Welcome to the 12th Edition of the Mt. Whitney Day Hike and Backpacking Page

What do you need to do to get ready to summit Mt. Whitney? Not much or a lot, it depends on the trip you pick, your experience, gear and fitness level. Most any day during the July through the end of October my hiking partner and I can summit this mountain via the MMWT backpacking. We both maintain a fitness level that makes going 6 miles, +3,600' to Trail Camp a fairly easy day and summit day is a piece of cake...10 miles round trip with a very light pack. Day hiking is another matter entirely.

Our fitness level generally one that guarantees a 12 mile, +4,000' will not produce aches and pains the following day. This translates to, we can do the 22 mile torture test but our bodies will not be happy with us the following morning. For us, about a month of hard training would suffice...being geezers has something to with the duration of the necessary training. However, someone with legendary couch potato status had better start early in the year and plan not going to the mountain until late August to early September...and still there would be no guarantees of success. So many things can go wrong for day hikers, things; such as, not being in the shape you think you are in, not bringing enough clothing or gear, walling out at an elevation they never hiked before, fear of heights, weather and Acute Mountain Sickness. Most of this can be addressed with a comprehensive training program and curiosity...excepting weather.

If you are a NoCal or SoCal and have never been to 14,000' there are no excuses why you should not see this elevation before you enter Whitney Portal. White Mountain Peak is located in the shadows of the Sierra; thus, sees comparatively very little snow when compared to the Sierra and its summit can be reached most years in June or at the very latest early July. The big advantage of an early White Mountain trip is you experience hiking extended periods over 12,000', something you can't do in SoCal or NoCal, and you will mostly find out whether or not you are affected negatively by elevation in time to do something about it.

We feel every potential Mt. Whitney hiker should read the missions of the Inyo County Search and Rescue Team before taking one step on the trail and learn what can go very wrong on a trail that is benign most of time during the summer months.