Climbing Mount Whitney
It’s been a good second day. I started out with another 3.5 mile walk with the dogs and my daypack. I’d loaded the pack up to 11 lbs. yesterday with my camelback filled, a two-way radio and extra batteries along with my cell phone and some snacks. Mind you, I didn’t need the snacks, but I wanted to simulate what I’d carry.
Today I added the dogs’ water. That added another 2.5 lbs., bringing the total bag weight to 13.5 lbs. I still need to figure out the full equipment I need to take, including my walking gear. Certainly my old work / hiking shoes are no good. Ever since I lost weight last year, my feet seem to have shrunk as well. They swim in the old shoes.
In any case, I did some more research and thought I’d share some of the resources here.
How to Train
Most of what I’ve found is on training for the big hike or climb. Here’s the list so far:
- How to Train for Hiking Mt. Whitney
This is an eHow page where I got most of my ideas on how to train for the hike. There are some good pointers about hiking equipment as well here. - Mount Whitney Training Hikes, by REI
This is way cool. REI provides group hikes at the local mountains to help prepare
with elevation acclimation as well as agility training. The climbs are over various local mountain ranges in Southern California including Cucamonga Peak, Mt. Baldy, San Bernardino Peak, Mt. San Jacinto, and San Gorgonio Mountain. The hikes are similar to Mount Whitney, except shorter and at lower altitudes. They range from 8.5 to 16 miles round trip and cost $110 for REI members and $130 for non-members.
This’ll be on my list of climbs once I can do some of the local hills and climbs and traverse 10-15 miles round-trip.
- Mount Whitney
This is an excellent site about all things Mount Whitney. I read the clearest description about getting the hike permits on this page. I love the photos and video here as well. They gave me a better idea of the views I’ll get to see when I get there.
What Do You Think?
Do you have any Mount Whitney resources you can share? What do you think of today’s post? Feel free to share your comments below.
Related Posts
Day 1: The Goal and Reason to Climb
Photo Credit
Mount Whitney Website’s Photo Page, REI Mount Whitney Training Hikes Page