Overview

We were incredibly fortunate with our timing and the fires burning in the surrounding areas. Day one started off pretty smoky, but as we climbed higher and neared the Great Western Divide, we left most of it behind and below us. Smoke settled around us at camp on night two, but when we woke up the next morning it had all cleared out. We wouldn't hike through any more smoke until descending to Whitney Portal on day five. The day after we finished the hike, all of the National Forests closed due to the fires. You are still required to carry a bear can, even if you are camping where there are bear boxes. You also need to carry and use a WAG bag for any poops in the Mt. Whitney Zone (begins at Crabtree Meadow and extends up and over Whitney til you near the Portal). We purchased ours from REI.

Logistics

The day before our hike, we drove two cars (our own + a one-way rental) to Whitney Portal and dropped off our car there. We then drove the rental to Visalia, dropped it off, and stayed the night. We went into Sequoia early the following morning to begin the hike.

Conditions

Clear skies. Highs in the 70s, lows in the 40s. No bugs. Some smoke beginning of day one, end of day two, and end of day five.

Day 5

Tarn above Guitar Lake to Whitney Portal

Our alarm went off at 2am, and we quietly broke camp for the final time. We filled up our water bottles from a nearby spring, and made our way up the switchbacks to Trail Crest by the light of the moon and our headlamps. At the Crest, we dropped off our heavy bear cans and some other gear before pushing the final two miles to the summit. We arrived at sunrise, standing atop the highest peak in the lower 48 states. It's hard to describe the accomplishment we felt, with 5 days of miles, moments, aches, beauty, laughter, uncertainty, and memories behind us. We lingered there as long as we could, but knew we still had more than 11 miles and 6,600' of downhill to go. We hiked back to Trail Crest, this time able to fully see the steep trail we had come up in the darkness. It's more frightening when you can see what would happen if you made a bad maneuver hopping along the rocky trail. Things were smooth once we reached the 99 switchbacks down to Trail Camp. We stopped to fill up our water and wash some of the trail grime off our clothes a bit farther down. Smoke began to fill the air, coming up from the Inyo Valley ahead of us, but it didn't matter. Nothing could dampen our spirits. We had finished the trail, been extremely fortunate with weather and fire, and were about to devour some pizza as soon as we made it to Lone Pine.

Final thoughts: Absolutely world class trail. We were so incredibly lucky with the weather and our timing. Would love to hike it again someday, but I think we're setting our sights on a High Route next.