Shortly thereafter my neighbor walked by my house and we talked about hiking Mt. Whitney. He mentioned to me the whole permit process - permit process? Huh? Thankfully he did otherwise I would've missed it totally. After that I spoke with many people who wanted in and settled in on 13 total hikers. Permit application and money sent in and the wait was on.
We got the notification in the mail that our application was selected and we got our one day permit for 8/12/2011 (right near a full moon). So stoked to get that permit. Not that many are issued annually so we were happy to have gotten ours. Now the training was to begin. In addition to my regular CrossFit workouts, I added in a few hikes. Three long days with progressive difficulty on Mt. Diablo would be the extent of the hiking training. Good times with my neighbor and it gave us a good sense of being on our feet for a long time and gaining significant elevation.
So during the last couple of months before the hike people dropped out and new people entered and this repeated a few times... The final number was whittled down to eight. We were known as the Gin Tonics. The eight included (in alphabetical order):
Eric "Top Ramen" Benz
Mike "Heavy Breather" Gin
Quinn "Don't Need No Stinkin' Donuts" Hollaway
Steve "Summit Sleeper" Marx
Kerry "Snickers Satisfies" Paige (better nickname available however trying to keep this rated PG)
Karyn "Bit o' Honey" Salerno
Jim "Fourteeny" Sapia
Brian "Excuse Me One Sec While I Puke" Stansell
So enough of the little details, let's cut to the chase. We all arrived in Lone Pine, CA on Thursday 8/11/2011. Had some grub and then sat at the pool strategizing. The entire group was there and got a chance to chit chat. Then it was off to bed and hopefully get a few hours of sleep (I got three hours). Eric and Steve camped so they had the luxury of sleeping in an extra few minutes (and get a night at altitude which might have been helpful in this process).
The target was to leave the motel at 2:30am and be on the trail by 3am. We were right on time but then dilly-dallied for a few minutes at the trailhead and hit the trail at 3:15am. So off to a good start! We were climbing at a furious pace in the dark and gained a ton of elevation in a pretty short period of time. Things were looking good for our group and we were definitely on pace for a sub-8 hour summit pace. However things slowed a bit (okay a lot) during the hike. More on that later...
Hard to describe the feeling of seeing the mountains illuminated by the sunrise - INCREDIBLE just doesn't do it justice. MAJESTIC maybe. It is a sight that I will remember forever! Truly an amazing sight. Unfortunately photos can't do it justice. A remarkable experience.
The terrain was rugged but the trail was pretty well defined. We all made it to Trail Camp - 12,000' and the last reliable source of water before the summit. Here we took a little break, filled hyrdration bladders, watched the fat marmots, and tried to see people on the infamous 99 switchbacks that loomed ahead.
Jim blasted off and we lost track of him - he had a goal to get to the summit by noon. Didn't see him at all on the switchbacks - he was setting a blistering pace up them. These things were a serious grind. As bad as everyone described. Took awhile to gain that 1,600' to Trail Crest. Appreciated the longer switchbacks since they were less steep and gave an opportunity to keep the heart rate in check. I found for me to just keep grinding away and not stopping was the key. I was trying to stay ahead of this guy who was moving up pretty quickly, but finally he caught me. Casey was his name and he ended up playing a huge role in the hike. We talked about Mt. Muir and he said that was the reason he was up there since he hadn't done it the last time he summitted Whitney. He dropped me and I wished him luck on Muir.
I made it to Trail Crest (13,600') and this is where I let my guard down a bit. Figured I was really close now so took a break, took photos, and figured, sweet, I'm just about there. Big mistake.
Jim was nowhere in site, Steve was gone, and then Eric took off too. I waited until Brian got there and then decided to head to the summit. Didn't realize it was another 1.9 miles on some really rugged trail (rock hopping for a lot of it). Brian needed a pit stop so I left him to give him some privacy. I hiked for a bit but then realized I was feeling like crap. At 13,800' I was losing my balance and if I wasn't careful I could throw up. I'd walk ten feet and then stop and take a break. My summit hopes were looking very grim at this point. The balance issue was making me nervous... That couldn't have been a good sign.
So as I sat there and watched a bunch of people pass me by, I was thinking my hike was just about over. It wasn't going to get any better (and likely was going to get worse). Jim was heading back - he said he got to 14,000' and needed to turn back. Great, it took down one of our team members who I thought was already at the summit. Things were not looking good. And then, out of nowhere Casey stops and says he successfully summitted Mt. Muir. I congratulated him and then he asked how I was doing. I said I felt like crap. He asked how my breathing was. I said, short little breathes. He said to start taking deep breathes and to follow him that we were going to make the summit as long as I wasn't having a hard to staying upright. I didn't mention to him the couple of times I almost tipped over. I figured I'll give it this one last shot and see what happens....
Well, this is the small miracle that occurred for me. All of a sudden I felt so much better and we were flying up the trail. We passed a ton of people and I could not believe just minutes ago I was about ready to turn around. The deep breathes worked!!! Casey had a ton of experience in mountaineering and saved my summit. It was great having him pace me.
We were in view of the building on the summit and I could not believe the hop in my step at this point. I felt like I could've run there I was so excited. Unbelievable! I felt so much joy seeing that building. I still couldn't believe how incredible I felt (physically and mentally). I thanked Casey profusely and signed the summit registry and took some photos. Casey, best of luck to you and I hope that you realize your dream of becoming a guide. I'll be your first customer on Rainier... :)
So while I was on the summit I radioed to Steve and Eric but got no reply. I didn't see them come back on the trail so I couldn't figure out where they were. Did they take a wrong turn? Headed down the mountaineer's route? Turns out they were there but Steve fell asleep and Eric put on a jacket so I didn't recognize him. And their radio battery died. Crazy. I ended up only spending about 15 minutes up there because I thought at this point everyone would be waiting for me. Saw the rescue helicopter take off while I was there - turns out a guy broke his ankle - but he managed to hop a quarter mile up to the summit. Amazing. He seemed in good spirits when I spoke with him. I wish I could've hitched a ride down.
With the summit bagged, I knew that I needed to get down and in a hurry because there was no telling when the altitude was going to finally catch up with me. I set a blistering pace and was feeling pretty good. Then around the 13,800' mark I started feeling the balance thing again. Slowed it down some and caught my breath. Moved forward and came around a corner to hear, "hey look who it is!" I had no idea who said that but it turns out it was Karyn, Kerry, and Quinn. Didn't even recognize Karyn and didn't see Kerry and Quinn. Man I was back in that rough patch again.
Sat there for a bit talking with Karyn - she told me that Brian had gotten sick and had to turn around. Bummer. She said she was tired and decided that the summit was out. Kerry and Quinn had taken off and headed back down. So we took off as well. Back up to Trail Crest and then down the switchbacks. I was going as fast as I could on the switchbacks (practically running). I knew I needed to get down to lower elevations. I made it to Trail Camp (12,000'), refilled my bladder (completely empty), and then laid down. I still felt like crap. I think I fell asleep for a bit and then the rest of the group made it down. People put their feet in the 35 degree water which they said felt great on tired feet. Me? I didn't have the energy and still felt crappy. I was hungry but nauseas which is a really sucky thing. After our break there we were off.
I was again going as fast as possible without running - once I got to 11,000' I started to feel better. And things kept getting better from there. Was able to eat something and just kept motoring. Steve was on my tail the whole way down. We caught up with Jim and then Eric caught up with us. It was the never ending trail - this was the part of the trail we did in the dark. Steve and I put it into turbo mode and raced down the last couple of miles. The trailhead was in sight. It was such a great thing to see. I was done and happy to be done. What an adventure!!!
15.5 hours later and we were D-U-N. What a long a$$ day. But an amazing day. The group was great - some good synergy there which made the trip even more enjoyable. This truly was an epic time. I'm so glad that people were able to experience this with me as well. Everyone said it was a great trip and most said it was the toughest thing they'd ever done. We got everyone up to the Trail Crest which is no small feat (13,600'). I was very impressed! Three of us summitted which is very cool. But more importantly, the journey was remarkable. An unforgettable experience, something that will take a prominent chapter in my brain and heart's memory book... :)
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