Thur, June 5 - Mt. Whitney Trail Camp

At 9AM, Dunk and I meet Alex, Eric, and Arnaut at the Whitney Portal store, near the Mt. Whitney trailhead before starting up the trail. We make good time and reach Trail Camp by 2PM. Weather is clear and about 70 degrees, with only a few patches of snow to negotiate below the 12000' camp.

Trail Camp, Mt. Whitney

The trail winds through pine forest, passing some beautiful alpine lakes. The sun lights up the golden-yellow rock and highlights it against a sky bluer than those of Nepal. There is plenty of water flowing in streams along the way, meaning we don't need to haul water up the mountain.

Arnaut, Eric and Alex have brought all the fixins' for a wonderful steak dinner while I supply the wine. Everyone gets more than enough food to carry them up Mt. Whitney. Winds are gusty, occasionally reaching 40 mph, but our tents are well anchored (after Eric and Arnaud move theirs) and everyone except Eric, who has a bad cold, gets a good sleep.