Hooked on Fenix
Flashlight Enthusiast
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2007
- Messages
- 3,706
On Thursday, I beat the odds and got someone's canceled overnight permit from the Lone Pine Visitor Center. Usually, you have to sign up for the lottery in February and pay $15 to get a chance to go. July is about the only time of the year that the trail isn't covered in snow.
Anyway, I hit the trail at 11:30 AM (after driving up there overnight and not getting any sleep) and made it to Trail Camp at 4:30 PM. I had to wait out the rain, thunder, and lightening at Outpost Camp for about an hour until it was safe to head up above the timber line. I camped at Trail Camp. I packed ultralight. I used an Integral Designs Silponcho as a ground sheet, an Integral Designs Guides Tarp (8 x 10 feet) and an Outdoor Research Bug Bivy as my shelter. It was staked out with titanium nail tent stakes. My trekking poles held up the shelter and spectra cord was used for the guylines. I used a Vargo Triad XE stove run on Esbit tablets to boil water for my freeze dried meals in my 3 oz. titanium cup. My sleeping bag consisted of my down jacket and a half length homemade thinsulate sleeping bag that attached to the bottom of my jacket. The homemade sleeping bag weighs in at around 1 lb. and is good to around freezing. I learned some interesting lessons about safety when packing this light. I discovered that if you pound titanium nails into the ground and hit a rock, trying to pound the stake in more to force it in causes sparks to fly. A spark landed on my silicon nylon poncho (which is flammable). It smolderd for a few seconds before going out. I lucked out. My entire shelter almost caught fire. I cooked my dinner and discovered that the Esbit tablets smell like cooking fish when they burn. I was camping in bear country. That's the last time I use those tablets up there. Breakfast took over an hour to cook and took 2 tablets to boil 2 cups of water. The wind kept blowing out the flame.
I packed up most of my stuff and put what I didn't need in the folded up Guides tarp (it has velcro on 3 sides so you can use it as a waterproof envelope or bivy sack). I hit the 97 switchbacks at 7:40 AM. I stopped at about every switchback to catch my breath and avoid altitude sickness. I made the summit at 12:20 PM. I took a 40 minute break to see the sights, sign the name register, take some pictures (sorry, it was a disposable camera so no pics available), and put on my two knee braces (I'm recovering from tendonitis in both knees from a different hike) before heading back. If you check out the name register, I was the one who wrote under comments, "I'm a 3rd degree black belt, but this mountain kicked my butt." By the way, in the box, next to the name register, someone left an Easy button (just like in the Staples commercials) as a joke. When you hit the button, it says, "Wasn't that easy?"
At 1:00 PM, I headed down. I got to Trail Camp before 5 and took an hour break to pack up, rest, and eat. I made it to Whitney Portal at 7:53 PM. Got back too early to use my flashlights. I technically had 7 flashlights in my 25 lb. pack and I only got to use 1 for about 5 minutes the entire trip (my PT EOS headlight). I had the EOS headlight, a Fenix P2D Q5, a Fenix E01, a Gerber Infinity Ultra, and 3 lighthound coin cell l.e.d. lights, plus spare batteries. I got back too early to use my flashlights and too late to order a Moosie Burger from the Portal Store (kitchen closed at 7:15). Total time hiking the 22 miles was a little over 17 hours including about 3 hours of rest stops. I hiked alone so I had to drive the 5 hours back the same night. Got home at 2 PM. Dad woke me up at 7 PM to go to our church's men's breakfast. Needless to say, I'm still tired and sore, but it was well worth the trip.
If anyone here plans on hiking Mt. Whitney in the future, let me give you some advice. There's no shame in not making it to the top on this mountain. Some of the best hikers in the world don't always make it. Altitude sickness is a serious concern up there and can be lethal. Lightening strikes Mt. Whitney all the time, especially above Trail Crest where everything is electrically conductive granite, and nothing is higher for thousands of miles. Most of the year, snow and ice cover the trail and special gear and training are required to summit safely (even then trail and weather conditions may make it impossible to summit). Just so you know, it took me three attempts to make it to the summit once in a little over a year. Don't hike past Outpost Camp if you aren't an experienced backpacker with mountaineering skills, except maybe in July or August. Most of the year, there are some scary snow covered spots just before trail camp that are best crossed with crampons and an ice ax. I have gotten away with using Yaktrax and trekking poles before, but I was still very nervous. If you're afraid of heights, don't go past trail camp. The 97 switchbacks and above have spectacular views, but come with the dangers of falling thousands of feet to your death as well as rock slides. The "windows", or bridges as I call them, offer the best views between Trail Crest and the summit, but are very dangerous places to be. Basically, you have a 3 or four foot wide "trail" of piled up granite rocks and boulders with a couple thousand foot dropoff to your left, and another deadly dropoff to your right in between two pinnicles. You need well cushioned shoes and trekking poles to make it to the top. Between the turnoff to the John Muir Trail and the summit (the last 1.9 miles), I think someone actually just piled up boulders on the steep sloped side of the mountain so there would actually be a flat spot to travel to the summit. This area is a tripping hazard with deadly dropoffs all the way (especially at the windows). Be very careful there and don't trip or let the wind blow you off the mountain. Use trekking poles. Last but not least, take the time to enjoy the view. You'll have plenty of time to see the sights as you stop to catch your breath every 100 feet.
Anyway, I hit the trail at 11:30 AM (after driving up there overnight and not getting any sleep) and made it to Trail Camp at 4:30 PM. I had to wait out the rain, thunder, and lightening at Outpost Camp for about an hour until it was safe to head up above the timber line. I camped at Trail Camp. I packed ultralight. I used an Integral Designs Silponcho as a ground sheet, an Integral Designs Guides Tarp (8 x 10 feet) and an Outdoor Research Bug Bivy as my shelter. It was staked out with titanium nail tent stakes. My trekking poles held up the shelter and spectra cord was used for the guylines. I used a Vargo Triad XE stove run on Esbit tablets to boil water for my freeze dried meals in my 3 oz. titanium cup. My sleeping bag consisted of my down jacket and a half length homemade thinsulate sleeping bag that attached to the bottom of my jacket. The homemade sleeping bag weighs in at around 1 lb. and is good to around freezing. I learned some interesting lessons about safety when packing this light. I discovered that if you pound titanium nails into the ground and hit a rock, trying to pound the stake in more to force it in causes sparks to fly. A spark landed on my silicon nylon poncho (which is flammable). It smolderd for a few seconds before going out. I lucked out. My entire shelter almost caught fire. I cooked my dinner and discovered that the Esbit tablets smell like cooking fish when they burn. I was camping in bear country. That's the last time I use those tablets up there. Breakfast took over an hour to cook and took 2 tablets to boil 2 cups of water. The wind kept blowing out the flame.
I packed up most of my stuff and put what I didn't need in the folded up Guides tarp (it has velcro on 3 sides so you can use it as a waterproof envelope or bivy sack). I hit the 97 switchbacks at 7:40 AM. I stopped at about every switchback to catch my breath and avoid altitude sickness. I made the summit at 12:20 PM. I took a 40 minute break to see the sights, sign the name register, take some pictures (sorry, it was a disposable camera so no pics available), and put on my two knee braces (I'm recovering from tendonitis in both knees from a different hike) before heading back. If you check out the name register, I was the one who wrote under comments, "I'm a 3rd degree black belt, but this mountain kicked my butt." By the way, in the box, next to the name register, someone left an Easy button (just like in the Staples commercials) as a joke. When you hit the button, it says, "Wasn't that easy?"
At 1:00 PM, I headed down. I got to Trail Camp before 5 and took an hour break to pack up, rest, and eat. I made it to Whitney Portal at 7:53 PM. Got back too early to use my flashlights. I technically had 7 flashlights in my 25 lb. pack and I only got to use 1 for about 5 minutes the entire trip (my PT EOS headlight). I had the EOS headlight, a Fenix P2D Q5, a Fenix E01, a Gerber Infinity Ultra, and 3 lighthound coin cell l.e.d. lights, plus spare batteries. I got back too early to use my flashlights and too late to order a Moosie Burger from the Portal Store (kitchen closed at 7:15). Total time hiking the 22 miles was a little over 17 hours including about 3 hours of rest stops. I hiked alone so I had to drive the 5 hours back the same night. Got home at 2 PM. Dad woke me up at 7 PM to go to our church's men's breakfast. Needless to say, I'm still tired and sore, but it was well worth the trip.
If anyone here plans on hiking Mt. Whitney in the future, let me give you some advice. There's no shame in not making it to the top on this mountain. Some of the best hikers in the world don't always make it. Altitude sickness is a serious concern up there and can be lethal. Lightening strikes Mt. Whitney all the time, especially above Trail Crest where everything is electrically conductive granite, and nothing is higher for thousands of miles. Most of the year, snow and ice cover the trail and special gear and training are required to summit safely (even then trail and weather conditions may make it impossible to summit). Just so you know, it took me three attempts to make it to the summit once in a little over a year. Don't hike past Outpost Camp if you aren't an experienced backpacker with mountaineering skills, except maybe in July or August. Most of the year, there are some scary snow covered spots just before trail camp that are best crossed with crampons and an ice ax. I have gotten away with using Yaktrax and trekking poles before, but I was still very nervous. If you're afraid of heights, don't go past trail camp. The 97 switchbacks and above have spectacular views, but come with the dangers of falling thousands of feet to your death as well as rock slides. The "windows", or bridges as I call them, offer the best views between Trail Crest and the summit, but are very dangerous places to be. Basically, you have a 3 or four foot wide "trail" of piled up granite rocks and boulders with a couple thousand foot dropoff to your left, and another deadly dropoff to your right in between two pinnicles. You need well cushioned shoes and trekking poles to make it to the top. Between the turnoff to the John Muir Trail and the summit (the last 1.9 miles), I think someone actually just piled up boulders on the steep sloped side of the mountain so there would actually be a flat spot to travel to the summit. This area is a tripping hazard with deadly dropoffs all the way (especially at the windows). Be very careful there and don't trip or let the wind blow you off the mountain. Use trekking poles. Last but not least, take the time to enjoy the view. You'll have plenty of time to see the sights as you stop to catch your breath every 100 feet.