Trip report, day hike, August 9th. I hiked Whitney as a day hike last June with my son and had shared pictures and stories with friends at church and work, so when I asked who wanted to go this year I immediately had 16 names for the 15 spots.
By the time the permit results were announced in April, I had 13 names on a standby list. Each month I sent out an email to the group providing links to this and other websites, encouragement to start walking, and requesting prompt notification if anyone could not go. My 19 year old daughter (sophomore at PLNU, San Diego) heard we were going and asked if she could go. I immediately kicked one of her younger brothers off the list and plugged her in. Boy was I excited at the idea of having my college girl along.
The final email was sent out three weeks before the hike date and a couple days later 8 of the original 16 told me they could not go. My daughter was still in!!! Over the next ten days the other 13 people were given their opportunities to fill the vacancies. In the end only eleven of us went. I dropped the other 4 permits a couple days before the hike and posted that here.
The eleven included and were divided into the following four groups; (three highschool senior boys - one my son), (two 20 something brothers), (my daughter, I, and a 40 something dad of one of the other boys) and (three 40 something buddies from work). My daughter was the only female.
Eight of us camped one or more nights before hand at the portal. We visited the store the evening before and picked up the latest trail info., some souvenirs, and some quality chat with Doug Sr. who autographed one of his books for me. Two of the highschool boys did some fishing in the portal pond and caught some trout which we ate with a high carbohydrate spaghetti dinner.
Of the eleven who started the hike nine made it to the summit. Three of us had done this before and one of us was with each of three groups that made it. We wanted a group picture so we started at different times hoping we would all get to the top within an hour of each other. My Three buddies from work started at 02:00 and summited at noon. The highschool boys started at 05:10 and summited at 10:20. My daughter, friend, and I started at 05:10 and arrived at 1:20 pm. later. It was a beautiful day. The 20 year old brothers chose to keep the trip short and take lots of pictures. I don't think they made it as far as Mirror Lake.
Half way into the hike my daughter told me she hopes she will someday have a husband who enjoys these kinds of experiences. By the end of the day I was just hoping she would still willing to go hiking again period.
We had some issues with altitude but when we got to the Carl’s Jr. in Lone Pine it was all gone with the hamburgers we ordered. It was really satisfing to introduce others to this great place. I am already trying to figure out how to put together another trip next year. This is what I will do differently next time:
Collect all the reservation money up front. Don’t make campground reservations for anyone outside my immediate family. Don’t rush the first timers. Consider taking a couple half hour breaks along the way. Forget some of the energy bars and take more real food. Give a spare car key to someone else who came in your car that may be hiking at a different pace.
