Sierra Journal

Mount Whitney's Main Trail

I know, I know. I write a blog called Sierra Journal and I haven't yet climbed the classic of all Sierra classics? Somehow time and events have conspired against me when it comes to the great Mount Whitney. The Mountaineer's Route, East Face and East Buttress have long been on my tick-list, but somehow I just never got around to getting down there to do the deed. Until this last weekend, that is.

Being partnerless, my plan was to head over to the East Side to do some leisurely wilderness wandering, maybe scope out some climbs on my list, and maybe do some bouldering at the Buttermilks. On a whim I decided to see if I could get a last-minute permit for the Mountinaeer's Route on Whitney.

At 8 AM on Saturday, as they opened the door at the Eastern Sierra Interagency Visitor Center, there were 20-30 people waiting in line to try their luck. The park ranger guy came out, had us pick a number from a hat, then served us in that order. My number? I pulled a 2! Sweet. But there was nary an overnight permit for the North Fork (the trail that heads up to the Mountaineer's Route). But I was lucky enough to get the last overnight permit for the Main Trail. So I put on my peak-bagger hat and away I went.

This is a long, hot, dusty slog of a climb up to the highest point in the lower 48 states. I got moving around 10 am and got up to "Trail Camp" (about 6 miles in and around 4000 feet vertical from the trailhead) at 2 pm or so - just in time for a good afternoon cloud-burst. I happily took a little nap, listened to the raindrops fall on my tent fly and read the latest Eastside magazine (pretty good publication, btw).

Next day I was on my way at 6 am. The trail immediately goes straight up some 2000 feet via an endless set of murderous switchbacks. Then you cross through a saddle and onto the west side of the ridge where you traverse north for a couple of miles, pass by the backside of Keeler Needle, and make the final gentle ascent to the summit of Mt. Whitney.

There were maybe a dozen people on the summit. One group had just finished the entirety of the John Muir Trail (Whitney is the southern terminus). I'd love to tackle that someday. Where to get the time?!  

 

View Larger Map

Death on Half Dome "Cables Route" in Yosemite

The Cables Route is the standard day hike up Half Dome. It's an all-day affair and is no joke - particularly in inclement weather conditions. Yet another reminder to be careful out there - even on seemingly easy terrain. Weather can turn even the tamest of routes into a nightmarish epic.

From LA Times:

Late Saturday afternoon, when Manoj Kumar fell to his death while attempting a descent of Half Dome within Yosemite National Park, there prevailed what a park spokesman described as a "perfect storm" of circumstances.

Saturday is the busiest day of the week on a cabled ladder system that enables climbers to negotiate the 425-foot sheer granite dome to and from its summit.

But by early afternoon it had become cold and blustery, with rain and fog and sporadic hail. Many hikers had aborted their climbs but some had not. The granite and the cables had become slippery. Some hikers froze in fear. Others tried scurrying around on the outside edges of the cables.

An investigation continues to determine exactly what caused Kumar, 40, a Northern California software engineer, to let go and plummet nearly 200 feet, but he might have been on the outside edge of one of the cables.

After Kumar fell, 41 climbers were assisted in what the park called a "controlled evacuation" that lasted until dark.

Scott Gediman, a park spokesman, said Saturdays can be tricky even in good weather because it gets so crowded. It's not atypical to have 70 hikers on the three-foot-wide cable system by early afternoon. There's no scripted order within the cables, although most hikers ascend on one side and descend on the other. 

Fight or Flight - What to Do in a Mountain Lion Encounter

It's a basic rule of the outdoors that's been repeated to every boyscout and Bay Area hiker since time immemorial. If you run into a mountain lion, stand your ground, look big, throw things.

Well, not so much, says a new study from UC Davis. Turns out under certain circumstances, running like hell might be your best bet.

So what should you do? Stand your Ground! No, wait. Run like hell! No, wait. Eh, who knows. Just pray it ain't hungry.

Via UC Davis:

A new UC Davis study of 110 years of mountain-lion attacks on people suggests the conventional wisdom of standing your ground may not always be the right course.

"Even though we found evidence that pumas will indeed chase, and capture, people who run, we also found that people who stand still are possibly more endangered," said the study's lead author, psychology professor Richard Coss, an expert on the evolution of predator-prey relationships.

"Immobility may be interpreted by the mountain lion as a sign that you are vulnerable prey, either because you are unaware of its presence, or because you are disabled and not capable of escaping."

Thus, running might be the smartest move, Coss concluded, if you are in a situation that allows you to run in a surefooted fashion with even strides -- for instance, on dry, flat ground rather than uneven, rocky terrain or deep snow.