Whitney

What It Is

Before I tell you what today will be like for me, it helps to describe the route to the summit. Then perhaps the story will make more sense.

First, Mt. Whitney is the tallest mountain on a ridge that has several tall peaks. I call these peaks “companion peaks”. You don’t go straight up Whitney. You have to hike up the the southernmost companion peak and the go north across all the peaks until you reach Whitney. Then you go to the top of Whitney.

The entire path up has four parts:

• Approach – a relatively flat section of trail between camp at Crabtree to the point where the trail goes up to the top of the companion peaks. You pass Guitar Lake on your way. The biggest mountain across the valley from Whitney is Hitchcock Mountain.
• Climb – a series of ten long switchbacks that take you to the top of the ridge to a place called Trail Crest
• Traverse – a path across the top of all the companion peaks. It is not really across the top, but just below the top on the side facing the Approach path.
• Summit- the path up the south side of Whitney to the very top.

Here is a little sketch of the trail from camp to the top of Whitney. The distance up to Trail Crest is about six miles. The distance from there to Whitney is about two miles.

Here is a photo of what it looks like to enter the valley on the Approach.

You can see the u-shaped valley. The big dark mountain in the center right it is not Whitney. You are looking at the back of the mountains on the ridge that contains Hitchcock Mountain. Whitney is just a sliver of blue on the left shoulder of that ridge.

This next photo was taken from Crabtree. It is looking up the valley toward Whitney.

Whitney is the big rounded mountain center left. Those jagged peaks to the right of Whitney are the companion peaks. The trail goes right under the tops of those peaks from right to left and up onto Whitney’s crown. The trees are blocking a view of Guitar Lake.

Now I can describe my experience.

The Day Begins

I wake up at 1:54 – six minutes before my alarm goes off. It is time to move. To speed things along I made a list last night. Ten items, from what food and clothes to take to how to leave my tent during the day in case of rain or a marauding bear. I have two headlamps and extra batteries for both of them. I ate some spicy cheese last night to make sure everything internally was moving this morning. Perhaps most importantly, I have been hiking for five weeks to prepare my body.

I have been thinking about this day for 4 years. I am ready.

The Approach

I don’t like to hike at night. I don’t see very well in the dark, and it easy to lose the trail. But there is no helping it today. The night trail is reduced to geometry – a rectangular rock step, a shallow indentation, a line of rocks, the circular end of a sawed log. I recognize these objects easily. Experience helps.

The temperature is in the high 20s and dropping. I think I will be warm enough, but I experiment with some new combinations just in case – fingered gloves inside of fingerless ones. A rain jacket over a puffy jacket over a wind jacket over a hiking shirt.

I make really good time in the dark. I am super proud of myself. I walk by Guitar Lake. I see headlamps glowing from within tents by the lake: the JMT hikers are preparing to go up, too.

The Climb

Up I go. The map shows me that there are 10 switchbacks. Cool. I will count them as I go to gage my progress. My toes are cold – that’s unusual. On switchback 3, I see why, as the light finally illuminates the ground. There is a dusting of snow on the ground. The snow gets deeper as I go higher. The elevation is 12,000 feet.

I mention there was hail/rain/snow in camp last night. The ranger later told me that the precipitation was actually called “gropple”. It’s like tiny snowballs the size of a pencil eraser. Anyway, the gropple melted in camp, but it did not melt higher up. I am used to walking in snow from my childhood, so no biggie. The sky looks clear and bright – very promising.

In the next view I am climbing up the switchbacks to Trail Crest. The photo is of the ridge on the opposite side of the valley. One of those peaks is Hitchcock Mountain. The lakes below are the Hitchcock Lakes.

The Traverse

The trail across the companion peaks is carved into the rock wall. It is very rocky.

I am really huffing and puffing up here. I thought that the trail would be much smoother.

The Summit

The top of Whitney is just a bunch of broken rocks. I wish I had taken more photos here but I was so stoked about reaching the top that I didn’t. Then I pass some people that look familiar. It’s Spam and Bambi from Tuolumne. They skipped ahead, too. It was nice to see familiar faces.

And then I am on the top. There is a stone hut up here for people to use if the weather turns bad. The lawyers have been up here, though, because there is a sign on the hut telling people not to shelter in the hut. Liability issues, I suppose.

Here are some views from the top.

And here is the geodesic marker for the mountain.

Peak Bagger

After the exhilaration of reaching the top, the long slow descent begins. There is a parade of people coming up here today. I have to find a place to stand along the trail as people squeeze by. But, I am not unhappy about it. I wish them all well. I hope they are as fulfilled by the experience as I am. Here are a few more views that I like on the way down.

Mission Accomplished

Well, I did it. It feels good. In previous years I had told myself that I did not regret climbing Whitney. (I stopped short twice.) I was lying to myself. It galled me actually. But this year, I finally made it. I told that monkey that was on my back that he could stay in the hut on Whitney if he liked. He said, no thanks, but could I give him a ride down to camp at least.I

I did. The last I saw him he was headed back toward Kearsarge Pass, looking for a hiker who might be considering stopping short of Whitney.

September 13, 2025

Miles hiked today: 17

Calories burned today: 5087