Mt. Whitney Reflections and Photo Gallery

I have posted my best pictures from the Mt. Whitney hike here. These have been slightly enhanced in Photoshop, where I also used a feature that Chris told me about to create the photo gallery.

Reflections:

After we finished our hiking trip along the Whitney Trail, we realized that had we got started hiking the second day at 5 AM then we would have been much higher up the trail, perhaps even to Trail Crest, when the lightening storm hit. This would have put us in even more danger. I guess it was a good thing that we only got as far as we did.

I wonder if I would have made it to the summit if the weather hadn't turned bad. Hiking up the switchbacks I was feeling fine. It wasn't until we stopped to discuss our situation that I started feeling the symptoms of acute altitude sickness. We were at 13,000 feet, the highest I've ever been (except for in an airplane), and I should have eaten more food. Water wasn't a problem - I drank plenty of that. The only way to feel better at this point was to head down, so if I continued up, I would have felt even worse, in theory. Maybe more food would have helped. I will never know. If the altitude hadn't affected me, and the weather was good, I probably had the physical strength to make it all the way. However, then I would have to hike back down, where my knees would have taken a pounding during the 11 miles return trip. My knees barely held up with the seven mile trek they endured that day. I won't even talk about the blisters on my blisters.

Talking about this now I sound like my body is falling apart. I'd like to think I'm in pretty good shape. During the training, I was hiking so much that I lost weight (and some of my beer belly) and reduced my body fat to 12%. I could not have been in much better shape. That is why I can't figure out why I got so sick upon returning home. What started out as a sore throat the day I drove home, turned into the worst sore throat of my life! There was one day last weekend that I could eat or drink anything because my throat was so swollen. Plus I was coughing all day long, making my throat even worse. I saw the doctor and he was stumped - didn't know what was wrong with me. So he sent me to the lab for some blood tests. They all came back negative - there was nothing wrong with me. Even now, a week later, I still feel weak and slightly sick. I hope that next time I go on a strenuous hike that this never happens again. In fact, I'd like still like to hike San Gorgonio later this summer.