(Elevation: 14,505 ft)
In the year of 2014, my best friend and I went on an unforgettable adventure. This adventure was hiking an 11 mile trail one way (22 miles total) up to the summit of Mount Whitney. A few things happened that stood out on this journey, one I found hilarious, and one that wasn’t so funny.
During the trek, you end up meeting this part of the hike called The Switchbacks. I can’t remember how long these swithbacks go on, but let me tell you, it seems endless. The switch backs bring you up and over the top portion of the Mountain to the backside of the summit. This is because on the summit, there are straight up cliffs that drop straight down 100+ ft in every direction, except on the back side.
My buddy during these switch backs started pulling ahead of me about 200 yards once we made our way over and to the backside of the mountain. Before reaching this point, I decided to put on my jacket and gloves. Well, my buddy, trying to be a tough guy, didn’t do this. I lost sight of him an the back side cause he was a little ways away, and also the terrain kept him out of view. I eventually see him when the mountainous terrain cleared a little, and I see him about 100 yards ahead. He’s hunched over, squatting over his bag. In my mind I was wondering what he could possibly need out of his bag at this point. I finally get up to him, and he’s sitting there trying to unzip his bag! He was trying to get out his cold weather gear, but couldn’t unzip his bag cause his hands were so cold they couldn’t even function 😂 All I say is “Dude, why did you wait so long!” Kept in mind this was in July, but on the back side of the mountain, where the sun was being blocked out by the sharp edge of the frontside of the mountain range, plus the elevation causes the tempurature to drop. Idk why it was so funny but we started busting up laughing. It’s one of those things that’s only funny cause it’s just one of those connections you have with a best friend and you know what each other is thinking, and their personality. Needless to say, I got his bag opened for him.
Me (left) and My Buddy (right)
Above you see an old shack on the summit, where there is a log, where you sign in, and leave a comment
Above you see a helicopter flying above the summit. Let me tell you why this was up there.
As I finally reached the summit I noticed a park ranger sitting on a rock, hunched over, twittling his thumbs. I felt like something was wrong with him. Once I asked what was going on, he proceeded to tell me that he just discovered a body at the base of one of the cliffs. Apparently, this individual caught some fast moving weather. Trying to escape, he got disoriented by this terrible, abrupt, nasty storm that rolled in. Since he was disoriented, he went the wrong way, as there is only one way down, and fell 100+ ft to his death. I comforted him and decided to let him get back to his job as he got a call on the radio.
Fortunately my trip to the summit wasn’t a bad experience as it was for this stranger.
