Chased off Whitney Summit by Lightning
Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2012 2:09 pmThe following is my trip report of my hike up Mt. Whitney on Wednesday, August 8 with my daughters Celeste and Alison, and Celeste’s boyfriend, James.
On Tuesday AM Alison and I arrived in Lone Pine, picked up our permit and wag bags, and drove to Whitney Portal in hopes of getting a campsite at the Whitney Portal Campground. We scored a great site and pitched our tents. Soon after, a person came with a flyer about a hiker that had been missing since Sunday. We could hear helicopter activity in the area. Alison went for a little hike while I kicked back and waited for Celeste and James. After they showed up we all went for a hike to see the nice waterfall that Alison had spotted. On the way back we gathered some kindling and bought a bundle of firewood from the campground host. The helicopters left and we wondered about the missing hiker. (After I got home I learned that he had been found alive but with a serious head injury.)
We built a fire and roasted sausages over it and cooked up some chili. It was Celeste’s birthday and we had a cake, but we were unable to light the 35 candles because of the breeze. James got out his guitar and we attempted to have a sing-a-long. After discussing when we should wake up, we retired to our tents.
Ali and I got up at 3:00 AM and Celeste and James got up at 4:00. There were a few sprinkles and this made me a little concerned as there was a 20% chance of thunderstorms at the summit after 11:00 AM. By the time we had had breakfast, packed up, found a parking place at the trailhead and stashed our leftover food in the bear boxes, it was already 5:00, and I had wanted to be on the trail by 4:00. Ali and I started up the trail and were soon treated to a brilliant sunrise and a deer sighting. About 45 minutes later Celeste and James caught up with us.
I was pleased that my companions were so thrilled by the beauty of the trail. This was to be my 3rd time on Whitney, but a 1st for the “kids,” and I wanted their experience to be a good one. We saw few other hikers, but there was a young couple that leap-frogged the hike with us the entire day. When we got to Trail Camp I ran into some friends who had summitted the day before and were run off the peak by lightning. After our chat we began the trek up the 99 (?) switchbacks. My two previous trips up Whitney were via the back side (Past Guitar Lake) and down the main trail. I had somehow convinced myself that the switchbacks would be the hardest part, and I was pleasantly surprised to find myself snaking my way up in relative comfort. I also had the mistaken notion that the trail from Trail Crest would be easier than the switchbacks, and boy, was I in for a surprise.
I really started lagging, and Alison was having a severe pain in one of her hips. Celeste and James were a bit ahead of us. It seemed as though we were not making any progress, the summit looming ahead of us and not seeming to get any closer. As we trudged on, the views got better and better, but the clouds got bigger and blacker. As we neared the summit a man greeted us with a cheerful “Good job, you’re only 20 minutes from the top!” Well, I didn’t think I had 20 minutes left in me, and that cloud… Right after that another guy informed us that we were only 10 minutes from the top, now THAT’S more like it!
As Ali and I neared the summit plaque, Celeste was waiting with her camera to snap our picture. I dropped my pack and Alison took off her boots. A fellow had schlepped his clarinet all the way up and was playing a melody. It began hailing. As I was reaching into my pack for my lunch – BAM! – the sky lit up with lightning and there was a clap of thunder. “Ali put your boots on! We’re getting off this mountain!” I yelled. After a very brief moment of deciding whether to huddle in the hut or high-tail it out of there, we began scurrying down the trail. I never even got a chance to sit down, eat lunch, feed Ellen’s marmot, sign the book, take a pic, or rest. The hail kept coming down and blanketed the ground. The lightning continued until we were back at Trail Camp, but fortunately there weren’t any more really close strikes. We stopped for a bite to eat at Trail Camp.
The rest of the hike down was fairly uneventful. We kept a quick pace so we could make it back before dark. At 8:00 PM we reached the trailhead and were congratulated by a group of guys. Alison offered a ride to a Dutch couple who needed a hitch to their hotel in Lone Pine. They had just completed the High Sierra Trail. Then we met Celeste and James at the Bonanza for Mexican dinner.
Believe it or not, we drove home afterwards as we all had to be back at work on Thursday. Needless to say, I wasn’t very useful at work!
All in all, it was an excellent adventure. I’m so proud of the “kids.” They did a great job and were a joy to hike with.
Thank you, Ellen, for the permit! It was a very special day!
On Tuesday AM Alison and I arrived in Lone Pine, picked up our permit and wag bags, and drove to Whitney Portal in hopes of getting a campsite at the Whitney Portal Campground. We scored a great site and pitched our tents. Soon after, a person came with a flyer about a hiker that had been missing since Sunday. We could hear helicopter activity in the area. Alison went for a little hike while I kicked back and waited for Celeste and James. After they showed up we all went for a hike to see the nice waterfall that Alison had spotted. On the way back we gathered some kindling and bought a bundle of firewood from the campground host. The helicopters left and we wondered about the missing hiker. (After I got home I learned that he had been found alive but with a serious head injury.)
We built a fire and roasted sausages over it and cooked up some chili. It was Celeste’s birthday and we had a cake, but we were unable to light the 35 candles because of the breeze. James got out his guitar and we attempted to have a sing-a-long. After discussing when we should wake up, we retired to our tents.
Ali and I got up at 3:00 AM and Celeste and James got up at 4:00. There were a few sprinkles and this made me a little concerned as there was a 20% chance of thunderstorms at the summit after 11:00 AM. By the time we had had breakfast, packed up, found a parking place at the trailhead and stashed our leftover food in the bear boxes, it was already 5:00, and I had wanted to be on the trail by 4:00. Ali and I started up the trail and were soon treated to a brilliant sunrise and a deer sighting. About 45 minutes later Celeste and James caught up with us.
I was pleased that my companions were so thrilled by the beauty of the trail. This was to be my 3rd time on Whitney, but a 1st for the “kids,” and I wanted their experience to be a good one. We saw few other hikers, but there was a young couple that leap-frogged the hike with us the entire day. When we got to Trail Camp I ran into some friends who had summitted the day before and were run off the peak by lightning. After our chat we began the trek up the 99 (?) switchbacks. My two previous trips up Whitney were via the back side (Past Guitar Lake) and down the main trail. I had somehow convinced myself that the switchbacks would be the hardest part, and I was pleasantly surprised to find myself snaking my way up in relative comfort. I also had the mistaken notion that the trail from Trail Crest would be easier than the switchbacks, and boy, was I in for a surprise.
I really started lagging, and Alison was having a severe pain in one of her hips. Celeste and James were a bit ahead of us. It seemed as though we were not making any progress, the summit looming ahead of us and not seeming to get any closer. As we trudged on, the views got better and better, but the clouds got bigger and blacker. As we neared the summit a man greeted us with a cheerful “Good job, you’re only 20 minutes from the top!” Well, I didn’t think I had 20 minutes left in me, and that cloud… Right after that another guy informed us that we were only 10 minutes from the top, now THAT’S more like it!
As Ali and I neared the summit plaque, Celeste was waiting with her camera to snap our picture. I dropped my pack and Alison took off her boots. A fellow had schlepped his clarinet all the way up and was playing a melody. It began hailing. As I was reaching into my pack for my lunch – BAM! – the sky lit up with lightning and there was a clap of thunder. “Ali put your boots on! We’re getting off this mountain!” I yelled. After a very brief moment of deciding whether to huddle in the hut or high-tail it out of there, we began scurrying down the trail. I never even got a chance to sit down, eat lunch, feed Ellen’s marmot, sign the book, take a pic, or rest. The hail kept coming down and blanketed the ground. The lightning continued until we were back at Trail Camp, but fortunately there weren’t any more really close strikes. We stopped for a bite to eat at Trail Camp.
The rest of the hike down was fairly uneventful. We kept a quick pace so we could make it back before dark. At 8:00 PM we reached the trailhead and were congratulated by a group of guys. Alison offered a ride to a Dutch couple who needed a hitch to their hotel in Lone Pine. They had just completed the High Sierra Trail. Then we met Celeste and James at the Bonanza for Mexican dinner.
Believe it or not, we drove home afterwards as we all had to be back at work on Thursday. Needless to say, I wasn’t very useful at work!
All in all, it was an excellent adventure. I’m so proud of the “kids.” They did a great job and were a joy to hike with.
Thank you, Ellen, for the permit! It was a very special day!
I agree that the hike up to the summit from Trail Crest seems to take forever 
Perry A's version of Dante's Inferno is to hike from Trail Crest to the summit over and over...
