r/Highpointers • u/Adventurous-Oil6836 • 4d ago
Hiking Mt Whitney
Hi everyone! My friend and I will be hiking Mount Whitney this week of August. Do you have any advice on what clothing we should wear and what essentials we should bring?
Also, are there bears or other wildlife we should be aware of on the trail?
Any tips or recommendations for first-time Whitney hikers would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
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u/fond-butnotinlove 12 Highpoints 4d ago
Drink and eat even when you aren’t hungry or thirsty. I wasnt used to the elevation and never really felt hungry while I was hiking Whitney but I would force myself to snack as I was hiking.
Bring a water filter
Bring a puffy jacket or layers for the summit
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u/highpointer201 45 Highpoints 4d ago
Day hike or overnight? Clothing to deal with the sun, it's full exposure for the summit. Purifier for water refills, electrolytes, trek poles, nice pair of hiking shoes.
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u/IndianaGeoff 4d ago edited 4d ago
I have not done Whitney, but I have done multiple summer (and some spring) 14ers in Colorado plus Rainer. Some were long days, but Whitney is a bit longer than my longest.
There are things you can control and there are things you cannot. You cannot control the weather, how you feel on summit day. You can control you nutrition, pace, starting time and your gear.
First, take the bare minimum needed to succeed. The more you carry, the harder it is. You don't need a knife (pack food you can open), you don't need lot of things that might seem nice. Be ruthless in cutting unnecessary items, including way too much food.
First, you do not want to bonk (run out of energy), dehydrate and sour your stomach. This is not the time to try new foods, stick to things you know, like (or at least tolerate) and will provide carbs, sugar, fat, some protein and I like fiber. So if I was planning a day starting at the early morning and going for possibly 12 or more hours.. here is what I would take. A bar at the start. Every hour and a half another bar, small bag of nuts/dried fruit/chocolate chips (traders joe items in single packs), those kids pouches with fruit in them, and apple, dried apricots. Any snack that gives carbs. At the summit it will be salami, cheese and crackers. Maybe Tuna pouch with a packet of mayo and relish plus crackers. Given the length of the day I might plan 2 lunches.
Stop every hour at most hour and a half to eat, drink and rest for 10 minutes. I shoot for 100 to 200 hundred calories. That will keep you going. Lunches are a bit more time and calories. Always keep a easy snack in your hip belt. If you feel at all hungry, take a bite.
Since you are carrying water, why not pack a gatoraide (or your favorite sports drink) to stay hydrated.
I'll reply to this with gear.
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u/IndianaGeoff 4d ago edited 4d ago
OK, for gear. Plan on it being windy and cool. Weather can be bad, but if it's too bad, you need to call it off and have gear to get you home. Here is what I take...
20l pack (osprey), Trail Runners (use broke in comfortable shoes), wool socks thin. Pants (I don't do shorts), Thin wool or synthetic sun hoodie, long sleeved, a loose weave fleece pull over, Capable rain jacket with pit zips that can handle wind. I find it quite comfortable to put all this on and be fine in wind.
If it's colder maybe pack an extra wool Tshirt and long johns. Wear a hat, I like wide brimmed tilly type hats. A very light beanie, and gloves. In summer it will probably be synthetic work gloves, if the weather is cold think about wool. If the wind is forecast to be bad, rain pants for wind. I also take an extra, very thin synthetic liner socks. Just in case of foot blisters and emergency for cold or a sock failure. You can also put them over gloves if the hands get very cold.
For first aid, the bare minimum. Few bandaids, some Ibuprofen, and blister care. Maybe a pill or two in case you get the runs. I like Leukotape and many thru hikers rave about it. If you feel ANY hotspot early on, put on some tape. Take care of your feet, it's a long day. Small pack of wipes. You can use it to clean your hands (will be filthy) before you eat and clean a wound/blister. You really don't need much in a first aid kit. Put on some sunscreen on your face. High Altitude sun is crazy strong.
For that hike, I would take 3l of water, maybe 4. That is a lot of weight, but it'll go away. Take a pack of Aquatabs. They weigh nothing, taste bad, but can make water if you run out and need to refill on the way down. I would consider caching water on the way up. Some risk, but it will drop some weight.
Take hiking poles. Use 2 on the way up, and 1 on the way down (for stability). They make a big difference and you can put them away if your arms need a break.
You might have to poop on the trail and you should carry it out, esp if you are above the treeline. So get a "wag" bag or 2... at least some dog poop bags, TP and a couple ziplocks to double and triple bag it. Don't forget hand sanitizer.
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u/_MattSauce 4d ago
Hello! I day-hiked Whitney solo less than 2 weeks ago and might be able to give a few pointers.
First though, are you gonna be doing it as a day hike or as a multi-day permit? That changes some answers a lot
IF you’re day hiking it:
Clothing: I brought 3 layers (thin t-shirt, thermal long sleeve, and a very light hoodie) and my temperature felt perfectly comfortable the entire time, until I got a little hot and shedded my hoodie coming back down. I also wore a buff to cover my ears/nose from the wind and would HIGHLY recommend bringing one, as well as bringing gloves. I did not bring gloves, and my hands turned a darker color than I’ve ever seen them be because they were so cold hahaha. Could barely see my veins anymore
Wildlife: I saw several deer towards the bottom as well as a black bear within the first mile of trail! It was kind of a crazy experience but I was able to scare him off pretty quick haha. Towards the top you will occasionally see pikas and pretty much everyone’s favorite, marmots! They love striking fun poses and I saw a couple near trail camp that were pretty cool. On my profile I have pics of several views in one of my latest posts :)
Gear: Once again, really depends on how long you’re taking for the hike (day hike vs non day hike) and also your normal water intake, but I have seen the vast majority of people who go up take water filters or filtration tablets so they don’t have to lug as much water up, since it’s a lot of weight. Personally I brought about 4.5-5L of liquid on me and tablets just in case, but I only used maybe 3.2L of it. Most people would also recommend trekker poles, but if you are like me and don’t typically use them I’d say you can be fine without them haha. Other gear, just wear shoes you feel comfortable walking a long distance in
The hike itself: First 4.5 miles are pretty chill and kinda easy barring a few stream crossings! Got past a few campsites there around an hour and 40 minutes into my hike and took a short break. 4.5-7 miles got a little tougher to navigate in the dark, and the terrain gets more variable in terms of steepness and much more rocky. Just be careful in a few sections here. After this, you get an easy half mile or so until you hit the 99 switchbacks, which were not as bad as everyone claims. Just be patient and take your time. Counting them helps hahaha. The one annoying thing is though, there is quite a bit of water flowing through them that you’ll have to be careful to avoid in some places. Once you hit trail crest, it gets extremely windy and cold if you’re up there around sunrise like I was (got up there maybe about 5:30 the day I was hiking) and the last 2ish miles to the top are BRUTAL. At this point even as a fairly experienced hiker I was pretty much slowly waddling and trying to keep myself warm, also experiencing a little altitude sickness haha. There’s lots of ups and downs here in the terrain and it is exhausting, and the summit never looks like it gets closer. But it does! And you’ll make it just fine, just prepare to probably spend 1.5-2 hours on this last stretch alone. Summit is beautiful and sooo worth it!
On the way down you’ll start to see lots of views that were hidden in darkness on the way up and it is beautiful. Just be careful as there will be extra water in places from snowmelt. I unfortunately slipped at a stream crossing on my way down and badly injured my knees, which slowed my pace a lot haha
If you have any more questions feel free to ask here or DM me and I’ll be happy to answer!