Saturday, June 29, 2013
Mt. Whitney Summit (Non PCT Miles)
Mt. Whitney Summit (Non PCT Miles)
17 miles round trip
Post By Melissa:
Today is technically a zero day since we are not hiking PCT miles but it's a different kind of zero day. We are hiking 17 miles roundtrip, up to the Summit of Whitney. From Wikipedia: Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States with an elevation of 14,505 feet.
Nick filters us enough water for the day and we empty our backpacks and only put in water, food, and rain gear. We left our tent set up at Crabtree Meadow Ranger Station as we would be returning here in the evening to sleep.
Nick filtering water
Before setting foot on the trail, Nick makes a stop at the outdoor toilet. We are kind of puzzled by the design. Why only 2 walls? It surely isn't for privacy...wind perhaps? The toilet seat is mounted to a wooden box that you sit on. Better than nothing I suppose!
Views on our way to Mount Whitney
We come across a plastic tub full of wag bags. I didn't know what these were but quickly learned that you poop in them! I guess when you get closer to the summit of Whitney there is no where to poop so you have to poop in this bag and pack it out. Nick and I hoped we wouldn't need to use them.
More pictures of the trail. In the early miles the ascent was very gradual.
Marmots! They are everywhere in this area. So cute...
Guitar Lake
Starting into the section where you have to poop in bags :-)
These flowers had a strong odor. They smelled amazing! And no, it's not poodle dog bush!
A picture taken on the way up to the Summit. Nick carefully balanced the camera on a rock and put on the timer to snap this photo.
Only 1.9 miles to go!!
The day before there had been thunder and lightning at the Summit. We were hoping that there wasn't a repeat today despite the weather forecast calling for bad weather. At the moment it was clear skies above the summit.
Me goofing around on a tricky section of the trail
This section of the trail was very rough and difficult on your feet!
We can see the hut at the summit and little bodies! We are getting closer...
A view of the other side of the summit through a gap in the mountain. It was nice to peak at the other side.
Snow! This was the only snowy section we had to pass through. Interesting formations in the snow (like tiny little peaks)
Pointing up to the hut...nearly there!! Nick and I felt pretty good as we were hiking up to the summit. We passed several day hikers who were really struggling with the altitude and steep ascent. The previous several hundred miles of hiking and sleeping at elevation had given us a huge advantage. I'm not super competitive but it did feel good to pass many day hikers. I usually get passed by PCT hikers on a daily basis so it was fun to feel "fast", even if just for a brief moment :-)
And we are here! The infamous hiker hut on the top of Whitney!
Pictures from the top
I had been sitting on the ledge and then turned 180 degrees to take this photo. I wasn't exactly in a safe position but held on to the rock for a photo. In hindsight, probably not the smartest idea!
Tiny little chipmunks running around on top of the summit
More views from the Summit
It's not easy being cheesy!
Group photo on the summit with some fellow hikers. (From left to right: Tweek, Royce (Vans), Nick (Hard Target), Me, Rainbow, Rooster, and Tank)
Nick noticed these stones and took a picture. They are memorials for fallen soldiers that have been carried up to the summit and placed here. Thank you soldiers for all that you do for us to keep us safe <3
Boys hanging out in the hiker hut
A picture of us loaded up and ready to descend. We had been up here many hours enjoying the views and company of the other hikers. We even met 2 guys who have rock climbed up to the summit and took the mountaineering trail down (impressive).
It never did rain thank goodness!
Signing the registry before we go to make it official
I signed for both of us in the bottom left corner below
Time to descend! Nick coming down through the snow patch.
More beautiful scenes on the way down
When we were close to our campsite we noticed this bird. It had 4 babies following close behind. I think Nick said it was a grouse? Super cute babies chirping and chasing their Momma.
Finally, we are just feet away from our campsite. We return the wag bags as we did not need them. Thank goodness!!
The sun was starting to set so I quickly made us dinner and we settled in for the night. Mt Whitney checked off the bucket list!
Today is technically a zero day since we are not hiking PCT miles but it's a different kind of zero day. We are hiking 17 miles roundtrip, up to the Summit of Whitney. From Wikipedia: Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States with an elevation of 14,505 feet.
Nick filters us enough water for the day and we empty our backpacks and only put in water, food, and rain gear. We left our tent set up at Crabtree Meadow Ranger Station as we would be returning here in the evening to sleep.
Nick filtering water
Before setting foot on the trail, Nick makes a stop at the outdoor toilet. We are kind of puzzled by the design. Why only 2 walls? It surely isn't for privacy...wind perhaps? The toilet seat is mounted to a wooden box that you sit on. Better than nothing I suppose!
We come across a plastic tub full of wag bags. I didn't know what these were but quickly learned that you poop in them! I guess when you get closer to the summit of Whitney there is no where to poop so you have to poop in this bag and pack it out. Nick and I hoped we wouldn't need to use them.
More pictures of the trail. In the early miles the ascent was very gradual.
Marmots! They are everywhere in this area. So cute...
Guitar Lake
Starting into the section where you have to poop in bags :-)
These flowers had a strong odor. They smelled amazing! And no, it's not poodle dog bush!
A picture taken on the way up to the Summit. Nick carefully balanced the camera on a rock and put on the timer to snap this photo.
Only 1.9 miles to go!!
The day before there had been thunder and lightning at the Summit. We were hoping that there wasn't a repeat today despite the weather forecast calling for bad weather. At the moment it was clear skies above the summit.
Me goofing around on a tricky section of the trail
This section of the trail was very rough and difficult on your feet!
We can see the hut at the summit and little bodies! We are getting closer...
A view of the other side of the summit through a gap in the mountain. It was nice to peak at the other side.
Snow! This was the only snowy section we had to pass through. Interesting formations in the snow (like tiny little peaks)
Pointing up to the hut...nearly there!! Nick and I felt pretty good as we were hiking up to the summit. We passed several day hikers who were really struggling with the altitude and steep ascent. The previous several hundred miles of hiking and sleeping at elevation had given us a huge advantage. I'm not super competitive but it did feel good to pass many day hikers. I usually get passed by PCT hikers on a daily basis so it was fun to feel "fast", even if just for a brief moment :-)
And we are here! The infamous hiker hut on the top of Whitney!
Pictures from the top
I had been sitting on the ledge and then turned 180 degrees to take this photo. I wasn't exactly in a safe position but held on to the rock for a photo. In hindsight, probably not the smartest idea!
Tiny little chipmunks running around on top of the summit
More views from the Summit
It's not easy being cheesy!
Group photo on the summit with some fellow hikers. (From left to right: Tweek, Royce (Vans), Nick (Hard Target), Me, Rainbow, Rooster, and Tank)
Nick noticed these stones and took a picture. They are memorials for fallen soldiers that have been carried up to the summit and placed here. Thank you soldiers for all that you do for us to keep us safe <3
Boys hanging out in the hiker hut
A picture of us loaded up and ready to descend. We had been up here many hours enjoying the views and company of the other hikers. We even met 2 guys who have rock climbed up to the summit and took the mountaineering trail down (impressive).
It never did rain thank goodness!
Signing the registry before we go to make it official
I signed for both of us in the bottom left corner below
Time to descend! Nick coming down through the snow patch.
More beautiful scenes on the way down
When we were close to our campsite we noticed this bird. It had 4 babies following close behind. I think Nick said it was a grouse? Super cute babies chirping and chasing their Momma.
Finally, we are just feet away from our campsite. We return the wag bags as we did not need them. Thank goodness!!
The sun was starting to set so I quickly made us dinner and we settled in for the night. Mt Whitney checked off the bucket list!
Very cool. This day sounds amazing.
ReplyDeleteso amazing!!! So proud of you to get Whitney off your bucket list. The day & views looked perfect and what fun to see familiar faces up there. That picture is of a grouse and they can be very aggressive when protecting their young. I've been bit and chased by one while on a trail run in Utah, so beware!! Nice job with all the climbing and descending today!
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