After 5 years of planning, I am finally heading out to Mt. Whitney @ 3:00 am.  For the past 6 months, I have been training for this moment.  Our permit is for a one-day assent.  This will involve over 6,100 feet of elevation gain, as well as 21.4 miles of hiking.

I have been in hard-core training for the past two months.  I have summited Humphrey’s Peak 4 times, as well as doing other high altitude hiking in Flagstaff.  We attempted to climb Humphrey’s Peak on the 24^th, but had to head down the trail @ mile 6, when a rain/hail storm blew in.  There’s nothing like being battered by hail when you are trying to get down a mountain.  This also happened to me on the 12^th when I hiked the Bear Jaw/Abineau trails.  The rain and hail was so bad, I kept slipping and sliding on the sleek lava rocks while hiking down Abineau.  By the time I reached my truck, I had been on the trails for 5.5 hours and I looked like I had taken a mud bath.

I will be meeting my partner, Leo, @ the Lone Pine Camp Site.  Bears are a big problem @ Whitney, so we will need to rent a bear canister for our food.  I had to make sure that I grabbed all snack bars; I normally keep in the truck, and put them in my ice chest.  Bears @ Whitney will actually destroy a car if they smell food.  They are known for breaking into trunks and tearing out the back seats to reach food.  In fact, if a bear is found by your vehicle and trying to break in, and you are not near, they will tow it.  There have been quite a few bear’s shot, over the years, because a careless hiker left food in their vehicle, and the bear was creating a hazardous situation.

Saturday afternoon will be spent picking up the permits and setting up camp.  The evening will just be spent relaxing.  We plan on hiking up to the “Lone Pine Lake” on Sunday.  This will include a 1,490 feet of elevation gain, and almost 6 miles of hiking.

We plan on beginning our hike @ 3 a.m.  We know this will be a very long day, and may take 12-14 hours or more.  The goal, of course, is to summit Whitney.  At this time, there is snow and ice on a lot of the top parts of Whitney (from a late season storm).  However, we understand from the rangers that the trails are clear. 

Here is the trail mileage & elevation:

• Whitney Portal Trail Head starts @ 8,360 feet
• John Muir Wilderness Sign @ 8,500 feet (.5 miles)
• Lone Pine Lake @ 9,850 feet (2.5 miles with an elevation gain of 1,490 feet)
• Outpost Camp @ 10,365 feet (3.5 miles with an elevation gain of 2,005 ft)
• Mirror Lake @ 10,640 feet (4.0 miles w/an elevation gain of 2,280 ft)
• Trailside Meadow @ 11,395 feet (5.0 miles w/an elevation gain of 3,035 ft)
• Trail Camp @ 12,000 feet (6.0 miles w/an elevation gain of 3,640 ft)
• Trail Crest @ 13,777 feet (8.2 miles w/an elevation gain of 5,417 ft)
• John Muir Trail  @ 13,480 feet—yup we climb down some (8.7 miles w/an elevation gain of 5,120 ft)
• Mount Muir  @ 14,015 feet (9.0 miles w/an elevation gain of 5,655 feet)
• Keeler Needle @ 14,000 feet (10.2 miles w/an elevation gain of 5,640 ft)
• Mt. Whitney Summit @ 14,494 feet (10.7 miles w/an elevation gain of 6,134 ft)

WHEW----NOW WE GET TO DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN, BUT CLIMBING DOWN

My good friend, Cherie who would have climbed Whitney @ midnight to be able to view the sunrise wants to meet us for dinner Monday night.  Geez, I am not even sure I will be able to walk after all that, let alone have an appetite.  I guess we’ll just have to see.

Tuesday morning will be spent relaxing and I plan on having one of the “Whitney Portal Store & Restaurant” famous big pancakes for breakfast.  We will head out sometime on Tuesday.

20 days from now, I will be climbing Mt. Whitney. I head to Flagstaff in the morning to do high-altitude hiking. My goal is 7 to 12 miles.

On Thursday, I will be climbing Humphrey's for the 5th time.  Thursday afternoon I head out to the campground that I will be staying @ during my 10-days of "Wilderness First Responder" course.  I am really excited about the course and have been studying for the past 4 months. I finally received a 97% on the practice test.

I decided to continue my Wilderness Medicine and attend the "Wilderness EMT" course for 30-days in Yosemite. Now, that will be exciting.During my off time, when I am not studying, I will be able to hike around the campground, and apprently there are several trails. The campground is @ 8,000 feet which is great for altitude.

When I check out on the 24th, I plan on doing a double on Humphrey's (yup...up/down & up/down again 18 miles). This will be my last hike before heading back to good, old hot Phoenix.

I will be home for 3 days before heading to Lone Pine on the 29th. My hiking partner lives in CA (yeah...I found a hiking partner that has hiked Whitney befor) and has been training. He will meet me @ the campground.

On Sunday (30th), we plan on doing baby hikes and getting our permit and gearing up to leave @ 3 am on the 31st to begin our one-day accent on Whitney.

I have been dreaming about climbing Whitney for over five years and can't believe it's so close now.  I will send another update after my Flagstaff experience, and post lots of pics.

I am very tired.  Tonight, I help lead a "Full Moon Hike" in South Mountain.  Our group, along with another hiking group, does this hike once a month.  It's a cool hike and we hike 3.9 miles, with a little bit of climbing.

I did not update my blog yesterday, because I was completely out of it.  You see, yesterday I hiked 4.25 hours in South Mountain and almost collapsed.  You see, I started on the trail @ 5:30 am, and the trail I was on was shaded until 7:00 AM.  When I headed down the mountain, on the other side where I started, I began hiking in the sun.

I thought if I added a 2nd trail it would add 2 more miles into my hike, which is what I needed.  However, there is absolutely no shade on this trail, and it wasn't that hot (under 95).  The problem was the high humidity that I had to deal with.  Geez...I felt like I was back in Texas.

About 8:30 am, I really began slowing down, and realized that the humidity was effecting me more than I thought it would.  I had 4 liters of water, and I was going through it pretty quickly.  When I had finished this 2nd trail, I needed to head over on the 3rd trail that would loop me back to where I began the hike.

That last 1.5 miles of the hike was a killer.  I had no shade, I was going through my water, and I just felt drained.  As a Wildernes First Aid Rescuer I knew I would be in trouble if I did not get off the trail quickly.  I reached the top of the hill and I was able to see our farm.  But, it was still .5 miles away.  I thought about calling a friend to pick me up @ the bottom of the hill, but decided against it.  After all, it was just another .5 mile, right .

Hiking that last .5 mile, I can't tell you how badly I just wanted to stop and sit down and rest.  I knew in my mind, and heart, that would be the worse thing to do.  So, I walked very slowly to the farm.  I can't tell you how happy I was when I turned the corner of where we live and I saw our horses in the pasture, that greeted me, that made me

When entering the house, I basically threw down my pack and collapse on the couch.  I thank God for Kallie, who I had called when I first got home, who went and did a couple of pet sits for me, so I could rest.

I actually fell in a deep sleep, and didn't wake for almost 1.5 hours.  The lesson learned?  When checking the weather reports, when hiking in AZ intense hot summers, to also check the humidity percentage.  It could make a big difference.  I have hiked in the heat for weeks now, including up to 105, but the dry heat is so much different than when you have to deal with humidity on top of it.

Last night didn't go so well on the eliptical.  When I plugged in the AC Adaptor, I realized that the cord somehow had been cut.  So, I haven't worked out now for 5 days, not good @ all.

I am currently packing my new day/summit pack together.  I want to start hiking with it, because it will be bigger and heavier than my normal Camelback pack.  It's a lot more roomier and I will be able to carry extra supplies, food, and first aid.

Tomorrow, the plan is to begin a hike in South Mountain no later than 5 am.  I am going to try to go for distance, and not so much in elevation gain.  The most I have hiked @ one time is 17 miles, but I have walked more than 20 miles in a day, so it's duable.  I just haven't figured out if  I want to start on the west end of SM (where I live) or head out to the Pima Canyon end (East side).

If I start from my end I can do the Alta trail (my favorite training mountain) to the summit and then head down the east side of Alta.  I can then connect to the Bajada trail and do a little bit of the National Trail that will lead me back to the west end.  So, basically it's a very long loop.

Today was a very busy day for me.  I had my mammogram, did a chest x-ray, had my fingerprints and mug shot done for the Sheriff's Rescue Posse and then ended my evening with a 3-hour AZ Mountain Rescue Meeting.  I am getting really excited about the possibility of joining the mountain rescue.  It's all volunteers and a lot of hard work.  I will really need to concentrate on my upper body strength, as well as work on my rock climbing skills. 

I do plan on taking indoor rock climbing class, via Paradise Valley CC, beginning in September.  I will then learn, again, how to lead climb.  When I took rock climbing classes two years ago, I was just beginning to learn lead climbing when I had my truck accident.  I just began climbing again a few months ago.  I forgot how much I missed it.

Well, I better say nitey-nite, as I need to finish my pack and need to get up extra early to feed the horses, since my sister is out of town until Sunday.

It's 28 days before my big "Mt. Whitney" climb, and I still have not found a hiking partner.  I have asked several of my hiking buddies, but none of them can make it.

Will I still hike Whitney, even alone.  Yes, I will.  Whitney is pretty crowded, that's why climbers have to do a lottery, just to receive a permit on the mountain.  So, I will not be alone.

I haven't hiked in a few days, since having to deal with a 3-day migraine.  This was due to my doctor asking me that I cut out caffeine until my mammogram.  Well, on the 3rd day I just could not stand the pain any longer, so I had a quad latte.  After two days of quad lattes, my headache went down to a low roar.

On Sunday, while watching the Discovery Channel, they had "Disaster on K2" showing.  I love watching anything on mountaineering, and I had heard about the 11 deaths on the mountain in 2008.  As I was watching, I almost fell off the couch, when up pops this climber on the large screen tv and I realized that it was my good friend, Nick, from CA.  He had been one of the climbers on the mountain that fateful day.  However, he had a little accident in his tent when he spilled water on his socks, and had to delay his summit bid. 

This little accident apparently saved his life.  I have known Nick for years and we hung out, when I worked @ Starbucks.  He has been mountaineering since his early teens.  In fact, I remember some of our conversations about his mountaineering expeditions and how excited he was when he spoke of his upcoming adventures.

In fact, it was Nick that got me to "step out of my box" and try rock climbing and mountaineering.  I know my mountaineering are baby steps compared to the many 8,000 meter mountains that Nick has climbed.  I finally tracked down my old friend, and look forward to hearing more of his exciting stories.

To read more of Nick's adventures, go to:

http://www.nickrice.us/index.htm