Mt. Whitney Trip Report

Mt. Whitney Trip Report
(August 13 – 16, 2001) by Larry Walker

Attendees: Robert Buhrman, Paul Geiger, Marty Pietz, Niki Pietz, and Larry Walker

“I only went out for a walk, and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.” John Muir

“Walk away quietly in any direction and taste the freedom of the mountaineer. Camp out among the grasses and gentians of glacial meadows, in craggy garden nooks full of nature's darlings. Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drip off like autumn leaves. As age comes on, one source of enjoyment after another is closed, but nature's sources never fail.” John Muir

August 13, 2001 – Monday, Day One: We (Marty, Niki, Bob, and Larry) drove to Whitney Portal from Phoenix. No matter what anyone tells you, it’s a 12-hour drive. Stay away from those circling spot lights as you pass through Nevada. It was a pretty easy and beautiful drive. Going through Death Valley’s like riding a roller coaster – don’t eat too much before you travel this way. We arrived at Whitney Portal, which is about 13 miles from Lone Pine, CA and 5,000 ft. higher, at about midnight. We confirmed Paul’s truck in the parking lot and then got settled in for sleep in Marty’s truck. Paul was our experienced tour guide on the trip. He’s been up Whitney 5 or 6 times, but never the main trail, always the North Fork Lone Pine Creek and Mountaineer’s Route, or climbing.

August 14, 2001 – Tuesday, Day Two: We arose about 06:30. Some of us didn’t fair too well sleeping. That would prove instrumental in the decisions we made latter. Well, we got ourselves ready to go and then decided to take advantage of the breakfast offering at the Portal Store; or should I say, it took advantage of us. The standard breakfast bill-o-fare was 2 eggs, meat (sausage or bacon) and a pancake. Well, little did we imagine that the pancake would be 15 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick! No problem, right? Just eat what you can, right? Well, these secret alien pancakes were designed to cripple hikers as they ascend the majestic Mt. Whitney. These things were belched and felt all the way to Upper Boy Scout Lake! They had a strong/strange taste of vanilla.

We finally pulled out of the Portal at around 09:00. We hiked/climbed the North Fork Lone Pine Creek Route up toward the east side of Mt. Whitney. It was a tough day in a beautiful place. With bad sleep, bad food, and one grunt-of-a-trail, we were whipped. Our goal was to make it to Iceberg Lake (aka. East Face Lake) by mid to late afternoon. We made it to Lower Boy Scout Lake in time for a late lunch around 12:30 to 13:00 or so. There we took rest and ate lunch. That’s where Paul joined the belly-achers with his unsettling tuna fish lunch. I measured the altitude of Lower Boy Scout Lake with my faithful GPS receiver to be approximately 10,299 ft. (within an accuracy of 19 ft.). What a gorgeous lake. After our break, we then headed on up to Upper Boy Scout Lake, thinking it was just over the next visible rise – wrong. We had 2 rises to climb.

We arrived at Upper Boy Scout Lake at about 15:00. After much discussion, and several more vanilla farts and tuna belches, we decided this was our home for the night. We would day-hike to the summit tomorrow from here. Actually, that turned out to be the perfect plan. Upper Boy Scout Lake was breathtaking: crystal clear, crisp, cold, deep blue water with trout swimming by. The sun was really dancing on the water’s surface when we arrived – the pixies at play. Paul jumped in. I measured the altitude of Upper Boy Scout Lake to be approximately 11,345 ft. (26 ft. accuracy). We did some exploring, set up camp, and had our supper: turkey and stuffing was the request from Niki. After our day of exertion and fatigue, we were very sensitive to the drop in temperature when the sun went out of sight; everyone bundled up. We all crashed about 20:00, very tired. No satellite or star watching tonight. Bob was literally asleep within 1 minute of laying down on his sleeping bag – I’ve never seen him do that, ever! But come the middle of the night when all of us occasionally awake, we were treated to the most magnificent sky you could ever imagine. Every planet and star shone like the moon; it was blinding to look at Venus. The cooler temperatures (mid 40’s °F) made for great sleeping. Upper Boy Scout Lake is above the timberline, so bears were not likely, but we still bear-packed most of our food and hung the rest from a tall rock to keep the marmots and chipmunks out.

August 15, 2001 – Wednesday, Day Three: The Big day: Mt. Whitney summit assault: the highest point in the 48 contiguous states of the U.S.! We rolled out of Upper Boy Scout Lake around 07:45 and arrived at Iceberg Lake at 09:15. It would have killed us if we had continued yesterday, and Iceberg is not the better looking lake. As we were walking up, we didn’t see the lake just below Thor’s Pt. off to our south, but it could easily be seen from the summit. Iceberg Lake is quite picturesque; however, from a distance it looks like a denuded anthill area. This area is finally, truly above the timber and vegetation line. Well, Paul, our guide on this adventure, begins to explain to us just exactly how we’re supposed to get to the top of Mt. Whitney from here. I’m sure we all looked concerned. I looked around and even Paul was staring incessantly at the anticipated route. From Iceberg Lake the route looks daunting, but Paul assured us that it was no problem; then he asked if I remembered the rope… I measured the altitude at Iceberg Lake to be approximately 12,680 ft. (I forgot to write it down, duh).

Well, we screwed up our courage, and rolled out from Iceberg around 09:30. Up the chute, through the notch, around the corner, and up a steep climb, and we were on top at 12:30. The climb was not bad or that dangerous, it was steep and the air is thin. We (except Paul, who lives at 7,000 ft.) had slight, dull headaches most of the day. Breathing was a challenge. There was no snow or ice to negotiate the whole trip, except at the very last leg, we had to stay left to keep out of it. The snow was hard and slick. I guess someone slipped, fell, and died on this route about 2 weeks before we came up – bummer. What a view we had from the top. It was clear and you could see forever. The shack on top is very interesting in that it is covered with lightning rods. I guess that’s the number one cause of death on Mt. Whitney. The markers on top say 14,496.811 ft. as measured in 1930. I guess the actual height is changing. I measured an elevation of 14,501 ft. (17 ft. accuracy). We munched on top. Looked at all the people. Visited the “loo with a view.” Took lots of photos. Signed the register. And decided to leave.

We probably started down around 13:30. It took us almost exactly half the time to do everything in reverse: only 1.5 hours down to Iceberg Lake. We arrived back at Upper Boy Scout Lake at 16:15 after a little last minute race down the trail, which Larry won. What a great day. We saw and talked to several parties coming up to Iceberg Lake for the night. They looked dead. We were glad we stopped earlier at Upper Boy Scout Lake.

When we returned to Upper Boy Scout Lake, we all took a dip in the cold water; it was wonderful: screams and all. We settled in to supper preparations and clean up. Our group had Red Beans and Rice, which was most excellent – sleeping bag warmers. It was a nice night for talking and relaxing. The big joke of the trip was the Plastic Bag Institute dropouts who were assigned to design the poopy pickup baggies. So many people visit this area, that it is now a carry “everything” out area – not just the paper, but the poop too! Well, they have these kits, kind of like your dog poop kits, whereby you place your hand in a large puppet-looking sack/glove, pick up your items, flip it inside out, and put it in the poopy storage bag. After all’s said and done, you put the large bag in another fluorescent orange bag, and haul the stuff out. Orange is for the protection of others. Well, mister poopy puppet was quite the rage – for a while. We all crashed about 21:00 for a well-deserved rest. The sky was beautiful.

August 16, 2001 – Thursday, Day Four: We were sorry to be leaving so soon, but it felt like we had been on the mountain for a long time. We were well rested and recalibrated. We rolled out of Upper Boy Scout Lake around 08:20 and arrive at the Whitney Portal parking lot at 11:20: not bad. We must have been barn sour. What a steep trail this North Fork Lone Pine Creek and Mountaineer's Route is. Coming down, we didn’t remember it being so steep when we were coming up. Looking back over the trail, there is a lot of potential to bust ankles and knees on this route: extreme care is advised. The showers had been vandalized the night before (8/15), so we had to ride into Lone Pine for a shower. The town is full of showers. We stopped at the barber shop for ours; he had 3 showers: $4 per shower including towel. What a gorgeous place the Mt. Whitney area is.

We said our goodbyes and thanks to Paul, and headed for the lowest point in the U.S.: Badwater, NV, elevation –282 ft. Well, we only got to Furnace Creek, elevation –190 ft. 121 °F, whew! I had forgotten what those temperatures feel like. Even the water in the fountains was hot. We stopped at the NPS visitor’s center to read all about Borax production, Scotty’s castle, and why it’s called Death Valley. In brief, a family seeking gold got some bad directions and ended up here. Many died, hence, Death Valley. Cool stuff here, but I bet it was a miserable existence.

Further on through Death Valley, we came across the Chicago to Los Angeles bicycle riders. Boy did they look miserable. We saw 1^st through 7^th places.

Then we came to the famous Pahrump, NV, home of Art Bell! It looked much better from further away. Pahrump was a dump. We found the billboards for the brothels entertaining.

On to Kingman, AZ for supper and then home via Prescott way. Great lightning show on the way home – welcome home to AZ.

Overall Comments: What an OUTSTANDING trip! Nice job putting it all together, Paul and Marty! Again I was very impressed with the physical yet relaxing nature of the trip. I was also impressed with the stamina of our group, especially Niki. That poor girl weighs half as much as we do and carries almost the same amount, and keeps up, and she doesn’t complain! Take your time and enjoy it all you can. Be careful on the trail. It’s rocky and steep with some areas of exposure. Keep your head about you. God, once again, preserved us from serious injury. And we thank Him. There are a couple of loose rocks on the trail, I forget exactly where they are…

There is plenty of water: waterfalls around every corner. All water should be purified; although, it’s probably pretty safe. Some mosquitoes were around the lakes. Bring some bug repellant. I think the whole North Fork Lone Pine Creek and Mountaineer's Routes are about 9 miles total. This whole route is also known as the John Muir Route in some circles. As with all outdoor adventures, eat, eat, and drink. Semper paratus – be ready for anything.

Link to other trip reports.