Mt. Whitney, here I come

[napman]

From Wikipedia,
Mount Whitney is the highest summit in the contiguous United States with an elevation of 14,505 feet (4,421 m).[1] It is located at the boundary between California's Inyo and Tulare counties, just 76 miles (122 km) west of the lowest point in North America at Badwater in Death Valley National Park (282 feet (86 m) below sea level). The western slope of the mountain lies within Sequoia National Park and the summit is the southern terminus of the John Muir Trail which runs 211.9 miles (341.0 km) from Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley. The eastern slope lies in the Inyo National Forest in Inyo County.

Sunday July 5th 09

I got to Lone Pine which is the gateway city to go up Mt. Whitney at around 10.10 am and almost got pass Visitor center but than abruptly changed my mind for some unknown reasons and made a right turn in there.
Exchanged glances with the lady behind counter and casually asked her about the daily cancellation reservations. Luck?s on my side! She said there were 7 spaces for tomorrow and asked me if I want to take one? ?Certainly lady? was my answer. What have I got to lose even if I didn?t expect that at all before I strolled right in.

I merrily walked out with the day hike permit in hand. (Daily permit allows you to hike pass Lone Pine lake up to the summit if you want to from Midnight of Monday to Midnight of Tuesday but not allow to stay overnight on the trail)

I immediately tried to call my wife for the good news but there?s no signal reception for my cell phone at Lone Pine area, so I had to text message her instead. I parked my truck at the supermarket and went in just to check it out and went into Subway sandwich franchise restaurant to get the 1 foot sandwich deal for my lunch and dinner when I go up to my campsite so I don?t have to search for food any at any other places else.

From Lone Pine, I drove up onto Whitney portal to get up to my reserved campsite tht located closer to the trail head.




At the campsite I settled in and pitched my tent and stuff



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETM6X1DsxME

hiked up along the creek to Portal pond just to kill my time and to see what?s going on and as usual the fall at the pond area had quite a lot of water coming down and people were quietly enjoyed fishing for trout at the pond, on the way back down, I went down in the creek under the fall to feel the water, way too cold, in there about 1min. And give up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbFZO3uWeXw
I went to bed around 8.00 pm.

Monday July 6th 09

I woke up around 3.00 am. Dressed up according for an easy hike. Start up from trail head at 4.45 am. And luckily caught the sunrise during the first mile or so.




After texted msg to my wife I just took my time strolling along and planned to drop by at Lone Pine lake. Then I met another middle age couples along the way and I found out their names later, they were Greg Sawyer and his sister Dianne, they asked if I saw a group with 10 years old boy passed me by I said I didn?t see anybody yet. It took me about 1 and half hour to get to LP lake. Right there I immediately changed my original plan because the swarm of mosquitoes are waiting for me to greet me with their sharp teeth. I had to keep on moving to avoid becoming their breakfast. So off I went right up to the next higher destination ?The meadows and Outpost camp?



I tried to text msg to my wife but very weak signal right from this spot up so it failed to even text msg from this point up, I hiked up to the meadows.

I found out about Greg and Dianne?s trips to Havasupai Indian reservation that I fondly think of from time to time after casually talked to them at around the meadows area ( I did backpacking there 3 different times in 3 different seasons with mostly all different people in the early 70s to late 70s). So I interviewed Greg about their first trip here at Whitney and also their Havasupai trips at Outpost camp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZfK3LD5pPU


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9rn3l8WO_4


I went up to Mirror lake which was on the right hand side, and it took me 1 hr from LP lake to M. lake





Consolation lake was next on the left hand side, I?d let the pictures tell the story here, all I can suggest that look at the curve at the top! To me it?s one of the many masterpieces up here by mother nature!



Here's from a different angle/zoom


Before I got to Trail camp that cost me another 2 hrs I spotted these 3 old die-hard backpackers.




Up at Trail camp I met Rob Beltramo who?s waiting for his hiking mates who?re trying to scale the summit, Rob scaled the Summit with Rick his brother when they were 25 and 19 respectively, now Rob is 61 and Rick passed away not many years ago, so his kid and friends climb Whitney this time in honor and for Rick?s memory. We had a real nice conversation and knew too well that it could be the only time we possibly have and may never see each other again (he lives in Carson City, Nevada). Sometimes it?s kind of hard to say goodbye to someone that you?ve never met before but right from that first conservation you feel like you?ve known that person for a long time ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c--_J5tKBkA

And also right at this location I said goodbye to Greg, Dianne and two others guys who pushed onto the infamous 97 switchbacks that will take them up to the summit for the next 4 hrs or so if they still able to keep on putting one foot in front of the other for that long and at that altitude, To my gut feeling and my experiences I didn?t think they?d make it because they?re already too late at this point of time at that location but I hoped for their best anyway!

Here's our Whitney Hilton that I and Chai spent a night few years back, notice how the rocks are arranged into a tent sites??


Here's the gateway to go up to the infamous 97 switchbacks;


Here's when I look down to LP lake on the way down;



I dropped by LP lake on the way back, almost nobody there just a couple and their baby and a man fishing at the other end and I guessed the mosquitoes are taking an afternoon nap so they were not around to greet me like in the morning hours again!,









http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np5y-mSEf8k

I was down at trail head about 4.00 pm. Depleted all my water but thanks to Rob?s candies that he gave to me before we said our first goodbye. From my experiences in the past I knew that I really having a bad sunburned. But I couldn?t really blame anything or anybody else. You see, I thought I would have gone up to, at the most ?Mirror lake? but you know sometimes greed gets the best of us! So I didn?t apply any sunscreen lotion on me at all, I figure it?d take me only 6 hrs hike in all, but I just couldn?t resist the temptation and kept going up to the higher and next destination until I got to Trail camp that I and Chai my hiking buddy spent a night 2 years ago.

It took me almost 11 hrs and roughly 12 miles in all (from 5.00 am. To 4.00 pm, from trail head to Trail camp), so I was under the mercy of the direct sun around 9-10 hrs and as you may know, the higher the altitude the stronger the UV (Ultra Violet) ray is!

I went into my tent at 7.00 pm and tried to sleep but couldn?t until around 11.00 pm and I still don?t know why?. Possibly because the enjoyment and the excitement from the hike itself?

Woke right up at around 3.00 am. and couldn?t get back to sleep, just tossing and turning around in my tent, and the weather was very mild despite the snow up on the mountain.

I packed up and left at 5.00 am. Dropped by at Alabama hills ( this is one of a fascinated place to go and see, for more info and pictures please google it on the Web) to take few pics,

Here's the sample of Alabama Hills.


I dropped in at McDonald for breakfast at 6.10 am.
Say goodbye to Lone Pine, hope to be back next year. I drove off and got home around 9.30 am


I hope you guys enjoy this kind of semi-adventure trips from your far away land just like I did, to my humble opinion people spend too much time in the boxes that they built and most of them also died in there without knowing what?s out there waiting to be discovered and enjoyed within their reach.

All I can say is I?ve learnt about myself without anybody else's judgments much more in the wood alone and all by myself, I may be alone sometimes but never lonely.

Just one last thing, mother nature is a very good teacher but very unforgiving one, so prepare yourselves at your best before attempt any of these adventurous expeditions.

Next month (August 9-11) my annual Half Dome hike at Yosemite is coming up, I just wish I were able to drag ?V74? up there with me for the real nice pictures from his magic hands and eyes, but again just like they say ""If all birds that sang, were those who sang best, the forest would be silent" oh well, ?You can?t always get what you want? just like Mick Jagger said!!!

So in the meantime, just enjoy these pictures from the non-experience hands of mine and hope they will somehow inspire you to go out and greet the real world around you while you can with PEACE & LOVE & FRIENDSHIP all around you.

Happy trail to you, until we meet again my younger friends!