you, again, soon.