Mount Whitney

Mount Whitney is the highest point in the continental United States with a summit altitude of 14,505 feet. My pseudo cousin and I made the trek in 2014. We started at the Whitney Portal west of the town of Lone Pine on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. From there, the trek is 20 miles round trip. The hike itself takes between 12–16 hours. The plan was to get to the trailhead, set up camp and make the hike the following morning.

We left the Central Valley of California the first morning on our four-hour drive to the Whitney Portal. Only 45 miles out of town, I had a flat tire. My husband left work and came to the rescue, trading cars and sending us on our way while he dealt with the tire. The delay meant that we wouldn’t arrive to one of the campgrounds near the trailhead until dusk. We went as far as we could until it was difficult to see. The campsites were all filled. We ended up in this odd little area right next to the trail. We set up our tent, climbed in, ate a few bites of trail mix, and slept. Well before sun-up we heard many, many footsteps walking right next to our tent on the trail. Most hikers start between 2 am and 4 am. It was impossible to sleep so we got up and prepared to join them. We left the tent and other unnecessary belongings at our site and began the ascent with our headlamps.