Ten Tips

1. Bring extra flashlights for yourself and other hikers. Yes, you might encounter hikers that are unprepared for the return trip in the dark and you will need to give them flashlights.

2. If you're doing the entire hike on Mt Whitney Trail from Whitney Portal to the summit and back, unless you leave at 4 AM and are very fast, you will return after sundown. Plan food, water, clothing, and flashlights for a 14+ hour trip.

3. When you reach the top of the switchbacks at Trail Crest (about 13,600 ft., 4145 m), you are not yet close to the summit. There is still a 2.5 mile up-and-down traverse past the summit of Mt. Muir and Keeler Needle to below the Whitney peak. I hammered from Trail Crest and didn't get to the Whitney summit until 90 minutes later.

4. The descent from Whitney summit on the Mt Whitney Trail back to Whitney Portal trailhead takes longer than you think. It includes a number of ascents. I took eight hours to ascend and six hours to descend.

5. Acute Mountain Sickness, in its milder forms, is common on Whitney. A lot of the climbers are coming from sea level and are not acclimated (like me). Here's a Web site on AMS: High Altitude Medicine Guide.

6. Bring a filled water reservoir in your pack. Drink a lot before and during the climb. Lone Pine Creek and smaller streams have plenty of water on the lower parts of the trail, but you will need a water filter to pump it into the reservoir.

7. After Trail Crest (about 13,600 ft., 4145 m) there is a descent to the intersection with the John Muir Trail (which ascends from the other side of the mountain). Then you start ascending again as you traverse to below the Whitney summit.

8. The trail peters out a few hundred meters or so below the Whitney summit, but the direction to the top is obvious. When you can see the hut, you're almost there.

9. Always be prepared for rapid changes in temperature, the onset of rain or snow, and higher wind speed. Do not climb in the high country in shorts and sneakers, with no back-up clothing.

10. Enjoy God's country and help preserve it for future generations!