May 27th, 2015
Got up at the ranger station 8 miles from Whitney Summit and this time I was going to put most of my stuff in a bear box to lighten my load. I took some food and water and started my hike. The first 4 miles were pretty easy. There were lots of lakes and it wasn't very steep. Then right before I got to the mountain it started to get steep and snowy. The trail seemed like it was cut out of the mountain. The side of the trail was very precarious and if you lost your step it would be very hard to stop until you hit the bottom of the mountain thousands of feet below.
I was one of the few that didn't have crampons so that made it a little bit more dangerous. But after a while I got used to walking on the snow it was a little bit better overall. I just went very slow and made an effort to be careful about each step I took. As I went up the mountain I passed people carry ice axes wearing crampons and wearing helmets. They were in full mountaineering gear and when they looked at my shoes they said I should be careful.
With little oxygen and a little bit of effort I made it to the top. I sat down had a snack, took some pictures and checked for cell phone service. There were a rumors that there was service up on Whitney but I didn't have any luck. After only about 15 minutes I started heading back down the mountain.
As I went down the mountain there were some people in front of me that were having a lot tougher time than me. One girl was taking each step very slowly and when she slipped she would scream. My strategy was just to get down the mountains fast as possible. I fell over about 20 or 30 times but each time I just punch the snow with my arm and got a good grip to prevent me from sliding off the mountain. I made it down back to the ranger station by around 3 pm. I got my stuff and aired everything out. Then I had some lunch and started going back up the trail. I hiked until about 10 PM and then I found a place to camp tired and happy.
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