Just wanted to boast and let everyone know that I climbed the highest peak in North America last week! Mt. Whitney at elevation 14, 505 ft.
The picture below right is of part of the group who was on the hike.
We had such a blast! We have been training for a few months and it was well worth it.
We camped at Whitney Portal and enjoyed a nice dinner (had a visit by a mischevious black bear who was hungry and waiting for the bear boxes to be left open so he could gnosh out) before heading out to Trail Camp the following morning.
The weather was absolutely beautiful and the Whitney Portal Campground is the best! We had a stream next to our campsite that lulled us to sleep at night. Our campsite was 003 and I highly recommend the location.
We then woke up the next day and hiked 6.5 miles up to Trail Camp. We weighed our packs on the scale at the entrance for fun. It was amazing to think of how much stuff one can carry up a mountain. I kept thinking of how John Muir probably did his hikes and then I was told that he had sherpa types and a mule to carry his stuff...hey! Where's my mule? (It was vertical all the way to Trail Camp and boy were my "dogs" tired).
After we set up camp we took off up on the slopes and practiced climbing up the ice chute with our crampons and our ice axes. It was very exhausting practice but I am really glad we did it because at 6 a.m. the next day we headed straight up the ice chute. I buried my one can of Guinness (we each got one for our backpack to celebrate the climb) in the stream bed on the switchback trail so that I could celebrate the descent with a nice cold foamy can of suds. (I'm so glad I didn't forget where I put it). LOL.
We then proceeded to head up the chute. Man, talk about high altitude and being out of breath every 5th step I took. I lived on honey, water with electrolytes and chocolate bars trying to make it up that dang ice chute. BTW: We all wore our Run Ryan Run red caps. Ryan Hall is an Olympic Athlete from Big Bear Lake that is going to the 2008 Beijing Olympics and we are so very proud of him. He is also a part of The Lighthouse Project a non profit organization whose motto is helping Big Bear promote "A Child Honoring Community" and there is a campaign to get people out to exercise and log their miles. (oops that reminds me...I need to log mine on http://www.moveamillionmilesforryanhall.com/) if you are an avid walker, hiker, runner etc...you need to go there and log them in. We are at a 500,000 miles and we want to be at a one million before Ryan gets to Beijing. (It is already growing exponentially).
After the ice chute we rested a spell, took off our crampons and bundled up with jackets and beanies and hiked to Mt. Whitney! Unbelievable views the whole hike. I could see for miles and miles. We signed the book at the top, it's all about "Carpe Diem" for me so I added a blurb and then headed back down towards camp.
On the way back down to camp, I climbed Mt. Muir which is another 14,000 footer (fourteener). There are 13 total I think that are doable in the Western States! It was loads of fun and I am so hooked. I found my Guinness and it was super tasty and cold. I did however share it with my buddies citing that I felt so thankful to be healthy and alive.
I have some blistering and sore muscles but I am ready to go conquer the next peak.
In the interim I think I'd better keep selling Real Estate and doing what I know. Work hard to Play hard. Overall, it was a huge sense of accomplishment and not what I had expected. It was better than what I had expected!
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