Personal Goals and a Mountain
Several years ago I was a couch potato. I enjoyed the outdoors but really did not get out and explore it like I once did as a Boy Scout in my younger days. A 1 mile trek from the car was about as far I was comfortable doing. One day a friend of mine told me about a great hike she just did to Santiago Peak, the highest point in Orange County. It was about 17 miles round trip and just over 4,000 feet of gain. I told her I would love to do it…..sometime….. but if I tried it now it would probably kill me! She laughed.
The thought of exploring these great mountains right in my own backyard was very appealing. I had wanted to drop a bunch of weight I had put on since college. The married life, home ownership, daily work and children were my excuse not to exercise. I knew I wasn’t eating healthy and the combination brought me to just over 300 pounds! Mind you I am 6’5” but still, that is a lot of extra weight! The defining moment was here. I decided right then that I was going to get in shape and the time to start was right now!
The following morning I started walking. Three days a week I would walk for an hour and a half. I cut drinking soda down to one a week instead of several per day. I cut back on my portions, ate healthier items and only had French fries once a week. After about 6 weeks I visited the doctor for some minor ailment and when they weighed me I was down 30 pounds! This is unbelievable! It made me work even harder. Soda fell back to one every two weeks, french fries as well. I ate more salads, focused on eating more fiber and fruit, and upped my exercise. I started swimming, biking and hiking in the foothills. If I ever found a spare moment I went for a walk or a bike ride. I had to buy new clothes a few times as I kept shrinking. What a great feeling this was.
I ran into that friend after I had been on my exercise plan for about three or four weeks. I looked at her and I said, “At the end of the summer, let’s hike Santiago Peak together.” She smiled and said, “Sure, lets do that.” I am sure she was thinking here is yet another person making an empty promise. I told her what I had been doing and she invited me to join her hiking at Whiting Ranch where she and her husband were training to climb Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the 48 states at 14,495 ft. located near Lone Pine, CA just off of Highway 395 on the way to Mammoth. They planned on doing the 22 mile round trip journey in a single day. “Wow”, I thought. I sure would like to do that ……someday.
The following summer not only had I hiked to Santiago Peak, but also the second highest in Orange County, Modjeska Peak. I had also tackled San_Jacinto_Peak, Mt Baldy and Mammoth Mountain, all over 10,000 feet. It was during the month of August in 2008, just over a year after I started hiking that I first climbed Mt. Whitney along with my friend who got me started in all of this. Out of our group of nine that year only three of us made the summit which statistically is average as only 1/3 of those who start the climb on a single day attempt make the summit. That year was very special to me. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I approached the summit as not only had I accomplished making the summit, but I also accomplished something even bigger, returning myself to an active and healthy lifestyle. Including the three pounds I lost climbing Mt. Whitney, I was down a total of 95 lbs. from where I started. I was so skinny people who hadn’t seen me in awhile asked if I had gotten taller or asked me if everything was OK. Not only was everything OK, I had never felt better in my life!
Once you get the hiking bug in you it is something you just cannot shake. I met a lot of friends through the Orange County Hiking Club as a group of us regularly hike in Turtle Rock near Irvine to stay in shape. Many of them were interested in climbing Mt. Whitney as well. Coworkers had been following my exploits and were interested as well. My good friend, Mike Davis, who I have worked with for 17 years had gone through a similar lifestyle change and was interested in tackling Whitney. It did not take much effort for the two of us to get on board our fellow coworker Clark Elek who we have both worked with for over 15 years. That was three of us ready for a summer 2009 ascent and plenty of others who were interested.
Mt. Whitney is a very popular hiking location and a special permit is required to hike the mountain. Only 50 people per day will be issued permits to climb the mountain in a single day during the summer months. You must enter a lottery with the Inyo National Forest Service in mid February and will not find out until mid April to early May if you even have a permit. After studying the permit process I learned that the mid week dates are easier to get than weekend or Friday/Monday. Also, all the books say that the weather is least likely to interfere with your climb in August so that is when most people shoot for. Knowing this, I applied for permits for the end of July and requested Monday July 27th as our primary day and the following two days as alternates. I applied for a total of 12 permits as I had plenty of friends who were interested and were in good enough shape that with a little training I knew were capable.
The next few months went by ever so slowly. To make matters worse, the credit card I had used to pay for the permits had been cancelled and a new card issued by the credit company. Now I am wondering, “If they do select me in the lottery and my card is declined, do they move on to the next person or do they contact me?” Worse is that they take no phone calls from April 1 until April 15th while they work out the whole lottery stuff. I followed the message boards and some people were already getting permits and seeing that their credit cards had been charged in early April. I kept waiting, fearing that if selected I had been passed over. On April 16th I called and got through to someone at the Forest Service and trying not to be rude I let them know that I was not calling to see if I was selected which is a big no-no but rather to see what happens to a person in my predicament. Fortunately I was informed it happens all the time and that they will call me to get a new card number. Well I dodged that bullet but I still do not have permits.
It took until early May, with me reading the message board posts saying the Forest Service has completed the lottery process, before my wife called me with the good news. We were selected for our primary date and we have 12 permits being reserved for us! I never knew being a group leader meant this kind of pressure! I expect that up on a mountain but not this early in the planning. When I got back to the office I sent out the email I had typed up several weeks prior to let all of my friends who had showed interest that the trip was on and let me know ASAP so I could reserve a slot for them.
My coworkers Mike and Clark were as excited as I was when I returned to the office. Clark’s wife had been thinking about it and for her it proved a good reason to stop smoking. She was in! Rather quickly my friends started replying. Some had other summer plans already and others were on board immediately. I laid out a rather extensive list of training hikes and required reading for my team as I wanted everyone to follow the Boy Scout Motto so engrained in my brain, “Be Prepared”.
We began our almost weekly high altitude training hikes that were supplemented by everyone’s personal training/fitness regimes. Every weekend I said goodbye to the wife and kids for a day and headed out with our team. We really were becoming a team which was great. We all knew who routinely carried what, who were the fastest and strongest, who had altitude problems, who was best on uphill, downhill, rocky terrain and flat. The team consisted of coworkers and spouse Mike, Clark and Michelle, hiking club friends Alisa, Ros, Lyn, Alex, Alex II, Kevin and Rick and a Scout parent and friend Greg who was the only other one to have summited before but as a two day trip. Our team was 8 men and 4 women and included at least 5 of us who had recently battled weight loss, a smoker on the path to quitting, an ex-pro football player who suffers from altitude sickness and a few with a fear of heights. I am sure you are asking if this is the best team I can come up with? The answer is not just yes but it was the best group I have spent so much time with ever.
Training hikes took us to every 10,000 ft. plus peak we could trek to in a day in Southern California. We did Mt. Baldy several times by different routes, San Jacinto several times by different routes, San Bernardino Peak, Mt. Baden Powell, and finished with a 22 mile hike to San Gorgonio and Jepson, the two highest points in Southern CA. It is important to spend time above 10,000 feet to get your body used to the reduced amount of oxygen you will encounter on Mt. Whitney. You learn how your body adapts, or fails to adapt and what your personal issues are in this environment. Headaches are common, upset stomach, lack of energy and other issues are also possible. There are drugs to help with these issues such as Diamox but as always they too have their side affects.
With just one week to go I headed with my family up to Mammoth Lakes to spend some quality time together. It doubled as acclimatization as I was 8,500 feet all week with hikes to 11,300 ft. on a couple of occasions. The rest of the group was to head up to the Whitney Portal Campground at 8,500 ft. just outside Lone Pine, CA on the Saturday before our climb. While there, they would do some easy hikes to around 10,000 to 11,000 ft. to be ready for Monday’s big adventure. Just to emphasize how important all this training is, while our group was acclimatizing at Horseshoe Meadows around 10,500 ft. the day before the climb, a Long Beach resident lost her life on nearby 14,000+ ft. Mt. Langley. She had become separated from her group and was not properly prepared for the ice she encountered. Her group had radioed her and told her to stay put and they would be down to help. Unfortunately she tried to cross the ice without appropriate footwear, she slipped and fell over a thousand feet and was killed. I believe it was her thought process that was affected by altitude that was a major factor in this mishap. We learned of this upon our return from our trip. This was another reason for all the training. We never let people fall behind the group without someone else there to assist.
While up at the campground you meet plenty of people that are either going up the mountain or have just gotten down. Clark’s wife Michelle asked several ladies coming off the trail how they enjoyed the experience. As a new non-smoker Michelle was a little concerned about the physical toll it would place on her. Unfortunately the first person she asked said it was the hardest thing she had ever done and that it was not fun. Fortunately Michelle followed up the question with, “What training hikes did you do?” The answer was a short one, “Baldy” was the reply. Even Michelle could instantly tell this was the story from an unprepared person. One hike to 10,064 ft. probably by people who took the ski lift halfway up is not even close to the level of our preparation. The next day she would know the real answer.
I rolled into the campground and was dropped off by my family. Mike had brought his son Patrick along to enjoy the trip although he had no intentions of climbing any mountain. Patrick greeted me and gave me the lowdown on where everybody was. We were lucky to have reserved a group campsite back when I applied for permits as there are only 3 such group sites available that book up months in advance. When everyone returned from the days excursions I realized we were missing one. Unfortunately one of our twelve made it as far as Ridgecrest before she had to head back for a family medical issue. So we were eleven. Clark and Michelle had stopped at the Forest Service office earlier in the day and picked up our permits and “WAG bags”. Essentially, you must pack out everything from the trail, including human waste which is why you are issued a WAG bag complete with instructions. We shared stories, handed out permits and WAG bags and headed to bed early as we were to get up around 2:15AM to try to be on the trail by 3:00AM. Due to some noisy folks that rolled into camp sometime around midnight we did not sleep much. I got a whopping 2 hours but then woke up with my mind racing through the excitement the day would bring. I was up from 10:30PM until I got out of my tent at 2:00AM to start getting ready. I began waking up the team at 2:15AM as scheduled. We all had plenty to get ready, food to prep, water to top off and breakfast to eat that we were all rather quiet. I gave a glow stick to everyone so that we would be easier to identify in the darkness on the trail.
We all got into our cars around 3:15AM and headed up the road a mile to the trailhead which had a fair amount of activity. Everyone had their headlamp on plus our team all had a glow stick which really helped to identify them in the darkness. We did our best to snap a couple of pictures in the darkness at the start, most of which were too blurry before we headed out at 3:30AM. I gave a final speech before we set off reminding everyone that it not a race and take their time and most importantly, take lots of pictures! Off we went. Only 22 miles and 6,000 vertical feet before we are back at this location again, later today……we hope!
The beginning of the hike takes you up quite a few switchbacks as you climb out of the Mt. Whitney Portal area on your way to Lone Pine Lake, about a third of the way to the summit. In these dark hours we crossed several creeks. We were very careful as none of us wanted to fall in and hike the rest of the way in wet clothes. Our group was rather chatty in these early morning hours as the thick air left us with plenty of breath to spare. You could see other headlamps above and below us zigzagging up the switchbacks and could occasionally hear large amounts of water flowing just off the trail in the black of night. We caught up to another group of about a dozen people that had the same idea we did with the glow sticks and looked like a multicolored train ascending the switchbacks. I tried to get a picture of it but again the lighting was terrible and it did not turn out.
Just under 2 hours later we arrived at Lone Pine Lake and more importantly, “The Mt. Whitney Zone.” A sign along the trail indicates that beyond this point a special permit is required. That would be those permits I worked so hard to obtain months prior. This was a planned rest stop to regroup as I did not want to get separated in the dark. We were all pretty much together anyway so it only took a few minutes to gather everyone. We all took a few group shots in the dark, of which only one looked any good, and proceeded onward.
Shortly after the stop at the Mt. Whitney Zone sign, the first hint of daylight blessed the night sky. The view to the East was inspiring as we looked out of the deep ravine that the Mt. Whitney Portal sits in. Granite cliffs on either side appeared as giant black shadows with the glow of the sun just bringing some color to the sky. We all stopped to take in the beauty. After that was a trip through a lovely meadow with creeks flowing all around the trail which signaled that we were close to Outpost Camp. This is a camp used by many people that make the trek over two or three days. I am certain we woke up a few people there as our conversation was picking up as the sun rose and the views just kept getting better.
We blew through Outpost Camp heading to our next designated stop, Trailside Meadow. This is a little past halfway to the summit and I remembered from last years journey that it makes a very comfortable rest stop with good access to water. At this point we had gotten a little separated, partly because part of our lead group (non picture takers) had made a wrong turn on a poorly marked section of trail just before Outpost Camp at yet another creek crossing. I, thinking I had fallen way behind while taking pictures, stepped up the pace to reach Trailside Meadow expecting the rest of the group to be waiting. To my surprise, I was the first one there. Now I know I had described this location in detail to the group, made them aware that this was the next stop and for goodness sake there is a sign marking it as “Trailside Meadow”. Had they blown through it? Greg is with them and he has done this before so they must know this is the place. Following the plan, I dropped my pack, grabbed some trail mix and started pumping water. Within about 10 minutes the rest of them rolled on in and informed me of their slight detour. It sure was nice to know we had a plan. I could already see the less prepared having a big issue with this. We still had not even turned on our radios of which we had 3 on the trail and one with Patrick down at base camp.
Pumping water was the next order of business. Unfortunately, gone are the days of just scooping water out of a stream and refreshing your thirsty desires. While many say it is safe, I have had a case of Guardia in the past while rafting the American River and do not wish to repeat the experience of gastric distress. We had several water filters among the group to pump water out of the creek with and into our water bladders. Last year I had run out of water with two miles to go to the summit. I had to fill my water bladder with snow very near the summit, thaw it against my body to get it into liquid, drop purification tablets in it and then wait 30 minutes more. That process took about 3 hours from getting snow to drinkable water and I was not going to repeat that this time! This small meadow is the last patch of green you see until your return trip back to this point. Above here, only rock and lunar landscape will be seen. An occasional flower is spotted clinging to life sticking out of some crack but it is the very rare exception to the other worldly view above where there is not enough oxygen to support normal plant life. We woke up Greg as he likes to nap at every stop. He knows he does not handle altitude well and the worst is still ahead. With packs back on and more pictures, it was time to move out.
Our next regroup point is Trail Camp. This is another of the camps used by two and three day trekkers. Rock shelters from the wind abound as prior visitors have created these to sleep within the confines of a wind break. Today was nothing but sunny skies and no wind. Another break is taken and Greg takes another nap. I advise everyone that just ahead is the last reliable source of water so evaluate your water supply and plan accordingly. Last year I missed this as it was still frozen up in the early morning and the flow was so little I did not even notice it. This is also the final stop before you begin the infamous 99 switchbacks. There is debate as to whether there are 98, 99, 100 or 101 but it really doesn’t matter. It is a long climb of never ending switchbacks from 12,000 ft. up to 13,600 at what is know as Trail Crest where you have reached the ridgeline of the Sierras. We woke up Greg and headed out.
Shortly into the switchbacks we hit the spring that eluded me the year prior. About half of us stopped to fill up and the rest continued onward to our next designated stop, Trail Crest. We slowly made our way up the 99 switchbacks. Counting them would be too depressing so I just chose to look out at the amazing view before me. More lakes were visible down below and you could view plenty of other hikers that looked like ants among this vast mountain terrain making their way up. Conversation was nearly non existent. Every little bit of oxygen went to those leg muscles that were screaming for more. An odd thing happens here in the thin air. You may be panting for air but unlike at sea level, your heart is not racing. A slow and steady pace is what is required at these altitudes when climbing. Our pal Greg started to really feel the altitude sickness setting in. Being an ex-pro football player he has an ability to push his body with his mind far beyond what I could ever hope to do. He lightened his load as we call it (vomited) about three times as documented by Clark and Michelle and pushed on. About ¾ of the way up you come across a section known as the cables. These cables were placed there many years ago to provide a little help as this section of the trail can get very icy, even in the summertime. A little snow and ice was present but not enough to cause any alarm. As I stopped to take plenty of pictures I was now in the middle of the group.
Once I hit Trail Crest at the top of the 99 switchbacks the incredible view of the Sierra’s and Sequoia National Park opens up to the West before your eyes. This marks the end of the hardest climbing but you still have 2 miles to go. We regrouped and took a food break here. Many pictures were taken at this most picturesque location. Alisa decided she would eat her foot long turkey sandwich which made us all envious. I grabbed a PB&J out of my pack and some electrolytes. Not quite the same as the turkey sandwich but it will do. It was about 10 when we rolled out of there. Not bad really, 9 miles up 5,000 vertical ft. in 6 ½ hours. We woke up Greg (as usual) and headed out.
The final two miles to the summit are full of incredible views, steep drop off’s, narrow trail, basically fear factor on steroids! Along this path is the unmarked route to Mt. Muir. I had studied the route to the top and thought if it was early enough and I had enough energy left in me, I would grab that on the way back and make it two fourteener’s (the name for the peaks over 14,000 ft.) in a day. As you near Mt. Whitney along this rock strewn poor excuse of a trail you come across features known as the windows. These are areas where the trail narrows to just a few feet wide and crosses what seems like a bridge with a cliff on your left and a deep vee shaped opening in the rock on your right, with the obligatory sheer drop. They provide some incredible picture taking opportunities for some or sheer terror for those with a fear of heights. In Greg’s trip a few years prior, his partner crawled across the trail in these sections just to give you an idea on what this does to your mind. Near the final window the summit of Mt. Whitney becomes visible. At this point your motivation changes from “what a beautiful adventure” to “please let me just get there”! Along the back of the summit we hit a small patch of snow about 50 feet in length. Fortunately the snow had softened by this time and it was easily passed. If it was iced over this could have provided an obstacle too risky to cross as none of us had brought crampons, metal spikes to attach to your boots, to cross such terrain. A slip in ice could have meant a slide down several hundred feet or more of snow and ice covered slope with only jagged granite to catch our fall.
We all straggled onto the summit between 11:00 AM and 12:00PM with me in the middle. A stone hut built 100 years ago by the Smithsonian still stands and houses some scientific measurement devices. A sign on the door reminds you not to seek shelter from lightning on the summit and descend immediately if lightning is present. There was another sign eluding to this earlier which was of interest to Michelle who has several relatives that have been struck. We all high fived each other and hugs went all the way around our group. Alisa was rethinking that turkey sandwich which wasn’t sitting too well with her. She along with Kevin and Alex II were feeling the effects of the altitude and knew the best course of action was to descend. Greg rolled in at noon and proceeded to take a nap. Others in the party that arrived earliest were ready to head down. Some were feeling the effect of altitude and others were getting cold, even on this sunny late July day. Unfortunately four of them escaped before we could get a group shot on the summit so we only have a partial picture. I was thrilled when Greg arrived as that meant that all eleven who started with our team made the top. We beat the odds. Now you really have not accomplished anything unless you make it back down in one piece. We all signed the register and took our final pictures including the one of Mike, Clark and I holding the Ricoh banner which we were hoping would be destined for a marketing campaign back at the office. Mike and Clark decided to hang out on top and attempt to play hacky sack, a game we enjoy playing here at the office on lunch. Michelle stuck around to photograph this pathetic event. According to all the witnesses, the guys could barely get their foot on the hacky sack. Apparently heavy boots, thin air and pure exhaustion hampered their efforts so they packed up and headed down. By this time, about 1:00PM some dark clouds were beginning to form so the decision to start moving down was wise.
I did not find any takers amongst our team to climb Mt. Muir on the way back down. Since I had already summited Whitney in a day the year prior, I needed something extra to make this a standout adventure so I would do it solo. I would not have ventured out to do this solo except for the fact that it is only a ½ mile detour round trip and the main Mt. Whitney trail is in view the whole time. I was in the middle of the group once again and figured I could get up and down Mt. Muir and still be near the end of our group which was strung out from the summit to near Trail Crest. As there is no defined trail to Mt. Muir, you have to study pictures before you go of how to identify the mountain and the common demarcation point where you scurry up a rock gulley off the main trail. Sure a GPS would be helpful but I didn’t really want to carry the extra weight and I hate relying on electronic devices. I found the point OK and headed up.
Within about 50 ft. of my climb up Mt. Muir I realized there was no need to lug my pack to the top and back. I took a long drink of water, looked to the sky to make sure the dark clouds were holding off, stashed my pack behind a rock and continued on. This hike to the top is very steep with lots of loose rock. I was actually glad nobody was ahead of me for fear of being struck by falling debris. I climbed on with the main trail looking smaller behind me. About 100 ft. from the top it becomes a rock climb. Everything I have read up to this point claims it is a class 2 rock scramble with class 3 exposure. Basically they say, if you follow the designated route which you better had remembered from photos because there is nothing there to mark it, the worst that could happen if you fall is a broken bone or two. I followed the route I had studied the weeks, days and even night before from photographs and it all looked familiar. Near the top you do have to make a few interesting moves to get around a large rock blocking the path. I made the summit and held on for dear life! If I ever did this again I would want to be on a rope as that was terrifying. I am not a guy who is scared of heights but this was hairy! I signed the log book at the top, I was the third and by the looks of things the final person to climb it that day. I got some great pictures of the 99 switchbacks that you cannot get from anywhere else and even took a self portrait. I look scared to death in the photo, and I was, because I had one less hand holding onto something on this very small peak that could only fit a couple people. I did it! My second fourteener in a day!
I reversed my path to head down from the summit. I had to fall back on rock climbing skills I had learned in the Boy Scouts 25 years ago. As I was just completing the most difficult part of the descent I saw Alisa on the main trail below me. I yelled to her and she snapped a few pictures and I did the same. She went on her way while I continued on my way down. I was smiling now, unlike my composure near the summit. I got my pack, took a long swig of water and realized I had just drained the last of my water supply. I quickly threw my pack on and got back on the main trail to hopefully catch up to Alisa. Mike, Clark and Michelle were still behind as I checked in on the radio once I got back to my pack.
Not too much farther I came around a corner and found Alisa laying there in the sun looking like a lizard sucking up the sun. I asked if she was alright and after about a 5 second delay she said, “Yeahhhhhhhhhh”. I told her she did not sound very convincing. The stretch of trail before us was a small uphill section just before Trail Crest. I think the thought of going uphill was what stopped her at this point. I bummed some water from her as she had plenty and slugged it down. We then hiked together, slowly, UP to Trail Crest where we bumped into a couple others from our team and Clark, Michelle, Greg and Mike caught up. I stopped at the nearest snow bank and collected the water melting off the bottom. I did not filter it as I figured there was no trail above it so the chances of contamination were slim and I was THIRSTY! I filled up with enough to get me to a lower source that would be easier to collect and filter.
The descent down the 99 switchbacks is much easier than going up. The snow melt from above even makes it more interesting as the trail is criss-crossed by the flowing water so much that at times it is like hiking in a clear flowing rocky creek. We all pretty much kicked in the afterburners and quickly headed down. We did need to break out our rain jackets as it rained on several occasions but it was never that heavy that we needed them for longer than five or ten minutes. We did hear some thunder and were glad to be off the peaks and ridges and were in the relative safety from lightning strike. We all knew that the Whitney Portal Store takes the last order for a hamburger at 7:45PM and closes at 8:00PM so we were all motivated to get down the mountain in time.
Mike and Greg stopped to soak their tired feet in Mirror Lake, a beautiful lake we passed in the near darkness that morning. The team straggled into the Whitney Portal Store between 7:00PM and 8:00PM with me in the middle. Mike used his radio for the most important item of the day, he radioed his son Patrick to get him a burger as he knew he would be a few minutes late to get in his order. Due to low batteries on the radios we missed the burger order for the last few in our party as we were not sure when they would be down. We all had a beer or two and congratulated each other on a job well done. We headed back to camp where Patrick had a campfire all ready to be lit. I hung out for about 10 minutes before the exhaustion set in combined with my 2 hours of sleep from the night before. Only Clark, Michelle, Mike, Alisa and Patrick had enough energy left to hang out around the campfire and eat a little more as several of them missed the burger deadline.
After about 11 hours of uninterrupted sleep I woke up to a new day. With the big adventure I had been planning and training for behind me I felt a little emptiness. Everyone asks you once you complete something like this, “What’s next?” They throw out the logicals like Kilimanjaro and Everest. For me, I may start working on the fourteeners in California of which there are thirteen. I also want to do more snow adventures. There are so many challenging hikes to do I just don’t know what to focus on next. The most important thing for me is to pick something and start training for it as it is the goal of accomplishing the next big mountain that has kept me in good shape. It is almost three years since I decided to turn my life around. It has been motivation for my family to eat better and exercise more and I have been mentor for several people who have taken a similar path of a healthier lifestyle. I am also proud to say that the remainder of the crew I hiked Mt. Whitney with in 2008 made the summit this year. They trained hard and this year their entire team was rewarded for it with a 100% success rate. It has proven to me that if you want to accomplish something you must work hard at it and it will be yours.
Please click to view pictures from this trip.
