Mt. Whitney Trip Planning, September 6-8 2014

A rough outline for our Mt. Whitney Dayhike, scheduled for September 8th. More details to come…

Gear

Clothing

Here is the forecast for the Whitney area: NOAA.

It’s hard to tell others what to bring for clothing, as it has a lot to do with personal preferences.The first time we hiked Whitney (8.22.11- pics here), I wore a tank top for the first couple of hours. Others in my group were wearing jackets and kept them on for the entire hike. We also met people on the trail wearing winter hats and gloves. When I started my second trip up Whitney(9.22.12), it was warm at the portal (70°). A few hours into the hike, I was wearing every stitch of clothing that I brought with me (including gloves and winter hat) and I was still cold. It was 30° and windy ( I’d guess 20 mph winds) at 12000 ft. It felt like it was in the teens or single digits.This is what I plan to wear/carry for the Whitney portion of the trip. You will also want hiking clothes for the acclimation hike Saturday, unless you decide to hang out at camp.

First Aid/Emergency Kit
I will carry a large first-aid kit for the group. Each individual should carry the following:

Food

Everyone will be responsible for bringing their own food. Here is what I’m thinking:

Based on that info, hikers will be responsible for 1 dinner & 1 breakfast to be prepared at camp, as well as breakfast & lunch for the day of the hike.All food and toiletries will need to be stored in a bear lockers while we are at Onion Valley Campground. Remember that things like chapstick, sunscreen and toothpaste all smell like food to bears.

Water

Cutting down on pack weight goes a long way towards having an enjoyable and successful hike. Since there is plenty of water available along most of the trail, minimizing how much water we carry is an easy way to reduce pack weight. My recommendation is to bring a hydration bladder and two 1 liter water bottles, such as plastic gatorade bottles.Here’s my plan:
Filtering water is a pain, but worth the weight savings. We will plan our longer breaks around the water stops.

• We will stop every 1.5 – 2 hrs for the first 6 miles of the hike, only refilling the bottles.
• At Trail Camp, we will fill the bladders and bottles.
• Once at Trail Crest, we will cache some/all of the bottles to reduce weight carried to the summit.
• Pick up the bottles on the descent. Refill at Trail Camp if necessary.

Being well hydrated can reduce the occurrence of altitude sickness. On my last Whitney hike, I drank 1+ liter between each each water stop. I plan on doing the same again.

I will carry a water filter. If someone else has one that they can bring, it will help cut down on the time we have to spend filtering.

Trip Costs