backpacking backcountry whitney would probably be fine for a beginner... summiting whitney is another story altogether

OCMI_Yeti wrote:
Cort,

Those two hikes are no joke! If you want in July some time 2 of my buddies and I are going on a short(2.5 miles each way) overnight backpacking trip. You two would be more than welcome to come along and use it as a "training hike".

Where are you going?

That sounds like a good idea. Let me know when you are going.

And thanks for the offer.

Deeno wrote:
Any chance I could tag along for this too? Sounds like fun

Are you talkin to meeeah?? If yes than yes if no than uhh?

aqua_scummm wrote:
I work at REI, so I can help out with some advice at the least.

Have you backpacked before? If not, do some small trips first.

The two most important pieces of gear are your boots and pack. Make sure they both fit properly. Get fitted for a backpack at a backpacking shop so you know what a proper fit is. Make sure your boots have lots of support, and make sure they're broken in.

Make sure you know not only the rules, but the etiquette. Pack it out.

For peaks that high, you might want to use a liquid fuel stove, not a compressed gas stove.

Make sure you know first aid. Along that line, make sure you know how to treat blisters. One untreated blister can mean not summiting.

Yeah... see if there's a local backpacking club, like the los angeles backpackers club: http://backpackers.meetup.com/129/ . If so, go on a couple trips with them.

My REI has free classes, like into to backpacking, preparing for whitney, and others (I teach into to bike maintenance). If you have an REI near you, go in and pick up their event schedules and see what classes are coming up.

No I have not backpacked before. I have done alot of day hikes over the years.

I would love to take one of those classes, I will look into it.

My understanding of these two hikes is that they are typically day hikes. Up in about 7 - 8 hours and down in half that time. That is providing you are in descent shape and dont get hurt or get altitude sickness. I am thinkig of doing them as overnighters just for the fun of camping on the mountain.

Thanks for the advice I will be adding these things to my list of things to do or learn before we head out.

Yeah, most people do ­base­ camp close enough to summit and return in one day, but most of those people have summited many smaller mountains before too...

Do you know what route you'd be taking? Would you be hiring a guide? The guide thing is only really needed for the mountaineer's route, I think.

Definitely start training. You can hike the same distance here in a day and not even feel tired, but things are different 14,000 feet up

I'm down for some smaller local training trips though