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2007-MountWhitney.html
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<h2 class="single">Mt. Whitney, July 2007</h2>
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<p>Pre-trip details: See Anit’s blog (<a href="http://anitguy.blogspot.com/2007/07/mt-whitney.html">AnitGuy</a>). Anit made this trip happen. If you click some of the photos below you can see the higher res versions.</p>
<p>Arrival at LAS: I’m always surprised to see slot machines in the terminal. I met Padraig at bag claim and he was surprised at how I can throw a gun into my bag, check it at the airport, and bring it to Vegas, “no papers.” God bless America. When Alex & Anit arrived we carb loaded at In-N-Out: cheeseburger + double-double + fries. Freaking great. Padraig even called the 800 number, talked to an actual person, and decided there is indeed no dairy in the secret sauce.</p>
<p>Vegas to Lone Pine: Drove 90 miles in Nevada and another 90 across Death Valley. Saw several runners in all-white head-to-toe gear, running in 120+ degree heat at 1pm.</p>
<p><img class="textimage" alt="Death Valley" src="https://i1.wp.com/lh6.google.com/achakra/RpUNyC-oTSI/AAAAAAAAAGw/FTdP4T95wDM/s400/DSCF0718.JPG" /></p>
<p>Immediately thought that Roger might be a candidate for this type of insanity. Hatched a plan to hike across Death Valley in winter sometime. Consumed an entire 12-pack of bottled water, one with an iodine tablet as a taste test (foreshadowing: Alex is going to make a LOT of iodine water this trip).</p>
<p>Lone Pine: The bathrooms here were the nicest bathrooms in a ranger station, ever. Our entry permit for Meysan Lake was easy. Our exit permit for Trail Crest …… after a long pause …… was approved. Score. We could start that night from the Whitney Portal campground at 7900′. We jammed all our food into 3 bear canisters and we took the “waste bags” to pack out our poo (yes, three of us actually did it — one of us did it a LOT).</p>
<p>Our proposed route:</p>
<p><a title="Proposed Route" href="https://brownianmotion.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/whtopo3.gif"><img alt="Proposed Route" src="https://brownianmotion.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/whtopo3.gif?w=400" width="400" /></a></p>
<p>Trailhead – 7900′: Had our last taste of Doritos for 3 days. Departed the car at 5:30pm with essentially no acclimation (we had all started the day near sea level).</p>
<p><img class="textimage" alt="" src="https://i0.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/photos/172196039-S.jpg" /></p>
<p>The trail climbs immediately (and “relentlessly,” according to our guidebook). It was tiring, but good conversation made the time pass quickly.</p>
<p><img class="textimage" alt="" src="https://i2.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/photos/172196071-S.jpg" /></p>
<p>We hiked until exhaustion at 10:30pm, two hours of which was done by headlamp. We found a flat spot near a stream and lake. Padraig cooked dinner (and remembered to remove the dessicant), Alex & Anit pumped water, and I pitched the tent. Actually, Alex iodined water. Alex and I slept outside. You wouldn’t think that mosquitoes could operate at 45 degree temperatures at 11,000ft, but they can. There were a phenomenal amount of stars until 11:30pm. Then the moon rose and lit the entire valley. I had trouble sleeping, as usual for a first night above 8000′.</p>
<p>Daybreak at Camp Lake: Good luck sleeping past 5:30am. The sunrise was orangish-pink and extremely bright.</p>
<p><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/photos/172196216-L.jpg"><img class="textimage" alt="" src="https://i0.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/photos/172196216-S.jpg" /></a></p>
<p>We discovered that last night’s exhaustion and darkness caused us to camp on the trail. The Forest Service asks you to camp at least 100′ off the trail. Our tent was literally sitting on the trail. Hah! Good thing we didn’t see anybody for nearly two days. In the light, our campsite was beautiful.</p>
<p><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/photos/172193501-L.jpg"><img class="textimage" alt="camp lake" src="https://i0.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/photos/172193501-S.jpg" /></a></p>
<p>Alex iodined some water. We packed and departed. Our plan was to arrive at Meysan lake early, eat second breakfast, then ascend the 2000 vertical foot slope that the guidebook called “the crux of the journey.”</p>
<p>Meysan Lake – 11500′: After a couple hours climbing a rough trail through the rocks</p>
<p><img class="textimage" alt="camp lake to Meysan lake" src="https://i2.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/photos/172193562-S.jpg" /></p>
<p>we arrived above Meysan Lake. Across the lake is the face we planned to ascend. It looks really steep from here, but I assured everyone that sometimes these things look harder from far away, but are tolerable up close.</p>
<p><a title="ridge route" href="https://brownianmotion.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/ridge2.jpg"><img class="textimage" alt="ridge route" src="https://brownianmotion.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/ridge2.jpg?w=400" width="400" /></a></p>
<p>The trail ended and we began cross-country travel. We took the east (left) route around the lake. There’s a lot of life for 11k+ feet: birds, fish, mosquitoes, plants, moss, lichen, marmots, chipmunks, even grass. (Yes — the same grass you have trouble growing in your yard, at sea level, with water and fertilizer — that same grass grows nicely on rocks at 11k ft.) We rested, ate again, Alex iodined some water, and we began the long climb.</p>
<p>The ridge – 11500′ to 13500′: From afar you can see the basic idea — the bottom third is loose rock (scree) and boulders. The middle third is cliffs. The top third is more scree.</p>
<p><img class="textimage" alt="" src="https://i2.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/photos/172193950-S.jpg" /></p>
<p>Our guidebook recommended ascending the second gully, then following the cliffs between the 2nd and 3rd gullies. Reaching the cliffs takes a long time. There’s no trail — you pick your way across scree and boulders. Sometimes it’s straightforward. Sometimes the rocks are so loose that you end up surfing several feet downhill on softball-sized rocks. Look closely to find Alex (or is it Padraig?) in these photos:</p>
<p><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/photos/172194134-L.jpg"><img class="textimage" alt="" src="https://i1.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/photos/172194134-M.jpg" width="338" height="450" /></a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/photos/172194285-L.jpg"><img class="textimage" alt="" src="https://i1.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/photos/172194285-M.jpg" width="338" height="450" /></a></p>
<p>It took an hour or two to climb this first third. Alex arrived at the cliffs first and the rest of us followed. Distances are deceptive without any man-made objects to provide scale. Looking back towards the lake, this rock is larger than our 6-man dome tent:</p>
<p><a title="Meysan lake from above" href="https://brownianmotion.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/meysanabove2.jpg"><img alt="Meysan lake from above" src="https://brownianmotion.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/meysanabove2.jpg?w=400" width="400" /></a></p>
<p>The cliffs: Alex and I attempted to find a route up the rocks. The rocks were not cooperative; most of them slant down the mountain and offer no level or uphill footholds. There is loose gravel everywhere. When you grab a rock with your hands, it often flakes off. And there’s a definite feeling of exposure, that if you slipped too far down, you’d get into serious steep trouble. This section would be challenging without a pack. At 12000′ and a full pack, it’s hard. Here’s the start of the cliffs, looking back towards Anit and Padraig:</p>
<p><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/photos/172194459-L.jpg"><img class="textimage" alt="" src="https://i2.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/photos/172194459-S.jpg" /></a></p>
<p>It was so slow that I decided to drop my pack and scout for a route. After a hundred feet of climbing and traversing, it was apparent that (a) we were nowhere near the top and (b) it didn’t get easier. The route upward looks like this:</p>
<p><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/photos/172194582-L.jpg"><img class="textimage" alt="" src="https://i1.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/photos/172194582-S.jpg" /></a></p>
<p>I returned to report the discouraging news. Deciding to abort is the toughest part of any adventure. Ultimately we made the right call, but it sucks to turn around, and descending was NOT easy. Later, from afar, we realized that we had ascended about 1/3 of the rock portion, thus less than half of the total altitude.</p>
<p>The descent: Climbing the steep, loose rock was difficult; descending it was horrible. It took several hours. Most of us ran out of water. If you can find Alex in this photo you win a prize:</p>
<p><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/photos/172194878-L.jpg"><img class="textimage" alt="" src="https://i0.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/photos/172194878-S.jpg" /></a></p>
<p>The moment we laid down at Meysan Lake, Alex and I both got enormous headaches. I knew I needed water but I felt too crappy to drink. Eventually I took an Advil and started the iodine water. I drank a gallon and didn’t urinate for 5 hours. (Of course, after we went to bed, I awoke 6 times for the bathroom). We expertly cooked our dinners and went to bed at 8pm.</p>
<p><a title="Meysan lake camp" href="https://brownianmotion.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/meysancamp2.jpg"><img alt="Meysan lake camp" src="https://brownianmotion.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/meysancamp2.jpg?w=400" width="400" /></a></p>
<p>Alex slept outside again; I felt like too much crap. The wake-up-for-bathroom totals for the night: Anit 0, Padraig 0, Alex 1, Jeff 6. I guess I won.</p>
<p>Sunrise was beautiful again. You can see our tent in the shadows on the right side of the foreground:</p>
<p><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/photos/172195061-L.jpg"><img class="textimage" alt="" src="https://i0.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/photos/172195061-S.jpg" /></a></p>
<p>We packed and began our descent. Alex iodined some water. Though we were tired, the degree of difficultly seemed pleasant after the scree/cliff experience of the day before.</p>
<p><a title="Easy descent" href="https://brownianmotion.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/descent2.jpg"><img alt="Easy descent" src="https://brownianmotion.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/descent2.jpg?w=400" width="400" /></a></p>
<p>As we began our descent from Meysan Lake we could see our campsite from two nights earlier: it’s even prettier from above. (Try to find Anit. Hint: He’s under a tree.)</p>
<p><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/photos/172195680-L.jpg"><img class="textimage" alt="" src="https://i2.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/photos/172195680-S.jpg" /></a></p>
<p>At this point, the valley was about 8000 feet below us:</p>
<p><a href="http://brownianmotion.smugmug.com/photos/172195585-L.jpg"><img class="textimage" alt="" src="https://i1.wp.com/brownianmotion.smugmug.com/photos/172195585-S.jpg" /></a></p>
<p>We descended about half of this distance on foot, then the remaining 4000′ by car. We passed 3 people on our descent: one grizzly-looking dude and two Euro-looking day-hikers. These were the first people we’d seen since passing a day-hiker on our initial entry.</p>
<p>BLM lands: We drove to Lone Pine, bought water and beer, returned the bear canisters, and used the exquisite restrooms. We felt a little better about ourselves upon talking to a friendly ranger. We described our route (Meysan entry and Trail Crest exit) and her only comment was, “I didn’t even know you could GO that way!” Next we met Anne and her parents. Anne’s folks have an H1, a real Hummer. They camp all over the western US, get stuck in drainage washes, explore abandoned mines, etc. They found a nice shady spot on BLM land in the foothills of the Sierra.</p>
<p><a title="BLM land" href="https://brownianmotion.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/blm2.jpg"><img class="textimage" alt="BLM land" src="https://brownianmotion.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/blm2.jpg?w=400" width="400" /></a></p>
<p>They also pack lamb curry in vacuum-sealed pouches. We shot a couple hundred rounds of 9mm into a hillside while they cooked us a very satisfying dinner. The team sat down and enjoyed the evening.</p>
<p><a title="4 of us" href="https://brownianmotion.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/all4.jpg"><img class="textimage" alt="4 of us" src="https://brownianmotion.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/all4.jpg?w=400" width="400" /></a></p>
<p>We had decided to sleep under the stars until a visitor slithered across the road:</p>
<p><a title="Rattlesnake" href="https://brownianmotion.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/snake2.jpg"><img class="textimage" alt="Rattlesnake" src="https://brownianmotion.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/snake2.jpg?w=400" width="400" /></a></p>
<p>He was just a baby rattlesnake, but he convinced us to sleep in our tent.</p>
<p>The road to Vegas: We abandoned Padraig to Anne’s family and drove towards Vegas. We saw more runners, though this time it was 10am, so temps had only reached 100+. The lowest point in the western hemisphere (Badwater Basin, -282′) was a bit far out of the way, but we did manage to hit -242′.</p>
<p><a title="-242 feet" href="https://brownianmotion.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/lowpoint2.jpg"><img class="textimage" alt="-242 feet" src="https://brownianmotion.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/lowpoint2.jpg?w=400" width="400" /></a></p>
<p>Vegas: Checking into the Venetian was comical. We stood in the lobby holding torn Wal-Mart bags full of half-eaten food. We tried to strategically pick an empty elevator, but it kept stopping … and stopping … and more people kept getting on … until we were crammed in the back, and people were sniffing to determine who smelled SO stinky. After several showers we felt good. After a comp’ed lunch of lobster sandwiches we felt even better. After lounging on the pool deck we felt better still. And of course, Anit knows everyone in America, so he ran into a bunch of friends in the pool. I departed the night flight at 11pm, leaving Alex to convince Anit to gamble. I hope it worked. We already got Anit to shoot a gun (first time) this trip, so might as well throw gambling into the mix. We even got him to drink some alcohol.</p>
<p>We failed to summit, but we accomplished our primary goal, which was to stay alive. As Jerry Seinfeld says about scuba diving, the primary point of the sport is to not die. There’s a fish, don’t die, there’s a clam, don’t die. We will return to summit one day, perhaps even taking a non-extreme route.</p>
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<p>[…] years after our Mt. Whitney travails we plotted our return. Too late for the Whitney lottery, and wanting more solitude anyway, we […]</p>
<div class="comment-author vcard cmntmeta comment-meta commentmetadata"><span class="fn"><a href='https://brownianmotion.wordpress.com/2011/02/14/kings-canyon-sept-2010/' rel='external nofollow' class='url'>Kings Canyon, Sept 2010 « brownianmotion</a></span> - February 14, 2011 at 12:02 am</a> </div>
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