| |
Advice |
Here is some advice that we'd like to share with you. Several of us have already said that we wished we had read something like this before we hiked the mountain...(you're welcome)
| Hiker (no particular order) |
Advice to Others |
|---|---|
| George | Drink plenty of water and Gatorade, take your time and enjoy the scenery, treat hot spots early before they go to blisters, carry 2 way radios, use Decadron. |
| Larry | Hiking Whitney in one day is grueling. Take two or three days, camp out and enjoy the experience. |
| Char | Drink plenty of water, take Decadron, and prepare by working out and hiking. When the going gets tough, pray and keep going! |
| Allen | Eat well the day before, drink lots of water, set your own pace, enjoy the scenery, and bring your camera. |
| Greg | Drink plenty of fluids, try to acclimate, take clothing for changing weather, do some training before hand. You have to look at the whole experience, the planning, the training (at least for some of us), the acclimation day at Mammoth, discussions on how best to be prepared, spending time with friends, the whole weekend made it a great experience with the hike as the icing on the cake. |
| Kris | Take along some Oxygen. |
| Scott | Get used to the altitude a few days before (Mammoth was great). Hiking poles are totally awesome (you've gotta try them). Take Decadron (we have statistical evidence that it works). PowerGel really works when you feel like you're about out of energy. Train for this puppy, it's serious! |
| Brad | Twofold: Prepare and plan to enjoy the hike. Take your time. |
| Lyle | Take a trailer and camp out at the base. |
| Bob | Start early, push to the top but take short stops along the way to enjoy. |
| Geoff | Don't let the mountain intimidate
you. If I can climb it anyone in marginal health can do it! No this is not a
joke. The preparation for this hike is important in that you need to know what your own
limits are. The first hike in serious preparation for this hike for me and a few other
hikers was Medford trail in the Eldorado National Forest. On the way up to the
trailhead Bob, Erin, Greg, and Russ are trying to find the worst climb possible. The trail was described something like-you must be insane to try this trail yada yada 4000 feet vertical in 4 miles or some such nonsense. Anyway while trying not to have a heart attack on that hike I knew that if you put your mind to it you can climb anything if you stay within your own physical comfort pace. Trying to keep up with marathoners when the only exercise you ever get is mowing the lawn is not to bright but if you resolve yourself to making it period you can and will do so. Running helps but I didn't stick to my goals. The best thing for me was hiking at the highest altitudes possible in the weeks proceeding Whitney. Russ and I got out a couple of weeks before Whitney and climbed part of the Pacific Crest Trail @ 9000-10000 feet for 14-15 miles before Whitney and I think that each time we went out I felt better prepared for the trip. I think that it is very important to over hydrate yourself the day or two before you hike to combat the altitude. I probably went overboard there as evidenced by the [12] potty breaks. |
| Erin | Take Decadron, use hiking poles, practice with long hikes. |
| Russ | Take plenty of stops to enjoy the magnificent scenery you're working to get through. "The hunt is equal to the find." |