The adventure started Wednesday night after work with a very long drive to Lone Pine. We originally planned to drive through Yosemite as it would be more fun and Tioga Pass is incredibly beautiful at sunset. At the start of the drive the gps said the route was about the same time as heading south around the Sierras. Although as we got closer to Yosemite a storm had rolled in and the pass was closed. We then had to drive south anyways (sad). Vivien and I took turns driving and sleeping and ended up ariving at our hotel in Lone Pine around 3am.
The next day was a slow start. Waking up just before checkout we did not get to much sleep. We then we grabbed breakfast at a local resturant and planned out our hike.
The plan was:
- Day 1: Whitney Portal to Outpost Camp
- Day 2: Outpost Camp to Trail Camp
- Day 3: Trail Camp to Summit back to Trail Camp
- Day 4: Trail Camp to Whitney Portal
In the end we ended up skipping Day 4 and just hiking all the way back to the car on day 3 and grabbing a hotel for the night.
Day 1
Got all of our gear together, weighed our packs and got on the trail.
The start of the trail
Our tent setup at Outpost Camp
Gourmet dinner
Pretty sunset
Day 2
Packed up camp, had some breakfast and got back on the trail. Today was going to be the shortest day. I wore my really cool sun hat today.
Cool hat
Vivien on the Trail
Trail camp
Day 3
Waking up this morning was rough. The night was really cold at 12,000 feet and until the sun broke over the mountain everything was freezing.
After having a quick breakfast we got ready and headed up for the summit. Within the first 1km we were way to hot and shed most of our layers. There were a bunch of switchbacks but before long we were at trail crest. Took a little break to enjoy the gorgeous views of Sequoia National Park.
The rest of the way up was a lot harder. I really felt the elevation. Eventually we made it to the summit!
All the photos
