TRAIL JOURNAL
/ June 23, 2022
The PCT runs by Mt. Whitney but doesn’t go up it. To summit Mt. Whitney, PCT hikers have to take a 16-mile (or so) round trip east of the PCT. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but it doesn’t take into account the elevation gain (and then loss). We really wanted to climb Mt. Whitney, and we were thinking of it like it would be the highlight of our PCT hike. We decided to get up before dawn and try to be at or near the top for sunrise. That would get us on the way down in plenty of daylight, and before the trail got crowded. Another reason for our choice is that if a thunderstorm forms, it is also more likely to be in the afternoon than the morning. On exposed granite peaks, lightning strikes are very dangerous.
The main trail up Mt. Whitney, called the Whitney Portal, is a loop trail that actually makes its approach from Lone Pine, the east-facing side of the mountain. The trail we will be taking approaches from the other side, the west-facing side, and joins the main trail under Mt. Muir. Our trail is not a loop, and once we have summited, we need to turn around and come back down the same way we went up. People can drive from LA to Lone Pine in a few hours, so there may be other hikers from the Whitney Portal Trail joining us for the final ascent. I hope the trail isn’t crowded!
- Magnus!