Onion Valley to Whitney Portal (w/pics)
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I just returned this morning (4 am!!) from a super-fast trip from Onion Valley to the Whitney Portal.
I was on the trail on Tuesday morning at about 11:30am after dropping off my car at the portal and getting a ride to Onion Valley. I used the Mount Whitney Shuttle Service (760) 876-1915 and would reccommend it to others, Bob is a good guy and will go just about anywhere.
The hike up Kearsarge Pass was great but the clouds brewing above had me wondering what was in store…especially after hearing about all of the damage to Lone Pine in recent storms (apparently the hatchery was wiped out, many roads gone, etc…). A hiker leaving told me the storms were "horrific".
Yeah, me and my 8oz tarp against "horrific" storms. I'd be lying to say I wasn't a little worried.
Here's the view of Kearsarge Lakes from the pass- clouds brewing over the Kearsarge Pinnacles…man I love this place!
Another random photo from climbing Kearsarge…
Just as I got down to the lakes the clouds began to break open- steady rain of varying intensity for the next 5-6 hours. I hiked through it all, trying to make time and cover some ground- interestingly, all the folks with the giant packs and Everest-ready TNF storm gear seemed to disappear into tents at the first drop and hid for the rest of the day. The Sierras in the rain are beautiful!
I was wishing I had brought my umbrella though…I had my Dropstoppers, but was still soaked from sweat and leakage within an hour or two. Had I known how much rain I'd face, I would've also brought my Arc'teryx shell- the Dropstopper hood pretty much sucks for lack of a visor.
Here's a shot heading down into Vidette Meadow.I put in about 17 miles on the first day out, stopping at the end of the treeline before Forester Pass. Thankfully, the rains died down long enough to set up camp, eat, relax, and turn in. EVERYTHING I wore was soaked, half of it probably from me. I tried my best to dry it but it was too cold. Here's camp that night:
Miserable night…The best spot I could find to avoid runoff had me amongst a bunch of roots. Better than getting soaked though- It started raining again sometime in the early morning…I was awakened by spray on my face at about 5am…I pulled the bivy hood on, scooted down (I'm a little tall for the Oware Cattarp 1.1) and slept for another hour.
I woke up to the thrilling prospect of having to climb Forester Pass in a storm and daydreamed some on death by lightning while climbing…It was steady, freezing rain all the way up, until the rain turned to snow and ice at about 12,000 feet- but thankfully no electricity. I was soaked again (and wearing damp cloths from the day before) within an hour. With windchill it had to be 25 degrees at the pass. Here's looking up at it, I believe the pass is the second saddle from the left in this shot.My face and hands were completely frozen- I raced down the other side and got a break in the weather within a few hours. I also met many people who turned back due to the storm…pat myself on the back. I was planning on one more night before exiting but figured I'd pick up the pace and try to finish that day- my estimates put me at Trail Crest below Whitney by 7:00pm or so…enough to go for it if the weather held.
I blazed through Tyndall Creek, Wallace Creek, and Crabtree Meadow, getting to Guitar Lake at around 4:30. The ranger I ran into thought I was a bit nuts saying I wanted to climb the crest given I'd done Forester that morning and the amount of clouds brewing above Whitney- he made a note of my name. To his credit, I imagine I probably looked a bit out of it at this point.
I pushed on though (promising myself I'd turn back if there was lightning), got some rain, but all cleared by the time I reached Trail Crest. Here's looking down on Hitchcock Lakes (above Guitar Lake on the backside of Whitney).Love the heights up there!!! I had the whole range to myself- everyone had long ago turned in.
The rest of the night consisted of getting down to the portal by headlamp, it was dark by the time I got off the switchbacks below Whitney. I skipped summiting (been there many times)…I was too spent and would've been up there in the dark and alone- still too many clouds lingering to want to do it.
Made it to my car at the portal by 11:30pm. My estimates put the day's mileage (according to the Tom Harrison map) at about 31.5 miles…It certainly shows on my feet! Got some pretty terrible blisters from non-stop wet feet , but no regrets…great two days!!Sorry about the crappy formatting here, I'll try to fix it…first time posting pics here.
OK, figured out proper picture size…I'll do it next time.
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