Mt. Whitney Adventure Part 3: The Hike

I always get a little nervous going to meet a new group of people. There is an uneasiness to it all, but there is also an excitement of the unexpected.  The Team 4 crew meet at a local cafe in Lone Pine, CA for breakfast. It's hard to know how much or how little to eat on a morning like this.  You don't want to start the trail hungry, but you don't want to feel stuffed either. Everyone was eating a hearty meal, except the girls who seemed content to eat mostly fruit.  As we finished up it was time for gear check across the street.

Everyone brought their gear and laid it out on a sidewalk for the guides (Forest & Thomas) to go through and see what we really need as opposed to what we thought we needed.  You begin to get a sense of peoples personalities through this process.  I tend to think I need more than I really do, so this was a tough process for me. I began to hand over pieces of equipment and clothes to Jeremy and Matthew to put back in the car.  Knowing we would carry everything we need for the next 4 days should make it easier to let go, but there is always this nagging feeling of "I might need that."

The was a little bit of group gear and food to distribute between all of us and I grabbed a large bag of vegetables and a canister of fuel. Then came the unenviable task of packing it all back up.  One of the guys Chris had a Jeep Unlimited and offered that I could catch a ride with him up to the trail head. I'll always choose the Jeep if given the choice. I threw my pack in and filled up my water bottles.  Then said goodbye to Jeremy & Matthew so they could begin their next phase of their journey (they had to suffer through seeing the great Sequoya trees, Yosemite NP, and Mammoth Lake).

Everyone one loaded up and we took off to the Mt. Whitney Portal.  There was a scale there at the trail head and mine weighed in at only 45lbs. I say only because I have had 55lb packs on previous mountain trips, but we didn't have the weight of tents or stoves, which were already on the mountain.

There is something beautiful about getting on the trail, feeling the burn of the thighs, getting a feel for everyone's hiking speed, and realizing that for the next 3 and a half days this would be the norm.  Team 4 was a great group of people with some real characters among us.  Many were quiet on the trail and I naturally assumed my regular semi-chatty mode, trying to learn a little more about everyone along the way.

That evening we had a great time as the guide made dinner and we all felt a little spoiled. We hung out on the rock overlooking Lower Boy Scout Lake (around 10,300 ft), with Mt. Whitney towering overhead. Everyone turned in early to get some good rest before day 2. Many of us woke before the guides did and I filled my time with a little "quiet time" on a huge rock next to my tent.  We ate breakfast and prepared for our next day of hiking.

Day 2 brought a new set of challenges and excitement. We had to traverse some snow and the trail was obviously becoming more steep. We met up with Team three and they were coming down from high camp. It was fun hearing the adventures and stories of their summit climb, which would be the next day for us.  Jon Dorn (editor of Backpacker magazine) and our third guide (Tristan) joined us at this point as well. We made the hike up to high camp (around 12,200 ft) at reasonable hour and waited for our training and dinner.

The team was coming together.  One of the guys had been struggling these first two days. He was recovering from strep throat the week before, and the determination was made that he would not attempt the summit.  We were down to 9 of us plus Jon and the guides.  We enjoyed the afternoon sun, wondering what was in store for us over the next 24hrs.