Monday, October 6, 2008

12 Hours Of Hiking

On Wednesday Mary and I hiked Mt. Whitney and we both agree that this was definitely the most challenging hike we’ve ever done. Yes, the 22 roundtrip miles were a lot to hike in a day. Yes, the 6,000 feet of elevation gain was difficult. However, the most challenging part of the hike was the altitude.

Mt. Whitney tops out at 14,497 feet according to the handout the ranger station gave us but the pain of oxygen deprivation started much sooner than that. For Mary, it hit around 11,000 feet; for me, around 13,000 feet. Appetites were lost, headaches were formed and our pace slowed considerably...but we made it! The funny thing is that once you get up there all you can think about is how you want to get down. The immediate view was spectacular, although the CA smog limited it considerably which was too bad.

We started at 6:30am (sun was just rising when we hit the trail) and ended a little after 6:30pm. 12 hours of hiking is too much for me but I’m glad Mary twisted my arm on this one. Here are some other random notes from our day on Mt. Whitney:

  • Met a 66 yo woman named Joan on our way down. She had hiked 11 miles that day...in Keds. I liked Joan.
  • I think I’d consider doing this again if I did it in three days, camping close to the summit so it wasn’t such a slog to get up there. That would also give more time to get used to the altitude.
  • Never eat Spam above 12,000 feet.
  • We didn’t reserve a permit like they say you have to. Just go mid-week when it isn’t peak season (with good weather of course) and get one from the Ranger Station. I can’t stand the fact that you are supposed to reserve a spot to hike.
  • Be prepared for a raging headache. We didn’t lose them until the following morning.

1 comment:

Flan said...

You two need to get to Colorado for some Fourteeners! Those altitude headaches won't be a hassle anymore. I used to get them when I first moved out here. If it gets real bad descend slightly and take a break, it works really well, descending is really the only thing that works.