Summiting Mount Whitney in 1 Day
This Summiting Mount Whitney article gives details on my inspiration for hiking Mount Whitney and gives an overview of the weekend leading up to the hike. It also includes how to get there, when to visit, and where to stay.
I hiked Mount Whitney with some of my close friends from Hermosa Beach on September 26, 2021. We were so excited to experience the 22 mile round trip journey up to 14,508 feet elevation – the highest peak in the Continental United States! Read below to see details about our trip and my tips for making it to the summit.
My Inspiration for Hiking Mount Whitney
I remember it like it was yesterday…climbing up Moro Rock in Sequoia National Park and the breathtaking views of the Sierra Mountains in the distance. You could see the snow-capped mountains over the pine trees. There were so many mountains and you could see for miles. On the Moro Rock panorama sign, I saw Mount Whitney listed, the highest mountain in the continental US at 14,508 feet elevation. Amazing. This was my first time seeing it. It didn’t necessarily look like the tallest mountain from that view, but I knew one day I wanted to summit it.
At the time it was the summer of 2016, and I was living in Arizona and on furlough for a week from work. The furlough is what led to a spontaneous 10-day road trip through California with 2 of my closest friends. Sequoia NP was the last stop of our trip and did not disappoint. The crisp, cool air and the giant Sequoia Redwoods. Fast forward 2 years and I was moving to California. I had not forgotten about Mount Whitney and began learning about the permit process and tips for hiking it successfully. After applying for 3 separate years, I still did not get a permit. Luckily though, this year (2021) my friend who had applied with me successfully got one. We were set for hiking Sunday, September 26th! This date also happened to be just under a month after Jason and I’s wedding. We knew we wanted to do a 2-week honeymoon so that left me 2 weeks to train once we got back. Before the wedding, some of our group hiked Mount Baldy for training. Other than that, I did a lot of walking 4+ miles at a time in those 2 weeks. And then I ran 4 miles a few days before the hike. I would have trained harder during that 2 weeks if I wasn’t dealing with an injury related to my nerves in my arms or what was diagnosed as tennis elbow.
In addition to building endurance, I highly recommend researching the hike before you go. I recommend reading the ‘Mt Whitney Hike’ HikingGuy’s article, It provides a very detailed overview of everything you need to know before you go.
Here are my key tips for what to do during the hike:
- Drink A LOT of water. I went through 7 liters of water throughout the day. Drinking a lot of water helps your body adjust to the high altitude. I recommend bringing a water filter to use at the lakes along the hike so you don’t have to carry it all.
- Eat high-energy foods often. I ate at least a bite of something every 30 minutes throughout the hike. Having sandwiches, dried fruit, energy boosters like Gu gel packs, protein bars, or hydration tablets for your water were all super helpful for me to feel strong throughout the hike.
- Breath deeply. The higher in altitude you go, the less oxygen you are getting. Taking deep breaths in through my nose and out through my mouth was extremely helpful to get me to the top and on the way back down until the oxygen levels were higher again.
How to Get to Mount Whitney Trailhead:
Mount Whitney is located in the Sierra Mountains of California. There are a few different ways to hike it, depending on how much time you have and how technical you wish to make your journey. I hiked Mount Whitney by starting at the Mount Whitney Portal in Lone Pine, CA. This is about a 4-hour drive from LA.
When to Visit:
The best time to hike Mount Whitney is in the summer when there is the least amount of snow and ice along the trail. Permits are required to hike the mountain and there is a window of the year from about May to October where the permits are made available through a lottery system. Read this Inyo National Forest guide to help determine which permit you need to apply for. We hiked on September 26, 2021, and had great weather other than a little smoke from the nearby fires.
Where to Stay:
I recommend getting acclimated to at least 8,000 feet elevation a couple of days before the hike. When you secure a permit, it’s also best to secure a camping spot at Whitney Portal Campground, which is the closest spot to the trailhead. This campground does NOT take first come first serve (it only takes reservations) and it books up months in advance so I recommend booking even before you find out if you get the permit.
2 Days before the hike
We headed up Friday after work to set up camp at Whitney Portal Campground. We saw a lot of smoke on the drive up. The Mount Whitney Trail had just reopened after fires broke out in the Sierras. Even though the trail was now open again, the fires were still occurring on the west side and sending smoke over the top of Whitney to our campground and the entire valley that the 395 highway goes through. Due to the fires, no campfires were allowed at our site. We luckily had jet boils and a gas stove to help us cook.
Friday night we hung out and headed to bed once we all got tired and cold. That night, I woke up around 3:30 am to what sounded like a black bear sniffing right outside of my tent. Right at the exact location that my chapstick was – at my left shoulder. I laid there with my eyes wide open and quickly moved my chapstick into my sleeping bag between Jason and me hoping the bear wouldn’t be able to pick up the scent anymore. I woke up Jason to let him know in case the bear hung around. We laid there as quiet as we could be listening for anything. I whispered to Jason, “should we give him the chapstick?” We giggled silently. After that, we didn’t hear anything else, but I clapped my hands and shined my flashlight just in case. Luckily that was the last we heard the bear. The next morning, my friends said they had heard a lot of rumbling at the bear boxes. It must’ve been a bear at my tent I thought. During each of the next nights, I made sure to put even my chapstick in the bear box!
Saturday, the day before our hike, we did a group hike up the first part of the Mt Whitney Trail to Lone Pine Lake. It was 3 miles each way. We enjoyed the lake and some of us got in the very chilly water. It was slightly numbing, which was cold but also great for serving as an ice bath. That night, we headed to bed by 8 pm.
Today is the day!
Sunday morning, we woke up at 1:45 am. I pulled out the clothes I had picked out the night before from the bottom of my sleeping bag (I had stuffed them in the bottom to keep them warm) and got dressed. We all brushed our teeth, grabbed our pre-packed backpacks, said bye to Jason (he was sitting this one out while his back healed), and headed to the trail.
We started our hike at 2:45 am. The first 3 miles up to Lone Pine Lake were a breeze. We all felt great and accomplished. Hiking this today was much easier than the day before. We must’ve acclimated to 10,000 ft. The next mile or two were decently easy as well. We got to the top of the tree line right at sunrise. We all got extra chilly and stopped at the trail camp to fill up our water at the lake. I had already gone through 3 liters of water. After that, we started for the 99 switchbacks and couldn’t wait for the sunshine to hit us. After 10 switchbacks, there it was – warming us all up. We stopped every 10 switchbacks to take a break and our fearless group leader counted each turn for us. After 2 hours on the switchbacks, we made it to the top where we could look out over the east valley and got our first view out west over the Sequoias. Beautiful. The sharp, steep mountains and the alpine lakes. One was even shaped like a guitar.
Reaching the Summit
We thought we were close. We were wrong. The last 2 miles and 1,000 feet elevation were through a decently narrow path with steep drop-offs and the trail was scrambles of rocks. Also, the elevation was hitting all of us now with swollen fingers and headaches. We moved slowly through and took a lot of breaks at our own speed. Finally at 11:15 am, we made it to the top. I waited with some of the group who had summited for the rest of our friends to summit. It was a liberating feeling. We were at the highest peak in the lower 48 states overlooking miles and miles of views all around us. I remembered driving by this peak on the 395 on the way to ski at Mammoth Mountain countless times and looking up trying to find which peak Mount Whitney was…and here we were standing on top of it. We joked about how in the future we will still struggle to find which peak Mount Whitney is during our road trips.
After eating our sandwiches and snacks, we began our long hike back down – over 6,000 feet in elevation. We were all excited to hike down the first few thousand feet in elevation to get our oxygen levels back up. A few hours in, we stopped at Mirror Lake to enjoy the views. I hope to go back and spend more time here one day. We left the summit around noon and didn’t finish the hike until 6:45 pm. It was getting dark again, just like it was when we started our hike. Jason was waiting for us with burgers and beers to celebrate! We all reminisced on the day and told Jason our favorite moments until we went to bed.
I hope my Mount Whitney Summit journey helps inspire you! Feel free to reach out on my Contact page if you have any questions!