At 14,505ft, Mount Whitney is the tallest mountain in the mainland USA. It is one of the most popular hikes because you can hike to the top without requiring any mountaineering skills. There are two options to climb Whitney:

1. Day Hike: this is a 22 mile round trip which can take anywhere from 10 hours to 20+ hours depending on your fitness level, your speed and how much time you spend taking pictures :) It is fairly tough and not recommended unless you are in good physical condition.
2. Overnight Hike: There are a few camp grounds along the trail. Although you have carry extra load, camping overnight makes it easier.

Trail Overview

• Distance: 22 miles (35.4km)
• Total Climbing: 6,100 ft (1859m)
• Highest Elevation: 14,505ft (4421m)

Hiking route as captured by my Garmin Fenix 3 Watch

Interactive Google Map of the hike. (Garmin added a straight line between Trail Camp and Trail Crest. Ignore that.)

The hike can be divided into the following sections:

• Whitney Portal (8,374ft) to Lone Pine Lake (10,000 ft). This is a roughly 2.8 mile stretch. Shortly after Lone Pine Lake, the permit area starts where you can only hike if you have a permit for that day.

Whitney Portal to Lone Pine Lake: About 2.8miles with 1,600ft elevation gain

• Lone Pine Lake to Outpost Camp (10,400ft). Total distance: 3.8miles. This is only a 1 mile stretch. It is a flat area with lot of places to pitch tents. There's also a nice waterfall here which we only saw on our way back. Shortly after Outpost Camp you pass the Mirror Lake. Unfortunately it was too dark to see it on the way up and we were in a hurry to get back down on the way back - so we didn't really get to spend any time at the lake.

Lone Pine Lake (2.8miles) to Outpost Camp (3.8miles) and Mirror Lake (4miles)

• Outpost Camp to Trail Camp (12,000 ft). Total distance: 6 miles. Trail camp is another popular camping place. This is the last place to refill water before the remaining 5 miles. You pass a big lake called Consultation Lake to the left.

Outpost Camp (3.8 miles, 10,400 ft) to Trail Camp (6 miles, 12,000 ft)

• Trail Camp to Trail Crest (13,700 ft). Total Distance: 8.2 miles. This is usually considered the hardest section of the trail. You have to climb 99 switchbacks over the next 2 miles and gain 1,700 ft of elevation. It is also well above the tree line with no shade.

Here are the details of our hike with lots of pictures :)

We reached the visitor center at around 2:30pm and collected our permits and Wag Bags. Wag Bags are portable toilet waste bag. There are no toilets along the hiking route and you are not allowed to go potty in the nature. You are supposed to use these Wag Bags, seal them and the carry them with you all the way back!

Wag Bag - carry your own s***!

After checking into our hotel in Lone Pine, we decided to do a part of the Mount Whitney hike as our acclimation hike. We started at around 4:30pm from Whitney Portal which is at 8,374 ft. We hiked up to the Lone Pine lake (10,000 ft). It took us about 3hrs for the round trip.

Excited to start our acclimation hike

The terrain was surprisingly green. We crossed several steams along the way

Heartfelt appeal from rangers to carry back your wag bag - otherwise they have to bring it back!

Lone Pine Lake area, Elevation: 10,000 ft

Beautiful view of the valley in the setting sun on the way back

After the hike we retired back to our rooms in the town of Lone Pine. It is a really small town with pretty much one of everything! One traffic light, one pizza place, one grocery store and pretty much one road!

Day 2. Aug 28, 2018. More Acclimation, Rest and Get Ready

Today we decided to drive up to the Horseshoe Meadows Campground. It is at an elevation of 10,000ft. We spent an hour there to get our bodies further acclimated to higher altitude. We then got back to the town, had lunch and pretty much rested for the rest of the day.

Day 3. Aug 29, 2018. Mount Whitney Hike

We woke up 30 past midnight, and loaded up our vehicle to drive to Whitney Portal which is the starting point for the Mount Whitney trail. We were told by the rangers that there are usually bears lurking around at that time of the night and that we should not take our eyes off our backpack! Bears are attracted by the smell of food. We also had to make sure that we did not leave any food in the car.

We started hiking at 1:50am in near darkness with our headlamps on.

The section after the Trail Camp is considered the hardest part of the hike. You gain 1,700 ft in elevation over 2 miles, crossing 99 switchbacks. Since you are above the tree line, there is no place to hide from the elements - other than may be under a rock :)

Some switchbacks were short, some were long, some were really steep and some were precarious enough to warrant a hand rail

And some sections were a bit more (d)icy than others!

I tried to keep a count but couldn't keep it up. I will take other's word for it that there were 99 of these

Although all of us had trained well and were quite fit, we all had our own natural pace. Walking at the natural pace is usually less tiring than going slower or faster. I felt I could go a bit faster and broke off from the group about 30min into the switchbacks. I reached the Trail Crest at around 9:45am. Vikas and Vijay arrived after 30 min and Gunna and Ankur arrived after another 30 min. I found a nice crack between the rocks to shield myself from the wind and had a nice nap in the meanwhile. I woke up with a stiff neck which resulted in a pain in the neck for the rest of the hike :( 

View from Trail Crest

At Trail Crest we decided to split into two groups. Vikas, Ankur and I started the final summit while Gunna and Vijay decided to rest a little longer.

1.9 miles to go

Immediately after Trail Crest is the JMT (John Muir Trail) intersection. It is a popular place for through hikers to leave their packs and go for the final summit. We did not do that

Tired legs + uneven rocks = need to be extra careful

There are some sections that are about 4ft wide with steep drops on either side. These are called Windows. Here's a view of the east side of the ridge from a Window section

Final approach to the summit. Very interesting terrain

We (Vikas, Ankur and I) made it to the summit at 12:55pm - 11 hours after we started. Gunna and Vijay had to unfortunately turn back because they both started experiencing AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness). It was really a big damper for all of us but it was the right decision for them. AMS can be really dangerous and even fatal.

Someone had left a cardboard sign at the top so others could take a picture with it :)

Official geological marker. As far as I can tell, it is from 1922 !

Kicking it up a notch :)

Top of the world!

Beautiful panoramic view. Good thing about being on the tallest mountain? The view is unobstructed in all directions !

Yoga time :)

Adding another 5.5 ft to my climb !

There is a hut on the top of Mount Whitney which was built in 1909. It is officially called the Smithsonian Institute Shelter

There is a register outside the hut which you can sign

We spent about one hour at the top then started descending at 1:55pm. It only took us 5:30hrs to get down. Half the time it took us to climb up! I was carrying 4 liters of water but ran out on the way back. Ankur had extra water and gave me two liters which helped a lot because there was no water available until Trail Camp.

Back at Trail Camp. 4:45pm

Enjoyed some of the scenery we had missed on the way up

There was a section close to Outpost Camp where we had to cross a marshy land by going over 10-12 logs. It required some balancing but we all managed to navigate without anyone slipping

Lush green meadows with a couple of deers grazing without worrying about the hikers. I guess they are used to humans now

Waterfall close to the Outpost Camp

Can you find a better artist than nature? She has been painting the morning and evening sky uniquely every day for 4.5 billion years and it is a masterpiece every single time!

I ran out of water again at Lone Pine lake with another 3 miles to go. Although tired, I decided to run the remaining distance. In part because we felt that Gunna and Vijay must be waiting for us and we had the car keys!

I reached the trail head at 7:20pm - exactly 17.5 hours after I started. Ankur and Vikas arrived shortly thereafter at 7:35pm.

Did it!

Whitney Portal Store in the backgound

It was an amazing experience. I made many new friends and hopefully this was the first of many more hikes we will do together.

If you have made it this far, can you please take a moment to write a comment below :)