Mount Whitney - July 24, 2013 - Member Trip Report
| Hike Name: | Mount Whitney |
|---|---|
| Country: | United States |
| State: | California |
| Trip Rating: |  |
| Trip Date: | July 24, 2013 |
| Duration: | 1 day |
| Trail Conditions: | Good |
| Trail Traffic: | Moderate |
| Trip Weather: | Partly Sunny |
| Trip Winds: | Light |
| Trip Precipitation: | None |
| Trip Temperature: | High: 81-90, Low: 31-40 degrees Fahrenheit |
| Trip Report: | Woke up at the Dow Villa Hotel this morning after a good night’s sleep in a dry comfortable bed. I would say this was a nice change from the three previous nights’ sleep we experienced in our tents during our hike further to the north in the Eastern Sierras to Rae Lakes and back, but the fact of the matter is those were nice too, so I’ll leave it at dry and comfortable. The Colonel had done some reconnaissance the night before at a little pub across the street while waiting for some laundry to wrap up, and as a result, we made a pit stop at the Alabama Hills Café and Bakery for breakfast. It was a good decision, and we were duly rewarded with some good eats. After stuffing our bellies, we left the Hills and made our way to Whitney Portal. We had a bit of trouble finding a place to park because of our later than expected departure from Lone Pine due to the aforementioned breakfast pit stop, but I’m still not complaining. Ultimately ended up securing a precarious spot half way up a pseudo-mudslide that partially covered the last available spot we could find. After spending a little time soaking up the cool deep forest feel afforded by the large pines surrounding the Whitney Portal area, we hoisted our packs and hit the trail. Other than two separate brief encounters with both Turbokini and Scott, our trip to Trail Camp was mostly uneventful. Turbokini and Scott were a couple folks we met on our previous hike. They had started in Yosemite and were hiking the John Muir Trail, culminating with a summit of Mount Whitney. We stopped for a quick photo op with Turbokini and then motored on for a bit before running into Scott. Chatted for a few minutes with Scott, and then said our goodbyes. “Smell ya later Scott.” We were one of the first groups to reach Trail Camp, which resulted in us having our pick of spots. Picked the largest flattest spot we could find, set up camp, and settled in for a relaxing evening. We enjoyed watching a brave little marmot engage in a staring contest with BC while scourging for scraps of food, and then wrapped up the evening taking in the Mount Doom-like sky as the sun set over Whitney. We settled into our tents pretty early, for tomorrow would be a big day. |
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