Mt. Whitney

Over the last one year, I have been backpacking intermittently. Last August the trip to Santa Barbara; in October the trip to San Gorgornio; in May this year the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim hike and then this last weekend the attempt to hike Mt. Whitney.

Lone Pine, the town which is 13 miles away from Whitney Portal (elev 8,300 feet), is a mere five hours drive from San Diego. And the Mt. Whitney trail is quite beautiful. The hike up to Lone Pine lake (elev 9,500 feet, 2.8 miles) and Outpost camp (elev 10,100 feet, 3.8 miles) is not difficult and was actually quite a breeze. However the last 2.5 miles to Trail Camp (elev 12,100 feet) are the toughest. But I was able to reach, umm crawl to Trail Camp after offloading 5 pounds from my 25-27 pound backpack to R in the last mile. We camped at Trail Camp which was beautiful, and I then decided to not attempt the hike to the Summit. The next day we headed back.

Was I disappointed with myself ? Sure I was, but I loved every minute of the trip. And if it weren't for me being a liability on R, I would love to go on another backpacking trip soon. On all of my backpacking trips, I have always had a tough time finishing the last two miles to the campsite. So far that had not deterred me from trying again. But I think that I should not attempt another trip without working on my "hiking pace".