Horseshoe Meadows to Whitney
/We arrived and started out in the afternoon. Planning to get over Cottonwood pass and camp on the way to Crabtree Meadows.
Starting off again after a good break.
We're in fine shape by this time and Cottonwood pass is easy. It's definitely classic Sierra topography and vegetation by this time.
We arrive at Crabtree Meadows the next day. This is the staging camp for Mt. Whitney for PCT hikers. We aren't allowed to camp any higher up the Whitney trail. Which is no problem. It's only 7 miles. We get an early start the next morning to climb Whitney.
It's clear and cold and a beautiful day.
As we're climbing up the switchbacks on the valley headwall I start to feel some vertigo. So, much so that I stop looking out over the view and just focus on the edge of the trail and the wall, and avoid looking at the drop-off. I'm actually a bit dizzy by the time we get to the trail junction with the one that comes up from the east. The summit trail is 1.9 miles. Maddie is already ahead of me and we had already discussed that she shouldn't wait for me. Particularly if it's cold and windy. It's very uncomfortable to wait on the summit for someone who's way behind. Once you stop moving, you start to get very cold. It wasn't super cold, but the wind was blowing pretty good and the windchill made it quite cold. So, when I reached the junction and felt dizzy enough that I wasn't comfortable going further to summit I knew I could wait for her there without having her spend a long time waiting for me. I was perfectly happy to be as high as I was.
View from the Whitney Trail junction, 1.9 miles from the summit.
I found out later Maddie waited a bit and had a snack and then continued on to the summit. Over the "hardest 1.9 miles I've ever hiked". Pretty tough summit boulder field it sounded like. I was so happy for her that she summited though.
Whitney Summit. Photo credit - Maddie McGrath
The requisite summit selfie. Mt. Whitney July 9th.
I was glad to see her when she came down and we headed back to camp at Crabtree Meadows. It was nice to already have the tent set up and be hiking with the equivalent of day pack weight.