Mt Whitney again & a hike with MADEinTAH OE

“Mt Whitney via the Mountaineers Route again, and North Fork Lone Pine creek dayhike to Lower Boyscout Lake

Saturday, 27 August 2005: http://community.webshots.com/album/436808687BiuiDP

California Trailwalker (CaT from the Whitney Forum) came from OH to hike Mt Whitney, but unfortunately burned his lower leg the week before on a hot motorcycle pipe, right where the hiking boot rubs.

Arriving earlier in the week, he hiked the main trail in Tevas, but came up 1 mile short of the summit. He had a set turnaround time and stuck to it.

I had talked to Doug Sr. and he told me he was taking someone up the Mountaineer's Route on the 27th. I asked him about CaT coming along, and he said it would be ok. The only problem was that Doug Sr got his dates mixed up and it was really supposed to be Friday, the 26th. CaT found out it was Friday and was going to go, but he woke up late and missed the groups' departure.

Calhiker and I planned to start off with the group on Saturday, then take off on our own for the summit. Because of the date change, we tried to get CaT to the top ourselves. He started feeling the altitude once we turned off towards Iceberg Lake and by the time we climbed the last section to the lake (12,600 ft), he wasn't looking well. He was coughing, stopping more frequently, and the Tevas were slipping in the steep, sandy areas. We looked up at what was ahead, and convinced him to turn back as it had already been 7 hours from the start. What we had just gone through was the easy part, and he was already spent.

It was hard turning him back because we knew how much he wanted this peak, but I couldn't see us making it as a group without possibly spending the night out. CaT was familiar with the North Fork trail, and later told us that he hooked up with some backpackers that were hiking out, too.

So now it was time to tackle the remaining 1,900 ft. Calhiker was feeling good, and so was I, so it was actually fun going up the chute. A lot of people were making their way down, and there were two guys behind us who had gotten off course and were not sure of the correct route. After reaching the Notch, we made our way up the final class 3 chute, past the toilet where Calhiker posed for some photos, and to the rock hut that sits on the summit of Mt. Whitney. After 1/2 hr on the summit, we took off down the main trail. Once it got dark, our pace slowed down on the rocky trail. My headlamp started to dim, and since I only brought 2 batteries instead of 3, they didn't last long, making it a long slow walk down the seemingly endless switchbacks.

Back at the trailhead, CaT had some pizza waiting for us, so we had pizza on the drive down to Lone Pine to get showers.We then drove back to the Portal and got a few hours sleep.


Sunday, 28 August 2005: still working on photos

I didn’t crawl out of my truck until 7am. My plan was to meet CaT, MADEinTAHOE, Calhiker, BobR and MikeM for a dayhike. I saw CaT was getting his stuff ready, and on my way to the bathroom I saw Trailtrekker, Sdsierrahiker, MtFlyer and Glacier Jay. They had also done Mt. Whitney the day before. Next, MADEinTAHOE showed up with big hugs for everyone. Soon after an SUV pulled up and someone inside asked if I was Snow Nymph. It was Big Shoe from the Mammoth Forum. He parked next to us and got ready to backpack the Whitney Trail. Later I saw a familiar body jogging up to the wooden structure at the trailhead. It was Rick Kent, so we talked for a few minutes. He was on his way to climb Mt. Young and Mt. Hale, which turned out to be 22 miles, 9,000’ el gain! No sign of BobR, so I figured he was late and had already started. MiT saw him looking for a parking space earlier, but no one else saw him afterwards. He should have been here by now.

So after a busy morning of greeting everyone, we finally got started on our hike. Calhiker had slept in, too, and was still getting ready when we left but would catch up to us in no time. My legs were pretty sore, so I was moving at a slow pace on the steep trail. We hiked, talked, took pics, stopped at the waterfalls, then hung out at the outlet of Lower Boy Scout Lake. It felt good to soak our feet, and CaT went as far as submerging himself in the cold water. Brrrrr! As we were about to leave, I saw a great spot for a group shot, and set up my camera. As I looked away for one second, the camera fell off the rock and into the water! I wasn’t even holding onto the strap! What a dummy! I saw the view screen fizzle before my eyes and then go black. End of camera.

When we got back to the trailhead BobR showed up behind us. We were talking to some people, and I heard another, “Are you Snow Nymph?” It was MtnMo! She had just gotten out of the shower and was on her way to dinner. I quickly changed clothes, and we all got burgers and fries at the Whitney Portal Store. The weekend was coming to an end, and it was time to say goodbye, and start the 3.5 hour drive home. But with the 4 naps I took along the way, it turned into a 6 hour drive.”

“What a weekend!!! Great pics.

Do you have access to a vacuum chamber at work? If you can get your camera in one you may be able to get rid of the moisture before any damage is permanent.”

“sorry about your camera SN - the wide angle lens on that one is really nice. I really want a camera with a wide angle lens.

you must have been right behind us on the MR on Saturday.
last edited: 9/02/05 8:44:29 AM”

“Hey Snowy - I think I'll have to try that route next time
:-))”

“Just another relaxing weekend for SnowNymph.”

“Really too bad about the camera. Your photos are great. You really have an eye for composition.
You go, Hodge. It looks overly daunting to me.”

“Wait, that's not the SECOND time you've dropped your camera in the water recently, is it?”

“Hodegman - Now you have another reason to return to the Sierras!!!”

“As if we could keep him away.”

“Weird! I've been fighting webshots (keeps scrambling photos). Today I accidently clicked on my webshots link and it worked! It was blocked since July, so I can go to webshots at work and no problems with scrambling! Anyway, just finished the captions.

I took more people photos on this trip since I've been up the trail a few times in the past few weeks.

North Fork Lone Pine Creek Photos: http://community.webshots.com/album/438445778seiuBo”

“I was in a hurry when I typed the last reply, it should read . . . I've been fighting webshots desktop "at home", everytime I added a caption the photos would get scrambled and out of order. Today during lunch at work, I found out webshots is no longer blocked! YAY!!!!

Phil, no vacuum chamber at work (that I know of). The camera has been open (doors open) all week, and Scott will either unscrew it or try it out this weekend and try to get it to work.

WD, wish we could have hiked with you guys. We tried to get CaT up there, but knew it wasn't going to happen. He really wanted to try, but I convinced him that it was not a good idea with Tevas, the way he was struggling. Even though we picked up the pace after he turned back, we still got out in the dark. Lesson learned, get a better headlamp for the long daytrips. A few hrs of squinting and low batteries really sux!

Hodge, would love to take you up there!

Navi, dang-geezer! :-) Wanna go? :-)

wannabp, thanks! Got a new one in the mail Thurs!

Buck, same camera. After seeing a few replies, I looked online for a replacement. Only one place (other than the local camera store that was charging $100+ more than I paid for the last one) had it so I got it and paid a little extra to get it by the weekend. It showed up yesterday. Been having problems with webshots, so it just took a few days to get the pics/report up.


Gotta go . . . I'm off to NV!”

“SN....Thanks again so very much for a beautiful day! So glad the weather gods were good that day & also for your hike on Saturday on the MR. The pictures you got of Calhiker climbing are really good. I saw the pictures of that family...the ones we saw coming down at the waterfall...the guy that looks a little like bowlderman!! Marty if you read this you need to go look at SN pictures in that album.
So sorry about Ca. Trailwalker having to turn around..the hiking in tevas up the MR would not have been good.

The toilet shot is a great!
Sorry im so late on getting my pictures posted...almost done with them.
Had a wonderful time! :):)
I think I could spend a few days back in that canyon exploring”

“Finally got around to looking at the pics. Yeah, that guy does look a little like me!”

“That Bowlder-dude-looking guy took his family up the MR. They had ropes, helmets and harnesses for the kids. The little guy was a cutie! All smiles, after doing that! It was so neat talking to them.

Marty, he reminded me of you with Cameron!

That toilet scene is something I'm afraid of seeing everytime I climb over the last few boulders from the Mountaineer's Route. You never know who or if anyone will be using it. I think they need one more wall in front. I was tired, and Calhiker gave me a good laugh.
http://community.webshots.com/photo/436808687/438453266EqTYIP
last edited: 9/08/05 2:02:37 AM”