Yay, I made it to the top of Mt Whitney!

[cdrdash]

I came up with a goal to reach the top of Mt Whitney in my 50th year and I'm happy to report that I did it! My brother and I made it to the top of Mt Whitney at 1:15 p.m. on August 30th. It was a very hard hike. We left at 2:30 a.m. and hiked with headlamps for the first 4 hours. We struggled with altitude sickness a bit but with a good rest at Trail Camp around 7 a.m. managed to feel well enough to continue. We reached the top at 1:15 and stayed there for 15 minutes. We couldn't dawdle too much as we were doing the hike as a day hike and had 11 more miles down to go! We ran on fumes most of the way down and got back at 8:50 p.m.

We also did two training hikes on Saturday and Sunday before the big Whitney hike. One to Kearsage Pass and one to Bishop Pass. Pictures from all those trips are at https://picasaweb.google.com/cdrdash/Whitne...feat=directlink

It feels great to accomplish my goal but I don't know that I would repeat the experience anytime soon. It was very difficult. I'm stoked that I was able to do it at 50 years old!!

[lex]

Wow, a massive congratulations!! Being new I'm not sure what the cake protocol is but it really seems like you deserve a slice! ( :cake: )
2.30am, that's mental! The photos look fantastic :)
Hope you're not suffering for it now! I know I would be ><

[girliegokumanda]

Wow, that is so awesome. Are your muscles nice and sore? :D i love the feeling of sore muscles. It makes me feel as if i've done something good for my body and like i just let everything go for a short period and just relax.
But seriously though, awesome job!!! *two thumbs up*

[aspire2be]

A bit delayed, but congrats! That is quite the feat! I'm 18 and would probably have collapsed part way up (at least in my current shape). It must feel awesome to have achieved such a challenging goal.

Beautiful pictures, as well. I'm envious~ Would love to live near a mountain and the trails again. Someday!

[cdrdash]

I'm late to respond but of course I was sore and very tired. It took me about four days to feel back to normal. The sorest part of my body was my feet. After the hike we drove to Lone Pine for a night in a motel. I found it torture to have to even stand on my feet while waiting for the staff person to check me in at the desk! I slept extremely well that night. Feet were already less sore the next day. But the next day all we did was make the 7 hour drive home to the bay area. I then had five days to be lazy and enjoy the accomplishment until I had to be back to work. It was a great experience but I did have a sore body.

[cijay]

I'm sorry I'm late. It takes a bit for me to adjust from autumn to winter and I get very depressed but try to keep myself busy to avoid burying myself so I've been absent for awhile.

Congratulations!!! I'm so glad to hear that because I get tired of people moaning and pissing about turning 50 as if it's the end of their lives.