Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Day hike - 28 Sept.

I see that all of the day hike permits for this date are now spoken for. I assume that means that lots of people will be heading up in the wee hours of the morning. I will be one of them, on my first solo hike and I will be honest those the dark morning hours unnerve me (bears), but now going alone I'm finding that I'm even more worried. I hope that when I head out, I see lots of other headlamps in front of me and behind me on the way up! I wanted a permit for a full-moon date but they always go first! If you are going to be one of those lucky people...what time are you planning to leave the Portal?

there should be enough traffic on the trail. the thing about being a solo hiker is that it's hard to be as noisy as a group. a bear that hears someone approaching may try to avoid confrontation. so be noisy -- especially where the sound of a waterfall might muffle your approach, or around blind turns or dense foliage. (by the way, if anyone tells you to be quiet, then you're traveling with a group.)

josh - I loved that final sentence. It had be SOMLOL.

"If someone tells you to be quiet...you are with a group".

Perfect.

BV.

a group getting bigger by the day, will be leaving at 3 am on the mountaineers route.
no permit required

mrogue,
Just had an early morning departure (1st time doing that) last week. There were PLENTY of folks out, and hiking w/ a headlamp was kind of fun. (didn't expect that.) You should have little problem finding people to stay near. And I agree w/ the notion of making yourself heard on the trail .. although I think bear bells are an annoying waste of time ... your footsteps, trekking poles, and heavy breathing should do the job for you.
Have a great time!,
...tg...

Hey mrogue,

I've been doing full moon hikes of Whitney for a decade now. I usually hit the trail between 8 & 10PM, depending on the month. (I move slowly at night and am rarely acclimatized, my goal to reach summit around dawn.)

I've done it solo a couple times and it's pretty exhilerating, especially the first time, because departing in mid-evening, you pretty much have the mountain to yourself until about Trail camp, where you may intercept others leaving from their tents to get the dawn summit in.

I've never seen a bear at WP, much less on the trail, but hiking by yourself is a little spooky at night as all the night sounds get amplified. I did a solo hike the year the Blair Witch movie came out, and though i hadn't seen the movie, the hike was a little creepier that year.

The full moon hike is so worth it though. Once you clear tree line and the moon gets over the southern peaks, it's insanely bright and you won't need a flashlight until maybe at the upper switchbacks where the moon can duck behind the hill again.

Hey mrogue, Having just done a 3a.m. start....trust me, you don't have to be alone. There were 5 of us and within a mile we must have passed or been passed by at least 20 people, most in small groups. Hang out near the trailhead for a little while and your sure to be able to tag along with somebody. The headlamps were a blast. They made the stream crossings much more exciting than coming back across them in the light.

Thanks for the words of encouragement! I am feeling better about it already...

Hey mrogue,

Just got back, and though we hit the trailhead at my customary 8PM, we met many, many people on our descent who started between 2 & 4AM, so it was quite a parade.

Again, we, as well as many we met, intentionally picked the full moon. We didn't need to use our lamps more than an hour the entire night, AND, we reached the summit 5 minutes before sunrise, so that was incredible. It got super cold at the top, however, with the tail end of night temperatures, and really strong winds on the summit.

Enjoy!!

M, I have done many hikes starting in the dead of night. I have also had two run ins with bears in the "meadow" open area belwo Lone Pine Lake at around 3:30AM. I thought it was a hiker 'cause I came to find bear feet sound just like hiking shoes, but the *hiker" had no headlamp. It was at that time I realized it was a bear when it just dropped off into deep brush. I waited a few minutes (to get composed! Your knees really do wobble!) and then went on. I firmly believe the bears aren't interested in us. They are interested in the parking lots and the grocery stores on wheels that keep pulling in. Even if you find yourself alone most of the night, there's nothing whatsoever to fear on the trail.