First time Whitney Hiker and Trip Reporter here…so take it easy!

My brother and I hit the trail at 5:30 am on Sunday the 24th. This was a first time for both of us so despite looking tired, we were really excited about this! We got a late start because of an evening of bear encounters http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/16791#Post16791 ,but now we were ready to roll!

We were both surprised at how hot it got so quickly. Shedding layers very shortly after we took off, we had a couple of goals heading up to trail camp. The first was to GO SLOW! No matter how many people passed us, we didn’t care, by resisting the urge to fly up that mountain from the get go, I believe you are really investing in how you are going feel those last couple miles when you really need to dig deep!

The second goal was to drink and eat often whether we wanted to or not. Lots and lots of water, stinger bars, peanuts, pop tarts, cliff blocks, jerkey, etc going up. Next time around, I would pack more of this smaller/quicker stuff and less “larger meals” like mountain house, etc. My brother using a steri pen to sterilize the water.

The last weather report that we had seen called for a slight chance of thunderstorms the following day so we decided that if we felt well at trail camp, we would set up camp, drop some weight and push on up to take that slight chance out of play. That’s what we did and turned out to be the perfect call for us. We reached trail camp at 11:00am, took an hour break. We ate, rested, drank and then took off at noon. We both left with 3L in our hydration packs (as advised here on WZ), food and a packed jacket and extra layers and took off. We figured we could hopefully make summit in 4 hours and be back down in 3 hours putting us back at trail camp way before dark around 7:00pm.

The switchbacks were the hardest part of this whole thing for both of us, not so much physically, but mentally. The really are endless…The snow crossing before the cable section was definitely tricky because of the steep grade, on the return trip we noticed you could scramble down there and bypass this area by dropping down to a lower switchback. The cable section was really a non issue. There was a clear dry pathway. The 3rd snow crossing was a little trickier but still not bad…hand over hand works well here. It was the next snowy area on top of the chute that was the toughest for me. Go slow here, watch your steps, don’t look down and you will be fine. Take advantage of whatever equipment makes you most comfortable here. We were fine with trekking poles and trailrunners.

Cable Section

2nd Snow Section on switchbacks

Snow crossing at the chute

We made trail crest at 2pm and I think many hikers were worried about us thinking that we might be day hikers and most likely would never make it back in daylight heading up this late. We assured everyone that we were only heading back to trail camp that day and pushed forward.

From trail crest to the summit was a haul…The trail is very technical, loose rocks, etc. Never felt I was going to fall off or anything but it definitely slows you up. We were still on pace to summit by 4:00pm so we kept pushing, getting a second wind of sorts after taking in the spectacular views of Sequoia NP and breathtaking views through the 4 windows.

We finally reached the last snowfield, it was a fairly simple pass. It looks worse than it is. The last couple hundred feet ascending to the top was torture. You want to be there so bad and waiting for the Smithsonian hut to appear, but we just kept seeing more rocks!

Finally we arrived…we made it and just a couple minutes passed 4:00pm. We were all alone up there, just me and my brother. Perfect Clear skies, warm day…it was perfect! We took some pics, looked around, signed the registry, refueled and headed back. All the message boards I had read, all the research I had done, all the training hikes made had finally paid off…we had done it!

No problems on the way down, the slush was now ice, but in many ways easier to deal with because despite being more slick, it was easier for poles to anchor into.

Returned to trail camp at 7:12 pm…right on schedule.

Some smoke rolled in trail camp that evening from a nearby fire, but all in all…it was great night’s sleep and we were literally on top of the world from the experience!

Hiked out the next morning…not worried about food, hydration, schedule, altitude sickness,or any other variables, just me and my brother laughing and hiking in the woods like kids again!

Had a amazing trip and met many really great fellow hikers…

Final Thoughts

Absolutely a trip of a lifetime!

Educate yourself about your trip: read these boards (the good people know their stuff here on WZ), look what has worked and hasn’t worked for people on their trips. Stay up to date on weather/trail conditions. I literally spent hours and hours looking at pics, reading posts and questioning those who had went before me, not saying it’s necessary, but it worked for me.

Acclimate: We stayed one night at Horseshoe Meadows and then one night at the Portal. We also both used Diamox…just in case.

I hope that this report could be a help to someone planning a trip. That is really my motivation in writing it…I know that I literally burnt up my refresh button as I looked for any new trip report or any tidbit of information the weeks leading up to my trip. Hopefully this well help someone in some small way. Good Luck… and THANK YOU – Whitney Zoners for all your contributions that helped me so much!

Annadel State Park

Once again my brother and I embarked on a five mile trail run which led us to Lake Ilsanjo which is the body of water that you see in the picture above.  The trip to the lake was all up hill for about 2.5 miles which made it tough for running but the views offered as forest turned into grassland and as you reached higher elevations and could see most of Santa Rosa down below.  As far as wildlife goes, Turkey and Deer will be the most common but on occasion Jackrabbits and Rattlesnakes will make their presence known.  The lake makes for a perfect midpoint as it would be an excellent place to stop and eat or do a little fishing.  The return trip relied mostly on a fire road but never lost that trail feeling.  This part of the trip is all downhill and can be completed really quickly.  How does this area compare to Kentucky trails, well, it offers a lot of different trails which makes it comparable to areas like Daniel Boone National forest.

http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=480

Angel Island State Park

The largest island in San Francisco Bay once used for military installations now is a haven for hikers, bikers, and boaters in the bay area.  This trail leads to the top of Mt. Livermore which provides amazing views of the city, Alcatraz, and Golden Gate Bridge.  The hike up started with a lot of stairs which can be tiring but soon turned into a peaceful, gradual climb that did not serve to be much of an obstacle in making your way to the top.  At the top they have picnic tables and benches in a marked off area that allows for time to rest as well as getting in some great pictures.   We returned the same way we came up to make it about a 4 mile hike,  not too bad allowing us to finish in a little over two hours making it back down in time to catch the ferry across the bay.  All in all it was a good trail, not my favorite of the trip but it did provide me with some great views and even better memories of the area.

http://www.angelisland.org/

Mount Tamalpais State Park

After seeing this mountain all week driving north and south on Highway 101 my curiosity eventually got the better of me.  On my last day my brother and I took a little time to head to the top of this mountain.  With an elevation of 2,571 feet it may not be the highest peak around but you will be hard pressed to find better views from the top.  I was able to see Mt. St. Helena (which is 52.4 miles to the north) and Mt. Diablo (40+ miles away) to the south.  All typical icons of the bay area can also be seen as long as the weather permits.  It is a climb to the top at times crawling over open rock to keep with the trail and then at the top you will find dizzying heights as you look down to the bay area below.  This one is not for everybody as I would list it as a difficult trail.  Kentucky trails don’t match the elevation change as many places in Kentucky start from a much higher elevation above sea level.

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=471

As this is my last day in California I will return to posting about Kentucky trails as well as offering some guest authors to share their experiences and trails.  So I look forward to returning home and seeing you on the trails.  Happy Hiking.

Annadel State Park

For the first time hitting the trails in Santa Rosa, California it was going to be my brother (Jared Smith) and myself doing a little trail running.  Annadel provided some beautiful scenery along with some tough climbs.  This trail covered rocky outcroppings, grassy open areas, dark forested areas made even darker by the moss hanging from the tree.  All in all we did about 4.5 miles which is a little lengthy for a trail run but the cool weather and wonderful scenery it was well worth the extra workout.  So it’s off to an excellent start for my California North Shore Tour.  The links provide more information on the parks listed.

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=480

Point Reyes National Seashore

What my family and I did during our trip to the seashore was a 1 mile hike out and back.  I know that it doesn’t seem very impressive but during that one mile we had a .4 mile walk uphill followed by 302 steps downhill to a lighthouse and a great view of the Pacific Ocean.  The 302 steps back uphill is enough to leave most people winded.  This was just the tip of the iceberg of what Point Reyes has to offer, there are enough hiking trails out here to keep the most dedicated hikers busy for weeks, unfortunately I had only a few hours.

http://www.nps.gov/pore

Armstrong Redwoods State Nature Preserve

When one thinks of Northern California they immediately think of giant redwoods so large that you can drive through.  Well that’s not exactly what Armstrong offers but the Redwoods found here are very large including Parson Jones which stands 310 feet tall, diameter of 13.8 feet and has an approx. age of 1300 years.  This is the enchanted forest you see in movies.  The trail we took was easy walk through the enormous Redwoods,  it was a trail for all people to enjoy as I was joined by Eddie, Ruth, Jared, and Lauren Smith (my parents, brother, and sister in law).  A lot of trees had hollowed out points at the base that were large enough for several people to stand in and deep enough to be completely dark inside.  According to my brother (Jared Smith) these look like the entrance to Narnia so I did not venture to close:).   This park offers several miles of trails which hopefully I will be able to make a return trip before I leave, we’ll have to wait and see.

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=450