Morning came at about 4:30. We had to be out on the trail by about 6:00am to ensure we were off the summit before the afternoon lightning storms hit. When we got to the trail head, we had to take all of our extra food and toiletries out of the car, and put them in a bear locker at the Whitney Portal. Apparently the bears there are fond of breaking into cars that have interesting smells.
We were on the trail just before sunrise. The first 90 minutes went smoothly up to Trail Camp. We were able to run the flatter sections and hiked the steeper sections. We stopped to take some pictures of the sunrise over the Panamint Mountains. At these lower elevations from 8300 feet to 11000 feet, the elevation was not hard to work in. Sure the breathing was a little more labored, but that was about it. After Trail Camp, the trail became more technical and broke above the tree line. The views became huge and the magnitude of this terrain was kicking in! The breathing was getting harder, and I could feel my head getting dizzy at times. The time went by pretty quick and then we were at Outpost Camp. This place sits at 12800 feet and is a little over halfway up the 11 mile climb. We took a break here, ate some GU and looked up at the series of switchbacks awaiting up to the ridgeline that would take us up to Mt Whitney.
After leaving Outpost Camp and hitting the switchbacks, the trail became very technical in terms of a large number of rocks, uneven footing, and small areas with snow and ice. I started to develop a solid headache on the climb out of Outpost. I also had a continuous low grade dizziness. The dizziness would get worse with any form of increased exertion like stepping over some big rocks or trying to run a section of the flatter stuff.
Up we went until we hit 13600 feet where the trail intersects with the John Muir Trail. This was also the point where we finally hit the ridgeline. The trail on the back side of the ridge was excellent. We had huge sweeping views into the eastern parts of Sequoia National Park. The altitude was really hitting us. I was dizzy, and Mike was have a hard time with breathing and felt like his heart was beating a little too hard. Less than an hour later, we were on the summit. The view was excellent. We looked 11ooo feet below us into the Owens Valley and Lone Pine. It was warm and sunny up there, and with the altitude I was fried. Right or wrong, I laid down and slept for about 20 minutes.
Finally it was time to leave the summit. The initial part of the downhill was slow going. We had to navigate a bunch of snow on the trail that somehow didnt seem so hard to go up! Additionally, we were both feeling the effects of the altitude, lack of ample calories, and probably too little water on the way up. We fixed the water issue by filling our bottle up right off of a rock draining snowmelt on the ridge. We were still way above 14k, and figured it was safe to drink. That water along with a GU and we were good to go. As we went down, the air got thicker, and our symptoms abated. By 12800, we were feeling pretty good and opened up into a full out run back to the trailhead.
By the time we got back to the car, I was glad to be done running. My longest run in a year on big terrain to boot, and my hip felt fine. Mt Whitney has been on my "to do" list for 20 years and I am so stoked I got it done. A big thanks to Mike for putting the whole thing together and not relenting on getting us a trail permit.
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