Finally!! I mounted the beast! I think this was by far the hardest hike I have done - ever - not because of the distance or the technical trail, but the altitude. This was my 2nd attempt going up Mt. Whitney. Last year, I got very sick because of the altitude & could not go beyond 12,000ft. I sweared that I wud never ever do anything in which altitude is involved. But then that was last year - mind tends to forget things. Two weeks earlier, when we hiked half dome together, Joshua asked me if I wanted to join him on his 3rd attempt to go up Mt. Whitney & I got tempted. I could not say no. Believe it or not, I had met Joshua on my first attempt to climb Mt. Whitney & we had stayed intouch. Looks like good things do come out of altitude sickness after all! Among other things, what we shared in common was extreme sensitvity to altitude and some stubborness :-)
 
Aug' 7th, 2009
Tanya, Chhavi & I started our drive from bay area at 12noon. It was a fun drive filled with girly chat, good laugh, loud music & GREAT views. Best part was Chhavi made Bhel puri & chai in the car! It was a long drive & we didn't reach Lone Pine until 9:30pm! Thanks to Joshua who had driven up to Lone Pine from LA early that morning & collected one of the unclaimed permit. Kiran was in Dayton for work & hence could not go.
 
I felt more confident this time. I had carefully analysed what went wrong last time & how to tackle them this time. Last time, I was low on sugar after Trail Camp (6miles;12,000ft) but cud not eat anything since I was so nauseated & when I forced myself, I threw up.  So this time, I decided to use our hike to Trail Camp at the night for loading up on calories vs expending calories at night like I did last time. The weather was going to be below freezing at night on the mountain. I was carrying 4lts of water, around 2700 +/-150 calories of food, 3 thin layers in addition to the two shirts that I was wearing, three pairs of socks, two pairs of gloves. I also had Sam's backpackers stove which came in very handy. I was also carrying baby asprin for headaches & Tums for nausea. By the time I reached Trail Camp, I was going to have to be done with at least 1500 cals. My guess was we’ll hit trail camp by 5-5:30am. I was going to try hard to not gain altitude too fast – this – they say hits hard on the body - Slow and steady + hydrate, hydrate, hydrate is the mantra. I felt like I had a good strategy. 

As soon as we reached the motel, I got dressed for my hike & Joshua and I started our hike at 11:30pm Fri' night. We weighed our packs - mine weighed 25lbs, Joshua's was 22lbs. It was a beautiful clear night with a full moon. The weather was pleasant. We hiked at a slow but steady pace. Joshua and I had a lot of catching up to do - it was nice to be chatting & walking - I didn't realise the time and distance go by. As we reached Outpost (3.8miles; 10,400ft), Joshua started feeling very sleepy. He tried to take a short 10min nap while I layered up. It was starting to get very cold. I didn't leave him alone after 10mins. "Chalo - Let's go" - by the end of the hike, Joshua must have hated me for these words.  We started our hike to get to Trail Camp.
 
At around 3am, Joshua was sleepy again. His pace is MUCH faster & I think since we were hiking at a very slow pace, he was getting sleepy. We decided that Joshua would take a nap, while I would continue to hike. We decided to meet at Trail Camp. I handed him the small blanket that I was carrying. I reached Trail camp(6miles; 12,000ft) at around 6am. The sunrise was absolutely gorgeous - the sun looked like a ball of fire. Joshua arrived at around 6:15am. We borrowed water filter from one of the campers there & filtered some water. Joshua boiled some water while I got done with the big job of the day. Drinking hot water woke me up. We were both doing OK. We had started to feel the altitude, but were not miserable yet.

Next was the 97-99 switchbacks. We got a good front view of Mt. Whitney. Joshua started getting a bad headache. Soon I had headache & nausea as well. We became very slow. We started taking breaks ever 30-40 steps. Sometimes, I would feel better & drive Joshua to go, while other times, he would drive me to go. It took us almost 2hrs to cover 1 mile! But we had reached further than our previous attempt/s. Joshua said "We'll go upto Trail Crest & see how we do." I said "That sounds like a good plan. Are you upto going to the top?" Joshua said "Yes!". From then on, there was no turning around. We realised that at the rate we were going, we were going to be out of water soon. So we collected some snow, boiled it & made some water. We lost almost 45mins doing this. We went up & up & up & Trest Crest still seemed so very further away. We finally reached Trail Crest (8.2miles; 13,700ft) at 1pm. The sky looked clear & fellow hikers said it was safe to go ahead. So we proceeded. Trail Crest is the last point in Inyo National Forest. Beyond it is the Sequoia National Park. The view from Trail Crest was stunning.

We had 2.8miles to cover. There was a small downhill, which we welcomed (and cursed the same downhill for being there on our way back.) Going downhill made us feel a little better & we started talking again. The cake incident he narrated, where a person with Asperger Syndrome scooped out a b'day cake with a cup bcoz he was not allowed to cut someone else's b'day cake was hilarious in the most innocent way. Soon, the uphill started & both started to feel miserable again. The nausea was not allowing us to eat anything & the extended time without food was driving our blood sugar down. Joshua threw up a couple times. He also started feeling sleepy. I suggested him to take a 10 min nap & that I would wake him up. The min he lied down, he dozed off.  Unfortunately, the nap didn't refresh him like I had hoped it wud. I was surprised & wondered why. Fellow hikers either said "You are almost there" or "You are about 2 hrs away" both of which we didn't want to hear! No matter how far we went, the answer remained the same. Oneeven said "Continue your slow death march & you will eventually reach there" :-)  Moreover the trail was rocky and technical. It called for full atention to navigate correctly & avoid a fall. This didn't help our state.

The hike was no longer enjoyable. My diaphram ached & cramped from the heavy breathing. I missed Kiran - I wanted him beside me - to hold me and comfort me and manage me. The summit seemed so very far away. Yet, there was no way we were going to go away from here without summiting! Besides, I didn't want Joshua coming back  to me next year & suggesting that we attempt Mt. Whitney again! :-) My head was all pressured up & it was hard to think. We put a strategy to work for us - 10 steps fwd, 5 counts break. Finally, at around 4:30pm, after almost 15hrs  on the trail, this strategy took us to the top. Poor Joshua - he was in an absolute bad state - we reached the top & both threw up.  :-)Joshua sat on a rock & went off into his deep sleep state. I looked around to find someone who was going down so that I could send a message to Chhavi & Tanya that we are safe. Unfortunately I could not find anyone. The view on the top was amazing, but, we could not enjoy it too much. I wondered why Joshua was sooooo sleepy & realised that it was altitude at work! The lack of Oxygen makes the brain to send signals to the body to shut down activities & rest! 

At 5:15pm, we decided to head back. The thought of hiking back all that distance & not reaching the trail head before midnight was demotivating. Just as we felt that it can't get any worse, we realised that we are running out of water again. I was very concerned for Joshua as he was falling alseep when he was walking & the trail was so rocky that one bad step could take us straight down. Joshua took another quick 10min nap while I layered up again. The sun was going down & it was starting to get dark  & cold.

We reached Trail Camp at around 8:30pm. It was dark. Joshua borrowed a water filter from the campers again & filled up on water. I was pretty much wiped out. Sleep deprivation was catching up & I was starting to feel sleepy. Lack of sugar was making me grumpy. I tried to eat, but still cud not eat. At around 9:15, we headed out of Trail Camp - 6 more miles to go! A fellow hiker joined us until outpost camp. Thankfully, Joshua's headache and nausea had gotten better & he was less sleepy now. At outpost camp, Joshua suggested that I rest a little. I spread out my blanket under a tree & all I remember is lying down. I completely zoned out! Joshua woke me up after 15 mins, but then, both decided to catch another 20mins nap. This was the best part of my entire hike! Outpost camp & the warmth I got there on my way up & down will stay in my memory for a long time! It sure was a beautiful place. I wish I had napped for more time there. I felt so much more refreshed after the break.

The rest of the way was a pleasant hike down. We resumed our talking :-) We finally got done with our hike at 2am - a full 26.5hrs after we started! This was some hike - by far the toughest I have ever done. Not being able to control my blood sugar level was not fun.
 
Chhavi & Tanya were the sweetest girl friends - not only did they drive with me all the way, made it so much fun, but also made the Lone Pine motel feel like a home! It was so nice to come back & see their happy faces. They had been very worried about us. Thankfully, everything ended safely. This hike was a test of unwavered determination. Thanks to Joshua's support - he went along with me inspite of how bad he was feeling - it was evident that he had to dig deep within to find the perseverance & keep going. Today when I look back at it, I feel good about the accomplishment - it does feel like one! They say 2 out of 3 people who attempt the summit do not make it. (http://timberlinetrails.net/WhitneyHighCamp.html ) By the time I finally showered & went to bed, it was 4:45am!

Next day, we explored Lone Pine. It a cute little town. Little did I know that Lone Pine's Alabama Hills was a center place for many Hollywood movies between 1940s to 1960s! The town has a little Film History Museum which revealed that the interesting geographical rock formations in Alabama Hills with the Sierras in the backdrop made a perfect setting for many of the cowboy movies made during that time. Ironman, Maverick & Tremors were some of the recent movies made there. From there, with a heavy heart, I bid bye to Joshua & we headed our separate ways.

We stopped at Bishop & checked out "Mountain Light" photo gallery which featured Galen Rowell's best images from the High Sierra and Eastern Sierra as well as images from around the world. The photos were very interesting & acted as a basis for some photography discussion on our way back :-) A pic' taken by his son Tony Rowell titled "Bristlecone Pine and Milky Way" was a piece of work & one of the best pics I have seen! The pic' was taken by Tony in June of 2008 over the White Mountains in Bishop, CA and the lens was exposed for 11 mins! And the inevitable had to happen, I again got pulled over by a cop!!! God bless him, he let me go without a ticket - had he given me a ticket, this would've been my 8th or 9th ticket!! We finally reached bay area by 11:30pm. It was a memorable trip with many highlights.
 

 Mt. Whitney Milestones:

Total dist’ one way: 11miles; Peak: 14,497ft

Trail head: 8300ft

Lone Pine Lake: 2.8miles, 9900ft

Permit required beyond this point

Outpost Camp: 3.8 miles; 10,400ft

Mirror Lake: 4.0miles; 10,640ft

Now trail turns rocky

Trail Side Meadow: 5miles; 11,400ft

Consultation Lake (1/2 mile from trail camp, not directly on the way to Whitney)

Trail Camp: 6miles, 12,000ft

97-99 switch backs

Trail Crest: 8.2miles;13,700ft (even though sign will say 13,600ft)

2.8 miles to go! 797ft left to cover

The Summit.