All:

Reminder: The Badwater to Mt. Whitney trip begins in less than eight weeks! Cycling starts October 4, hiking on October 6.

All information about the trip, including this and other (hopefully) informative messages, can be found on the web at http://bluedrinks.com/whit01

Here is some information about hiking Mt. Whitney.

Some of my thoughts about hiking Mt. Whitney are likely to stir up some dissenting opinions. I'll just point out now that this message, like my earlier ones, contains my opinions. Yours are welcome.

First of all, if you are in good physical shape I think you can make it to the peak. It would help if you've trained some for hiking, but it's just a lot of walking, after all. If you can't walk up two flights of stairs without collapsing, then maybe you have a problem, but if you get regular cardiovascular exercise, and have a lot of determination, you can probably make it.

Second of all, there are dozens of things that could go wrong that prevent you from getting to the top of the highest peak in the contiguous 48 states. Some include...

1. Too tired to get out of bed.

Getting out of your nice warm sleeping bag at 6:00 a.m. is probably the single biggest hurdle to overcome, especially if you've just ridden your bike 135 miles. Really. If you can get up and get going, you've won half the battle. After that, you just have to walk. All day. Uphill. Using the equivalent of only one lung.

2. Altitude Sickness

The hike starts at around 8800 feet and ends at 14,494 feet above sea level. If you are susceptible to altitude sickness, you may start to feel it anywhere on this hike. I'm no doctor, and you can get a lot of information about altitude sickness elsewhere, but I do know this: you can get it even if you are in good shape, even if you do everything right on the hike, and even if you have been at the same altitude before and not gotten it. You can lessen your chances of getting it by being in good shape and staying hydrated, but that's no guarantee.

3. Carrying too much gear

This is a *long* hike, and we'll be doing it all in a single day. If you carry a lot of heavy gear, you'll wear yourself out too soon and you won't make it to the top. Yes, you should prepare for the unexpected, but it is a well traveled, well marked trail. If something goes wrong, you won't need to spend a week in the wilderness. Most people carry a daypack, but I carry a big waist pack with water bottles strapped on the sides.

4. Bad shoes

I don't recommend doing this hike in any shoes you are not *completely* comfortable in. You'll be walking uphill for 6-9 hours and downhill for 4-6 hours, so even comfortable shoes can give you blisters or crushed toes. Make sure yours don't. I usually recommend sneakers for this hike. The trail is very well maintained and heavy hiking boots are just more weight to drag up the hill.

Here is what to expect on the hike.

We'll get up and be on the trail by 6:30 a.m. Saturday morning. We'll make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in camp to take with us. There are two camps along the way with solar toilets for solid waste only. Most of the way, we'll have water available that we'll have to purify before drinking. Parts of the hike will be in the sun and will be warm. Parts will be in the shade and will be cold. The top will likely be chilly. Thunderstorms are a possibility, and we'll have to turn around if there are signs of lightning. If all goes well, we'll be back to the bottom before dark, but possibly not.

Here is my gear list, yours may vary. Please send your additions and I'll add them to the list.

Next installment, camping at Whitney Portal.