the adventures of brittany: 2016

It was September 16th, 2016 around 2:30 am when I staggered into the bathroom to brush my teeth. No, I wasn't staggering to brush my teeth before bed after being out all night at the bars. Not today at least. Instead, I was staggering drunk on sleep to brush my teeth and head out for the day. September 16th was the day I would summit the largest mountain in the contiguous United States, Mt. Whitney.

The 2:30 am wake up call was imperative as it would take us a total of 13 hours to hike the 22 miles and ascend a total of 6,100 ft. We, including my boyfriend Matt and his dad Tony, were at the trailhead by 3:35 am, ready with our headlamps and packs to start our journey. Fortunately for us September 16th also happened to be a full moon, so as we started our trek we were gently guided by the moon's luminescence. The light that shown on the mountains gave a newfound inspiration for our hike, and I was giddy as could be making my way up the first few miles in the dark.

My giddiness shortly faded when I learned that Tony pulled his hamstring just a mile and half into the journey. When he told Matt and I the news, we encouraged him to try to walk it off and reassess. A half mile later, Tony stopped and told us that he better return back to camp. Even if he could tough it out for a few miles to the top (a few being nine), he would be in trouble coming back down.

And just like that, there were two.

The two of us turned up the pace and continued on. By 7:30 we made it to trail camp, which is about half way. Up 'til trail camp seemed like a breeze. I'm not sure if it was the fresh legs or the excitement that carried us through, but by trail camp we had already climbed up 3,600 ft to reach 12,000 ft.

And then we hit the 99 switchbacks... the infamous 99 switchbacks. I was naive enough to think that they were called 99 switchbacks just because they seemed never ending, but that's not the case. To be fair, my assumption wasn't totally off base as in fact there aren't actually 99 switchbacks, only 97. 97, 99, who's counting though really? I certainly wasn't. All I know is that the "99 switchbacks" is a 2.2 mile stretch that rises 1,700 feet. That's roughly 770 ft elevation gain per mile (for comparison sake, the average elevation gain on the trail is 550 ft/ mile). We slowly but surely trudged up the never ending switchbacks, stopping every 15-20 minutes to catch our breaths. As we rested, groups passed us, and when we continued on, we passed them. It was a constant back and forth of passing familiar faces. These familiar faces are one of my favorite parts about being on the trail. Much like I've learned in my experiences traveling abroad, people are generally more genuine and friendly when they are removed from the mundane so called "real world" we live in. Everyone we passed was in good spirits, albeit struggling, they were happily struggling. We were all struggling together, and when you passed someone who wasn't looking so hot, you stop to make sure he or she is OK-- that's just the general mentality out there on the mountain. It's refreshing.

As we rounded about our last switchback, two men were heading towards us descending from the summit. We overheard them talking to the group in front of us and watched as he pointed out which peak was Mt. Whitney. As he pointed, mine and Matt's jaws dropped, "It's the one way over there?!" I exclaimed butting into their conversation. "So what you're saying is that we aren't close?" I couldn't believe it. My FitBit had given me the false hope that we were already 10 miles in and only had another mile to go. I soon learned that we in fact had 2.8 miles to go. Another 0.9 miles to Trail Crest and then 1.9 miles from Trail Crest to the summit.

The last 1.9 miles were the longest 1.9 miles of my life. By this point, we were at 13,650' and making our final ascent to 14,508'. We could feel the elevation with every step we took. We weren't nauseous or dizzy or anything, but we were definitely losing our breath faster than normal. I can't remember exactly how long it took us to finish the last 1.9 miles, but it certainly felt like an eternity.

Finally, by 11:30 am, I could see the house that sits on the top of Mt. Whitney and I was elated. Seeing that little house a few hundred feet ahead brought so much more joy than I ever imagined. We quickly scurried the rest of the way up and plopped down on a rock. No pictures, no signing of the guest book, it was peanut butter jelly time. After inhaling my sandwich, along with a protein bar and some branched chain amino acids, I was feeling revived. I honestly hadn't realized how much the hike took out of me. We sat a while longer, took in the view, and watched people's expressions as they finally made it to the top. It's somewhat amusing to see how people react when they reach the summit. One group of girls pulled out tall cans, their dad a flask full of whiskey, meanwhile another straggler reconnected with his group, yelling "You guys partying without me?!". A group climbing the face of the mountain (I'm talking ropes and harnesses) high fived as they made it to the top, while people around clapped at their accomplishment, and the Asian tourists swarmed for their picture. It's an experience all too unique and eclectic to forget.

Nevertheless, we took our pictures, signed the guest book, and just like that were gone. Headed back down the 11 miles we came up. There isn't really much to report about the hike coming down. We were up at the top for a good hour, so by the time we descended, our legs were fresh and ready to take on the journey. It was only downhill (for the most part) from there after all. We made it back to the car by 6 pm, roughly five hours later. Matt's dad waited for us with open arms, happy to see that we made it. We embraced him, equally happy that we made it and ready for some cold brews.

My tips for Mt. Whitney:

Wake up early the day before your hike, so you're ready for bed by 6 or 7pm. A good nights sleep will be your saving grace
Sleep in a hotel. I don't think acclimating will do you much good. You're either in good enough cardiovascular shape to make it to the top or not. Simple as that. I think a good nights sleep is more important
Stretch! You don't want a pulled hamstring or something else to ruin your trip
Fill up your water at trail camp. That's the last place before the summit you can refill your water and you're going to need it. We made the dumb assumption that we could get away with our 3L half way full from trail camp up to the summit.
You need to be in good cardiovascular shape to do this hike. DO NOT assume your light jogs every 3 days a week will get you through this. Unless you are fit, the altitude will likely get to you. I suggest doing a hike at least 2/3 the mileage of mt. Whitney with similar elevation gain (~600 ft/ mile) before.
Eat often! We tried to eat roughly every 2 hours. We skipped one snack break just before the summit because we thought we were close, and I could feel it. My legs ached until I put some more energy in it.