Summiting Mount Whitney

Last week Jared and I went to California to climb Mt. Whitney. For a long time Mt. Whitney held the title of being the highest mountain in the United States. However, when Alaska joined the Union, Mt. McKinley became the highest peak. Mt. Whitney is about 14,496 feet above sea level and the round trip hike is about 22 miles - with an elevation gain of over 6,100 feet! Jared and I left early Wednesday and drove about eight hours until we arrived in Bishop, California. Bishop was a quaint little town so we decided to stay there for the night. I convinced Jared that the only way I was going to be successful in climbing was if I was well-rested the night before. And by 'well-rested’ I needed to sleep in a bed, located indoors, preferably with air conditioning. Jared gladly agreed to stay in a hotel - I think he wanted to all along. We perused the little shops, ate dinner, checked into the hotel, and then relaxed by the pool. The next morning we drove another hour to Lone Pine where we got our permit to climb. We hiked until we reached trail camp, about six miles, and then set up camp. Jared made my camping experience more than tolerable...I actually really enjoyed it. He insisted on setting up the tent, making dinner (he has a snazzy little stove), and filtering our water with his handy water filter contraption. I think he was just excited to use his camping toys. I sat back, snapped some pictures, and enjoyed the scenery. After a surprisingly restful night, we started hiking the infamous "99 switchbacks" in which you climb from 12,000 to 13,000 feet in 2 miles. We definitely noticed the thinner air, but kept a good pace. We arrived at the trail crest where we met five of our friends who had just hiked the 220-mile John Muir Trail. They all looked amazing considering they had just spent the last two weeks hiking over 20 miles a day! The seven of us then hiked until we reached the top of Mt. Whitney, sometime around noon. The view was amazing! The mountain ranges were breathtaking...definitely worth the hike! We took several pictures and then made our way down. The descent was much more painful, I was sure my knees were going to buckle at any moment. However, we all made it down safely. We spent that night in a hotel in Mammoth, California where we all got some much-needed R&R, and then drove home the next day. My body has FINALLY recovered, I have never been so sore in my entire life! I think I’m through hiking...at least for a little while.