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I had originally planned a Mt. Langley overnighter for July 17-18. My plans did not work out, so I decided to stay at the Whitney Portal Hostel for the weekend, spend Friday and Saturday checking out some possible Mt. Whitney acclimation hikes (Mono and Kearsarge Passes, trip reports coming soon), then spend the evenings and early mornings taking photos of Mt. Whitney and hanging out at the Whitney Portal Store with some friends. Here are some photos and comments.
July 17
I didn’t take many photos because I was drove from home to Mono Pass, hiked to Mono Pass Peak, drove back to Lone Pine, checked into the Whitney Portal Hostel, then rushed up to the Portal to hang out before the store closed. I did manage to snap this photo of the summit as I drove towards the trail head:
July 18
Sunrise – I headed over to Movie Road around 5 am in the hopes of grabbing some photos of Whitney through the Mobius Arch. I wanted to catch the apline glow then sunrise, but when I arrived, someone already had several cameras set up. I decided to take my photos through a smaller arch nearby.
Afternoon – After hiking Kearsarge Pass, I returned to Lone Pine, where the wind was blowing really hard. Whitney was shrouded in clouds cover. I headed up to the Portal, stopping to take a few pics on the way. At the Portal, Doug showed me a spot in front of the store where Mt. Irvine (13,786′) is visible. When it is storming, he takes a look at that peak to get an idea of what is happening on Whitney. Hikers coming off the mountain were reporting some nasty conditions – rain, hail, snow and high winds.
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July 19
Sunrise – I didn’t set an alarm before going to bed. I was exhausted and figured the mountains would be socked in with clouds. I woke up around 5:15 and when I went outside, I was surprised to see that it was relatively clear. I headed up to Movie Road and into the Alabama Hills again to snap some photos.
Morning – After packing up my stuff, I headed back up to the Portal. The clouds were moving quickly around the summit, which was great for photos. I spent a few hours at the portal talking to friends and hikers before headed home. I was told by an HST’er that there was 2″ of snow on the ground above Trail Crest, and that it was still snowing when he summited around 6:30 am.
Drive Home – As I left the Portal, it started to rain. By the time I hit Whitey Vista Drive, the mountains the sky had grown dark. My drive home was uneventful until I reach Adelanto. I dealt with high winds, two large dust devils and pouring rain before reaching home.
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GEAR
I’ll talk more about my gear in my trip reports for Mono Pass Peak and Kearsarge Pass. I would like to note that I wore the same lightweight merino wool tee and merino socks for all of my hiking, which were the same ones I wore for my Bishop Pass hike last weekend, unwashed. That’s 30+ miles and over 15 (sweaty) hours on the trail and I’d have no problem putting them on and wearing them again. WoolX and Farm to Feet make quality products – they will both get my highest recommendation when I write my full reviews.
I also wore my Oboz Traverse Lows all weekend – it’s been a few years since I’ve hiked this much in something other than boots and they worked well. Much of other gear that I used this weekend was the same stuff I brought on my Bishop Pass hike – Cotton Carrier Strapshot, Deuter Airlite 28, Hydrapak Stash, Geigerrig Hydration Pack and Nano Drink Tube.
