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Day 23: Wed Aug 13, 1997

Trail map from Trail Camp to top of Mount Whitney

Trail Camp to Mt. Whitney

Mt. Whitney as seen from Trail Camp.

To the Top

I'm writing this from the top of Mt. Whitney, highest point in the 48 states, 14,497 feet (plus or minus a few depending on the source). We made it. It's 15:05 PDT right now, a clear day with a few clouds and a light but cool breeze. There are mountains in all directions, but none higher. I'm facing Owens Lake, it's dry, and directly behind me is smoke from a forest fire. Sharleen is feeding birds, they come right up to you. There is also a very tame marmot prowling around.

Mount Whitney is not for everybody. Some people are sensitive to altitude, see the following statement by Blake Mooney:

"Hypoxia is a lack of oxygen. Hypoxia can result from breathing air that is low in oxygen. This can occur at altitude or in a commercial airplane. It certainly occurs at sea level if the heart, lungs, or blood do not function normally. The strongest mountaineers suffer from a shortage of oxygen while climbing at high altitude. His or her less experienced and unacclimatized partner will feel its effects much lower. In either case, both will be driven to breathe faster and deeper (hyperventilate) as the climb progresses to offset increasing hypoxia. A hospitalized heart or lung patient at sea level also hyperventilates to offset the same drop in his oxygen saturation. A point in the mountaineer's capacity to absorb oxygen can be reached that is similar to the hospitalized patient's effort to overcome the desperate breathlessness of heart failure or emphysema. When the exercising muscles of the mountaineer or the failing 'oxygen transport system' (heart, lungs and blood) of the patient cannot adequately diffuse available oxygen, immediate descent into thicker air or supplemental oxygen can become a life and death affair. Always, the surest way to eliminate hypoxia is to eliminate its cause." Blake Mooney Med-Travel Books P.O. Box 850306 New Orleans, LA 70185-0306 Fax/Phone 504/737-6592 bmooney@bellsouth.net

We slept fairly well last night, got up at 6 something, made a pit stop, and pumped water. While packing the day pack, leaving it unattended briefly, a marmot stole a Cliff Bar, two were fighting over it and I chased the one with it around. Never got it. We went to our food bags hanging over the side of a large rock, pulled them up, and found mice had nibbled some of our breakfast. We broke those parts off the rolls Faraneh had given us and ate the rest, they were good. We packed some food and started on our way.

A rough approximation to the trail as it leaves Trail Camp. There are actually about 100 switchbacks but the trail is not visible from below except when people are on it. The crossing point at the top, Trail Crest, is accurate.

The trail immediately started up the side of a long slope, switching back an forth across it. This was the famous hundred switchbacks. It was a steady climb but very scenic, 1777 feet from Trail Camp to Trail Crest at the top of this section. We took our time and talked too much to too many people.

Trail Camp as seen from part way up the switchbacks. Our tent sight is marked by an arrow, it is not visible on this image. The Large lake right of center is Consultation Lake, it is much lower than the camp. Owens Valley in the background is bounded by the Inyo Mountains.

"The Hair Guy", Kevin Crawford, and Matt Clatterbuck after camping overnight on top of Mt. Whitney. Kevin is a math teacher in Pasadena, Ca., Matt is a science teacher. Mt. Muir is between them (the camera focused on it).	Part way up the hundred switchbacks. Everybody looks a bit too happy on this part of the trail, must be the altitude.

One pair of backpackers told us that they had camped on top the peak the night before. We asked if they had seen any groups and they said they had talked to a group from Baltimore. We said that was the group we were to meet. They said Ron Smith had an orange cap on and to tell them we had talked to "The Hair Guy", his trail name. His hair was standing straight up, the other had long hair hanging down. One was a math teacher from Pasadena, the other a science teacher. We got their picture and names for the web, they took our picture, and we moved on. As we worked our way up the switchbacks we watched a lady in a bright pink hat far below us. The trail passes above a snow field on a section blasted from the cliff. Some switchbacks had water running across or along them.

Trail Crest, at the top of the hundred switchbacks.

We finally made it to Trail Crest, the pass, and got a view of the other side. It was even more scenic. The trail dropped a bit to connect with the John Muir Trail, then headed up again toward Whitney. This part of the trail climbs gently upward past a series of pinnacle type peaks or needles. The trail wound through some small needles at first, parts of the trail were narrow with drop offs to the side, it would be easy to tumble down over the rocks a few hundred feet, might get busted up a bit. A couple sections of the trail had washed out and you had to be a bit cautious to avoid falling. That added to the fun. One short section dropped off on both sides. Farther on the trail passed the back side (as seen from Lone Pine) of the bigger needles, Crooks Peak and Keeler Needle.

On the other side of the crest. The trail winds through a slope of large boulders.

View between the peaks down to Trail Camp which is at the center of the right side of the image. The three lakes are on very different levels.

Mt. Whitney is the farthest peak. The trail winds through rock pinnacles and has a number of drop offs on the side. Not a good place to doze off while hiking.

Looking southwest. One of the Hitchcock Lakes is in the center foreground, Mt. Hitchcock (covered by vertical ridges) is to its upper left.

The Group from Baltimore area we were planning to meet on the mountain.

Somewhere around here, or maybe a bit before, I spotted an orange cap coming our way just up the trail. I told Sharleen to grab a seat on the rocks on the uphill side of the trail, Ron and the group were coming. We wanted to meet them on the top, but certainly didn't want to do it on the hundred switchbacks (wanted to be farther along than that). We visited with them for awhile, 4 of the 6, got a description of the other two, and moved on. We talked to other people on the way. I talked to one guy about corneal endothelial cells and how they are effected by contact lenses (they become larger and more irregular in shape), I asked if he knew Dr. Larry Hirst, he had heard of him. We moved on, passed Faraneh as she was on her way down and had a last goodbye. We also passed Mike and Susan on their way down and chatted with them. The pink hat lady passed us, I never thought she would catch up. On the last part of the way up, switchbacks through some good size rocks, with a chilly wind blowing, we passed her. She was cold and getting shaky, so we gave her a Cliff Bar and offered a jacket. She had hiked up from the bottom. She said her brother was on top but she was heading down. She almost made it to the top.

On top of Mount Whitney

We got to the top, told the pink hat lady's brother she was heading down, and signed the log book. We looked around at the spectacular scenery. We also used the latrine at the top (near the top), it was in the open, just a minor fence part way around three sides. Had a good view, best I've seen from such a position (faced the smoke from the fire). I'm just finishing these notes, Sharleen is off finding a few pebbles. The marmot is munching something nearby, I hear him and am g . . .

[I was writing that on top of Whitney, I'm now continuing inside a crowded tent (it's small) in a snow shower] I was going to say -- I hear him and am guarding our day packs. A small group of little brown birds are flitting around within inches, they are very tame.

Sharleen at the top of Mount Whitney.

Summit hut. A sign on it says to go down the mountain if a storm comes up, the hut is not a safe place in a storm. But it is covered with lightning rods.

Looking south. Keeler Needle and Crooks Peak are in shadow in the left foreground.

Looking east. Lone Pine Peak is on the right edge, just behind it Owens Lake is seen as a lighter colored area, it is now dry. The Owens River runs into the lake from the right (north) through Owens Valley which is bounded on the far side by the Inyo Mountains. The small town of Lone Pine is seen as a green area in the valley. Lone Pine Creek can be seen running away from us toward Lone Pine and disappearing into the Alabama Hills. Whitney Portal Road is seen running beside the creek.

Looking toward Trail Camp from the top. Mount Mallory is the high peak, the small peak on the left in the middle is Wotans Throne as seen from above, part of Trail Camp is just to its right.

Iceberg Lake. To see this lake you must be right on the edge looking down the northeast face. This much ice was still on the lake on Aug 13.

There are marmots even on top. You have to watch your food. Also note the ever-present hungry little brown bird lurking on the side.

Keeler Needle and Crooks Peak from the trail on the west side of Whitney. This was the only picture taken on the way down.

At this point there were three of us on the peak as far as I know. I was writing notes, Sharleen was looking for pebbles, and another guy was lying on a rock in the warm sun. He asked several times what time it was, the last time he also pointed out a storm growing to the north. I stopped in midword, grabbed our stuff, and found Sharleen. She was hesitant but I insisted that we move quickly off the mountain. Our location was still sunny as we worked our way down the rocky path. The guy that had pointed out the storm was ahead but we caught up to him. His name was James and he was with a pack trip. He was a student at a Bible college and told us stories about a recent mission trip to Peru. We had an enjoyable talk back to where our trails diverged. Then we headed up to the pass, stopping to make sure an older couple behind us were ok, then quickly down the hundred switchbacks. I counted ninety something but could easily be off a bit. Ron and his group saw my signal mirror from near the top (earlier too when they were on the peak) but the sun faded behind the clouds and when we got back down to the camp we had snow pellets (or small hail), so I'm finishing these notes in a darkening tent.

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